Do You Need a Fall Exercise?

Team activities that create memorable experiences can build trust. You know the adventures I am talking about; they generally involve ropes, blindfolds and perhaps a fall. They are fun and allow participants to learn a lot about one another. I have found however, that sometimes, the best “experiential activity” is conversation; real, honest, vulnerable and challenging conversation.

I facilitated a session recently about teams and conflict. The group moved quickly beyond foundational concepts to theory and experience. The conversation led to ideas around trust where I posed some difficult questions. These questions were meant to challenge the leaders in the room to be accountable for their actions and how they show up for those they work with. I asked questions like:

• Do you trust yourself?
• Do others trust you? Your team? Your boss?
• Can you trust others if you don’t trust yourself?
• Do you trust your team? Your boss?
• Do you behave in ways that inspires trust?
• Do you ask yourself, is my next action going to build the relationship or take from it?

The responses were not surprising in many ways and challenging in others. If you were to ask your team, peers, boss, if they trust you, do you know the answer?