Tied Together

Introduction

Planning and cooperation are needed for successful teamwork. This “Tied Together” exercise presents the participants with a problem, which they have to solve by proper planning and cooperation. It can be used in connection with sessions on team building.

Objectives

  1. Illustrate the need for planning and cooperation.

Duration

  • 30 minutes

Materials

  • One meter of thin rope for each participant

Methodology

  1. Give each person a piece of string of ± 1 meter long.
  2. Ask them to make a loop at each end, which is big enough to slip it over their hands.
  3. Participants will now be grouped in pairs.
  4. Ask them to slip one loop over their left hand and one loop over their right hand, while making sure that the two strings of the two persons are hooked together.
  5. Now ask the partners to disentangle themselves, without untying the knots and while keeping the loops on their wrists.
  6. Continue until all pairs solved the problem.
  7. If time permits, you can then repeat the procedure while tying 4 or 5 persons together.

Some guidelines for discussion

  1. When you started, did you expect that the problem could be solved?
  2. How did you solve the problem? Did you make a plan?
  3. How did you cooperate with your partner?
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