Time required:30 minutes.
What it does:
A problem solving challenge that tests a teams ability to work together to solve a problem and refine and improve their approach.
You will need:
Each team will need two postal tubes (stoppers removed), two golf balls, six eggs and a flipchart pen. You will also need plenty of clear space for the activity and a way of marking the start and finish of the race track.
In a nutshell:
Which team will work well together and come up with a winning strategy for getting their eggs over the finish line first?
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Time required:30 minutes.
What it does:
Develops your team’s brainstorming skills. It has the added benefit of exploring what changes your team would like to see within your department and how to make them possible.
 This activity is suitable for remote delivery.
This team activity can be run as a stand-alone exercise on brainstorming, or as part of a session looking to develop the continuous improvement skills of your team. If you choose the latter, it is recommended that you follow this activity up with Plan a Change. You will need:
Flipchart, paper and pens and enough green sticky dots for all team members to have three each. (If you can't source these, a green marker pen will do.)
In a nutshell:
Generate as many ideas as possible to improve your team’s performance and then look for ways to make the impossible possible.
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Time required:30 minutes.
What it does:
The first step to solving a problem is articulating it and this is a creative way for your team to share their workplace challenges. Designed to be run at the start of a session to encourage your team to take a more creative approach to problem solving.
This activity is suitable for remote delivery. You will need:
Each team member will need A4 paper and pens/pencils to draw with. Ideally, each team member will also have a blindfold - though this is optional.
In a nutshell:
Can you draw your challenge without seeing it?
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Time required:15 minutes.
What it does:
An energiser that helps your team get ready to think creatively, especially in their approach to problem solving.
This activity is suitable for remote delivery. You will need:
Creatively Thinking Cards, blu-tac and a stopwatch or a phone with a timer.
In a nutshell:
Team members have five minutes to plan a 60-second presentation on the unexpected subject they have be given; total creativity required.
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Time required:15 minutes.
What it does:
Explores the impact of assumptions on how we think.
This activity is suitable for remote delivery. You will need:
The PowerPoint slide from the Resources tab to show the riddle. Alternatively you can write it up in advance on a flipchart.
In a nutshell:
How do our assumptions get in the way of solving a very simple problem?
Check out the PowerPoint slide and see if you can solve the riddle before you discover the answer. A small clue for you is that the answer is not smoke inhalation.
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Time required:10 minutes.
What it does:
Encourages your team to be ready to think creatively or embrace new ideas.
This activity is suitable for remote delivery. You will need:
A newspaper, flipchart paper and pens. A prize for the winning team is optional.
In a nutshell:
How many ideas can your team generate in five minutes?
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Time required:30 minutes.
What it does:
A practical team activity to demonstrate how to plan to implement real change or workplace improvements.
This activity is suitable for remote delivery.
You will need:
The Plan a Change Handout for your team members (provided in the Resources tab).
Before the session you will need to ask everyone attending to bring with them at least three ideas they have for improving performance within the department or team. Alternatively, if you run the Creative Brainstorming activity just before this one, you will have plenty of ideas in the room. In a nutshell:
Take a real-life improvement needed in your team and ask your team to plan how to make the change happen.
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