Infusing Olympic-Level Teamwork and Creativity into Facilitation
As the Olympic Games kicked off in late July, the world has gathered and stopped in its tracks at the feats of such talented competitors. Seemingly-superhuman strength, agility, and skill draw us in and leave us in awe of each country's best athletes, whether or not they win the gold.
While we sit at the edge of our couch and yell for our country, or another, to win, something innate in us gets excited at the teamwork, movement, and intention we are observing.
Games & play in our daily life, while they aren't as intensive as the Olympic Games, provide us with the opportunity to engage in an alternate world, where the rules of life are temporarily suspended (Gamestorming).
Facilitators have a unique opportunity to channel creativity, teamwork, and movement when leading their teams with games and play. It seems that when using games, we are simply channeling something that comes natural to us. The Olympics and the way that many of us get invested in games provides a reflection of what can happen with our teams, in our workshops, and as we facilitate!
What are games?
Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo outline games as alternative worlds in their book, "Gamestorming."
"To enter into a game is to enter another kind of space where the rules of ordinary life are temporarily suspended and replaced with the rules of the game. In effect, a game creates an alternative world, a model world. To enter a game space, the players must agree to abide by the rules of that space, and they must enter willingly. Its not a game if people are forced to play. This agreement among the players to temporarily suspend reality creates a safe place where the players can engage in behavior that might be risky, uncomfortable, or even rude in their normal lives."
Because games introduce rules that bring us into an alternate world, they act as a context through which social engagement can be structured.
With this new structure in play, the normal method of engaging with coworkers, peers, or leaders can be adjusted to meet the demands and rules of the game.
While the rules create a space to engage with the goal at hand, they also leave room for a freedom within structure.
When we introduce these games into our facilitation practice and use them as methodologies for accomplishing business goals or learning, we also can introduce three benefits: movement, creativity, and teamwork.
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