Team Creativity Practice Activities

1
Team Creativity Practice Activities

• Story Time
• Imagination Thinking Creatively
• Problems Solutions

2
Story Time

• Objective
• To explore the different ways teams can create a
  story using the same designated word list.
• Applications
• Communication
• Creativity
• Diversity
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Resource Use
• Group Size
• Six to forty participants, who will work in
  teams of three or four members each.
• Time Required
• Twenty to thirty minutes
• Materials
• A pencil and one copy of the Story Time
  Worksheet for each participant.

3

• Process
• Instruct participants to form teams of three to
  four members each. Group leadership is assigned
  to the person with the most recent birthday (or
  some other designation). Distribute a pencil and
  one copy of the Story Time Worksheet to each
  participant.
• Explain that each team will create a story that
  uses all of the words presented in the table.
  Each word may be used only once the only words
  that may be added are verbs (e.g., elect, push,
  drove), articles (e.g., of, for, from, with).
  The team leader is responsible for coordinating
  the process and presenting the final story.
• Signal for the activity to begin, and allow
  approximately fifteen minutes for group work.
  Give a five-minute warning before time is up.
  Have each leader read his or her teams story
  before the total group and compare stories for
  similarities and differences.
• Discussion
• How do we account for the different story lines
  that resulted from the exact same word base?
• How do these differences relate to diversity in
  the workplace?
• What problem-solving process did the team use to
  approach the task?
• Was it effective? Why?
• What role did perception play in this game?
• How did the leader feel about his or her role in
  the group?
• How difficult was it to complete this activity
  within the constraints presented?
• Relate this activity to the use of limited
  resources in the workplace.

4
Story Time Worksheet
Create a logical story that uses ALL of the words
presented in the table below. You are limited to
adding only verbs, articles, and prepositions.
5
Imagination Thinking Creatively

• Objectives I. To encourage the team members to
  think creatively.
• II. To be able to hold another persons frame
  of reference in light of differing opinions.
• III. To be able to support their answer and be
  curious about it.
• IV. To be able to allow an ah-ha which could
  be an insight into self, other person, or group
  reaction.
• Group Size Unlimited, but best with a group of
  ten to twenty participants.
• Time Ten to fifteen minutes depending upon the
  size of the group.
• Materials For the leader, a copy of the
  Imagination List.
• Setting A room in which the participants can be
  seated comfortably.
• Procedure I. The leader asks the group members
  to let their minds expand in order to allow for
  innovative ways of thinking and perceiving.
• II. Next, the leader explains that in this
  activity the team members will be asked to
  respond to some questions and then to explain why
  they responded as they did.
• III. The leader chooses a team member at random
  and asks him or her a question from the
  Imagination List. When the group member has
  given his or her response and has provided a
  rationale for it, the leader may ask another
  member to answer the same question or a different
  question from the Imagination List. This is
  continued until each member of the team has
  responded to at least one question.
• IV. The leader initiates a processing
  discussion in terms of the activitys relevance
  to problem solving, brainstorming, or the
  examination of basic assumptions.
• Outcome I.

Adapted from S. Forbess-Greene (1983). The
Encyclopedia of Icebreakers Structured
Activities that Warm-Up, Motivate, Challenge,
Acquaint and Energize. San Diego, CA Pfeiffer
Company.
6
Imagination List

• What shape is a wish?
• What does happiness look like?
• What color is today?
• What does purple taste like?
• What does your self-image sound like?
• What does a rainbow feel like?
• What color is the smell of your favorite perfume?
• What is the distance of your life?
• What is your favorite sense?
• What is the color of your favorite song?
• What texture is your favorite scent?
• What does inspiration taste like?
• What is the shape of violin music?
• What is the texture of the letter P?
• What is the texture of a whisper?
• What color is the fragrance of soap?
• What does a cloud sound like?
• What is the weight of your anger?
• What is the shape of your imagination?

7
Problems and Solutions

• Objectives I. To allow the team members to
  experience a creative form of problem solving.
• II. To emphasize diversity of thought.
• Group Size Ten to twenty participants.
• Time Ten to fifteen minutes.
• Materials I. Two sheets of blank paper and a
  pencil for each team member.
• II. An empty box, such as a shoe box, for the
  leader.
• Setting A room in which the participants can be
  seated comfortably.
• Procedure I. The leader explains that the team
  members are going to solve the problems that
  they consider important.
• II. After giving each group member a pencil and
  two sheets of paper, the leader asks that each
  member write a problem question on one of his or
  her sheets of paper. The question may be
  personal, such as What can be done about my
  familys irritability in the morning?, or it may
  be more political or social, such as How can
  the country of India solve its problem of
  poverty?
• III. When the members have written their
  questions, they give them to the leader who
  will read them one at a time and solicit
  solutions from the group. There should be at
  least two solutions for every problem.
• IV. The activity continues until all members
  have shared their problem questions and new
  solutions.
• Variations I. The leader can ask that the
  members problems and solutions be about
  work-related topics.
• II. The members can exchange solutions instead
  of drawing them out of a box.
• III. The members can be asked to place their
  problem questions in the box. The leader then
  picks a question out of the box, reads it aloud,
  and calls on a member to share his or her
  solution. Several solutions can be solicited.

Adapted from S. Forbess-Greene (1983). The
Encyclopedia of Icebreakers Structured
Activities that Warm-Up, Motivate, Challenge,
Acquaint and Energize. San Diego, CA Pfeiffer
Company.