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Thiagi Group

My Favourite Manager

Participants work individually, assuming the roles of three different people and brainstorming their perceptions of three most favourite managers and three least favourite managers. Later, they work with a partner (and still later, in teams) to prepare a list of dos and don't-s for improving employees' perception of a manager's style.
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Thiagi Group

Values Processing

Which of these two values is more important among the employees in your organization?

  • Integrity
  • Customer-focus

Yes, you are right: Both of them are important. And comparing these two values is like comparing apples with oranges.

However, thinking about these values, discussing them, and placing them in a priority order makes them more tangible. Participants identify the highest-priority value among a set of employee values by comparing them two at a time.

Thiagi Group

One will get you Ten

If I give you a dollar and you give me a dollar, we both end up where we began. But if I give you an idea and you give me an idea, we end up with two ideas each, benefiting from a 100 percent return on our investment.

In One Will Get You Ten, we leverage this principle so that you and all other participants receive a 1000 percent return on your investment on ideas.

Thiagi Group

Why?

Here's an interesting game that produces humorous results. Hidden behind the humor, however, is subtle provocation that forces participants to think deeply to justify some of the basic principles and assumptions related to the training topic.

Participants write “Why?” questions related to the training topic. Then each participant writes a response to someone else's “Why?” questions. The questions and answers get mixed up, producing incongruous results.

Thiagi Group

Fun with Snowballs

This activity energizes the group. So use it when participants need a spurt of energy. The main element of this activity is the anonymous way in which participants provide their inputs. The facilitator can use the information gained through this activity to evaluate what the participants have learned or want to learn.
Thiagi Group

The Creativity Dice

Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.
Thiagi Group

Cover Up

This exercise deals with the importance of unlearning. The facilitator gives instructions to cover one of your ears or eyes. Later, the facilitator refers to the left ear as nose and the right eye as mouth. Subsequent instructions slow down your performance.
Thiagi Group

Postcard to a Friend

Here's a closer that encourages participants to recall what happened in the session and to come up with second thoughts about how they could have benefited more. It also creates useful materials for an interesting icebreaker.

Thiagi Group

Back to Back

This is an energetic improv game that can be used anytime during a training session. My favourite time to use it is at the end of a session for debriefing. Participants pair up and stand back-to-back. The facilitator asks a question. The participants turn around and face each other and take turns sharing their responses.