Rather than offering ‘off the shelf’ solutions, our approach is to assemble a specific Associate team for each project with which we are involved in order to build a synergy through the cross-referencing of our particular experiences and skills, utilising the collective intelligence and abilities of the team and leading to the most effective possible combined outcome; in our experience the resultant cross-focus generates the creative heat which is an ignition trademark.
Whatever the setting, the ignition approach is based on humanistic person centred values to create a space that is safe enough for participants to discuss the issues under focus and challenging enough that there is ‘stretch’ and growth in the participation. Ambivalence and resistance are understood and explored and the challenge of working with intelligent and often sceptical professional groups are anticipated and relished.
To achieve this, our inputs frequently involves the use of active, theatre based methodologies such as
Mask
Games
Performance
We have found that the use of such techniques, combined with the natural spontaneity and energy of experienced theatre practitioners, group workers and facilitators, serves to ‘short cut’ the normal group formation and bonding process, resulting in a high degree of involvement and investment by staff at an early stage.
ignition input for teambuilding can be small scale or large: one-day teambuilding events for small groups of staff of multi day events for larger numbers. We provide below examples of our approach for both sizes.
Small-scale events:
One day, maximum 20 participants
The client was a public sector team faced with developing a response to a new structural initiative that had profound implications for all of their work. Our brief was to facilitate vertical and horizontal communications within the team and sub teams in order to develop improved team working to feed into the desired nitrated response to the new directive. Our input included the following.
Why Won’t You Talk to Me?
The Morning: Where are we?
The firsts session featured active whole group work using a variety of theatre based techniques to develop concrete images of perceptions of the team from within the team, and to explore the dynamic ‘system’ of the team as a whole, enabling a ‘voice’ to be given to previously unheard elements.
This data then provided a basis for exploring the dysfunctionality of the team, blocks to communication and potentials for improved working, facilitating expression of often strongly held personal views in a safe and collaborative manner though the use of role work and physicalisation.
The Afternoon: Where do we need to be?
Building on the data obtained. the team was able to explore the process of movement necessary to work effectively under the new directive, re-establishing priorities and re-affirming the place of the client at the centre of effort. A basis action plan was established to enable the group to continue work on the issue raised over a longer period.
Large-scale events:
One day or more, no maximum number
The client was a private sector provider of mental health care services, faced with the opening of two new units each of which lacked a common culture and featured staff teams from a multitude of professional backgrounds. Our brief was to facilitate the development of team relations and of such a common culture. Our proposal was as follows ,
Setting The Stage
The two new facilities are going to open. That much is known. What is not known at present is the degree to which the differing professional cultures coming together will mesh and develop into a collaborative whole, or grow defensive and rigid. The fact is that a working culture with its own values WILL develop at the new units - the question is, what sort of culture and values are desired?
Setting The Stage reflects our concept of the intervention being a ‘curtain raiser’ to the opening and effective, unified operation of the two new facilities - an attempt to take the disparate elements of the staff team and work with them to explore and clarify the vision, culture, values and goals they see as important for their new units.
This is not work which can be completed in a brief one-off time span such as the proposed event, nor should we pretend that it can: but Setting The Stage could function to create communication channels and help set an agenda which as part of their continuing team development the work force and management can take forward and build upon.
The ‘Evening Before’
We are assuming that the staff team will be expected to be on site at the residential venue the ‘evening before’ Day 1 and that the ignition Associate team should therefore also be present. This will enable us to deliver some relatively informal group ‘ice breaker’ work as a gentle introduction to the event, and allow us to mingle and begin the formation of rapport over dinner. This is a standard procedure with residential events.
At present, the duration of the two main days we see as covering approximately 9 AM to 4.30 PM or 5 PM. We are assuming that the evening time of Day 1 is desired for informal ‘Type B’ work, where staff can relax and mingle without the pressure of formalised structured inputs from ignition, although the Associate team will of course be available if work groups wish to develop or continue tasks arising from the main work of Day 1.
Day 1: Getting to Know You
We are suggesting that the day open with a structured improvised theatre performance which features characters and scenarios developed beforehand and reflecting the particular environment and challenges facing the staff team. These performances generally run to about one hour in length, are lively and energetic, and serve as an excellent way to surface issues, tensions, opinions, worries and so forth.
The show is based on principles of Forum Theatre, meaning that the performance itself acts as a stimulus and forum for debate and discussion. The style is interactive, which does NOT mean that members of the audience are dragged unwillingly onto stage, but does mean that they are asked for their advice as to situations characters on stage face.
