Energy Ball
By: Duke Rohe drohe@att.net
Overview: Want a tool to drive home the importance for TOTAL participation in a team? One that says, without all working in the same spirit, in the same direction, we collectively suffer. One which applies to at ALL levels of the organization.
Purpose: Understanding teams, need for vision, total participation.
Participants: 4 to 12 people
Materials: Energy Ball (about 10 bucks) purchased from:
Safari Ltd
P.O. Box 630685, Miami, FL 33163
Phone: 800-615-3111
Get the one that plays the tune “It’s a small world” ,“Twinkle, twinkle” or “A-B-C”
Time: 30 minutes
Procedure:
- Get 4-12 people to hold hands and make a circle starting with you. Hold off holding hands with the last person in the chain which is adjacent to you. Hold your finger on one of the electrodes as shown (No, it won’t hurt.)
- Sample Introduction: This team is made up of diverse people with a wide variety of strengths. It not until we are all connected working toward the same vision, same vision that we can provide a service our patients so-desperately need. As long as we all know and do our part and how to support others, our service is music to our patients.
- Ask the person at the end of the chain (adjacent to you) to place his finger on the other electrode (be sure their hand is only touching the electrode and not your hand). As soon as the do, an audible tune will come out of the ball. Magic!
- During the tune, say something like, ‘What if “_______” of this team decided she was having a bad day, or wanted to do things her way, or just didn’t want to participate.” Ask that person to let go (breaking the circuit). The music immediately stops! “Team efforts are affected when just one lets down their part. When a player steps out of bound with the ball in football, is the person penalized; or the whole team? What we do or don’t do affects more than just us.” Ask the person to return holding hands, and the music begins.
Debrief: Ask the group to explain how team members interact.
