Time: 1 to 3 hours
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Participants: 6 - 15
These 5 demanding activities develop the team working and leadership skills needed when working across functional, hierarchical, geographical and historical boundaries.
All of the activities are table top and most raise issues associated with people working together on a task whilst they are physically separated.
- Carts and Horses
- Transport
- The Rig
- Promises Promises
- Words Names & Numbers
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Using similar components, 2 or 3 teams work independently to assemble a model of their own design.Then, using only face to face, verbal and telephone communications (nothing written or drawn) each team has to build an exact replica of another team's model. The task becomes more complicated because each group only has enough components to create one model at a time. |
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- Time: 1 - 2 hours
- Level: Intermediate
- Participants: 8 - 12
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- Understanding the overall objective and constraints
- Planning
- Teams working on related tasks in different locations
- Communicating effectively between inter-dependent teams
Two teams that work in different locations have the opportunity to meet in a third location. The teams have to work together to build an articulated truck and two skips that can be transported by the truck. One team has to build the tractor unit and a skip that can hold all of the unused materials, the other the trailer and a skip for any scrap that is produced.
To be successful teams need to be aware that their actions will have an immediate effect on each other, so they must communicate and work accordingly.
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It is all too easy for the task to take over and for the overall aim (making money) to be forgotten. |
 The final phase of 'The Rig' |
- Time: 2 - 3 hours
- Level: Advanced
- Participants: 9 - 13
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- Leading different teams at the same time
- Understanding and working with priorities
- Managing changing situations
- Satisfying customers needs
- The cost of rash promises
The leader has promised that two teams will each deliver a price and a product within a set time. Each team has different constraints, but the tasks seem achievable. Very quickly the stores become a major bottle neck and the promises become daunting. As pressure mounts the need for the manager to focus on the key issues (meeting customer needs and managing human resources) is critical.
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Initially three teams work independently to produce a product. It's easy. Later they come together as one big team, the brief combining their earlier briefs but additional constraints become the big issue. Teams fail to capitalise on the resources offered by the new 'big team' so the merging of the 'companies' delivers almost no benefit. Why? The answer almost always revolves around attitudes to change and the failure to change approaches to capitalise on the new situation. |
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- 3 trays of MTa MINI components
- Activity manuals, that include:
- Comprehensive facilitator guide
- Encapsulated participants' briefs
- Reusable review questionnaires
- Learning transfer documentation
MTa MINI Crossing Boundaries is usually bought as a complete pack (manuals and components), but the manuals can be purchased as an 'add-on' by people who already own the pack MTa MINI Essentials
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"The best and most innovative training materials that I have used and they really do WORK"... Lisa Running - Training & Development Manager, EDF Contracting Services read more |
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"Your customer service/support/focus is fantastic and makes all the difference. The Transport worked fantastically, both yesterday and today as it added a dimension of reality" OD Consultant read more |