The format is generally for two main characters who can reflect and represent the staff group to be introduced, and these characters then encounter a variety of problematic situations which will be familiar to the audience or which will represent challenges they are likely to face. Whenever the action reaches a point at which a variety of responses are possible, the actors in the team literally ‘go into the audience’ to ask for advice, garnering suggestions as to how to proceed.
A key element to this performance is that although the core material of the scenes may be structured ahead of time - for example a conflict or disagreement between two staff from differing backgrounds about how to respond to a challenging patient or client - the subsequent action following the audience input is improvised and entirely unscripted, giving an immediacy and vibrancy to the on-stage action as its consequences, success or failure are seen.
Moving beyond the format of pure Forum Theatre we also use a second key element, and one which is always extremely popular: the half masks. Essentially, the metaphor of the mask as ‘front’ is explained and characters on stage wear such masks. When they are defensive or encountering a situation where honest communication or dialogue is difficult, then the masks fall into place as a barrier.
To counter this, the audience have been primed and are encouraged by a central Master of Ceremonies figure (The Meister) to demand that characters ‘lift the mask’. The contradictions between surface action and enlightenment as to what is actually under the mask are extremely instructive and often hilarious.
Finally, the performances often end with a brief period of ‘hot seating’, where characters who were seen during the show can come out to talk to the audience, in order to promote or provoke further discussion and debate.
Overall, the performance allows the team to present difficult issues in an accessible and constructive way, often ‘saying the unsayable’ or bringing into the open the issues which are present but unacknowledged: such issues can then be dealt with in the light of day.
Following the performance as a ‘kick off’ event, our proposal then envisages a first day where the staff group are essentially getting to know each other, and an appropriate degree of personal disclosure is encouraged in order to facilitate group formation and bonding. This will be facilitated through a variety of experiential methodologies, group tasks, whole and sub group work group which will consider issue such as:
- points of commonality or difference
- professional backgrounds and experiences
- perceptions of Independent Community Living as an organisation or of the new unit, as appropriate
- fears and hopes
The way we do this is through facilitated group work, with (under this Proposal) a maximum ratio of approximately 10 staff to 1 Associate facilitator.
Methodologies which can be used include:
sociodrama
This is a group approach utilising role, character and concretisation to produce three- dimensional representations of abstract concepts such as ‘the group culture’ or ‘the clinet cultural system’ which can literally be given a voice and be explored in a three-dimensional way to encourage perspective taking. This approach is particularly useful for forming teams or larger units which need to work out how they relate to one another.
performance
Beyond the main opening performance, we often facilitate the staff team to develop their own theatre performances around issues of consequence: this can be vignettes where staff take on the performance element and simply present their theatricalised vision back to colleagues as a basis for further work, or where they present a dilemma and are advised by their colleagues, similarly to the morning show, or where the Associates take on a performance/facilitation role, or any combination of the above.
discussion & debate
In our experience professionals generally enjoy debate and though our overall approach is to encourage people out of their chairs, we also understand the value of well facilitated shared discussion on matters of import.
The aim for the end of Day 1 is to have a group of people who are enjoying themselves, energised, talking to one another, more familiar and more comfortable with people they had not met or did not know very well until that morning and actively considering a set of issues relevant to the future success of the unit.
Day 2: Sharing a common vision
The second day builds on and deepens the work of the first. Opening with further group team building activities to re-establish group bonds, the focus of the day is future orientated, considering question such as:
- how do we want our unit to operate?
- what are our common goals and values?
- what is our shared vision?
- how we get there?
The use of active techniques when and where appropriate remains a constant theme, along with facilitated discussions, continuing to generate the disclosure, trust and bonding that will help the new team to operate as efficiently as possible. Issues which arise on the day will receive focus and attention as necessary, so that while resolution may not be possible, awareness will be raised and commitment to future action generated.
The aim of the the day is to clarify a group version and values, a shared understanding, and perhaps produce concrete action plans and commitments to take forward into the functioning of the new unit. Rather than ‘visioning’ exercise being seen as a management imposition (which is often the danger) the hope is that through having explored and developed the ideas for themselves, there will be a far higher degree of staff team ‘buy in’, commitment to and motivation towards the solutions or possibilities they themselves have generated, within the parameters contributed by management.
As said, each ignition Associate team is assembled for each specific project. The team members available for such team building events include and combine:
- professional improvisational actors
- experienced facilitators and group workers
- highly able rapporteurs
- empathic motivators
Between them the Associates combine experience of:
- development and delivery of many conference performances across all sectors
- psychodrama based development work
- statutory sector team building events
- outdoor education
- facilitation of large and small group work
- sociodrama based team development events
- individual personal development work
- executive coaching
- motivational and generic counselling
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