Knotted TreeTeam Building Activity

Materials:

  • Large rope
  • Processing questions

Group’s Objective:

  • Untie a knot from around a tree

Facilitation:

  1. Tie a loose double knot around a tree
  2. Ask the group to line up along the two excess sides of the rope
  3. Tell the group they must untie the knot from the tree
  4. Each member of the group must have both hands on the rope at the same time
    • If someone drops/take a hand off the rope, the group must start over
  5. Variations for difficulty:
    • If your group has a few people who always talk, tell the group the only people who can talk are the four people furthest from the rope (make sure to tell them this after they have already grabbed the rope)
    • Blindfold every other group member

Processing Questions:

  • What type of communication was used in attempting to solve the problem?
  • What would an outside observer say about our group’s strengths? What would they say our areas of growth are?
  • Was there anyone who felt excluded from the process?
  • Was there anyone who felt they had an advantage in the process?

What are some ways we can apply the lessons learned in this activity to our experiences as a CF team?