Communications game Instructor brief

1. Communications gameInstructor brief

2. Goofy Communications Rules Goofy Dopey Dopey Happy Grumpy Sleepy Grumpy Happy Sleepy

3. Goofy Dopey Happy Grumpy Sleepy

4. Set up Communications Rules Goofy • Set up • Place the envelopes on the chairs order • Draw outline on a Flip Chart. •  All participants need pens • 5 people per team Dopey Instructions Every one must face the front You have a role, instructions and a task to complete. You will find an envelope on your chair with all the information you need There are some rules about who can communicate with who - Explain the communication rules This is a non verbal exercise. You have all the information you need in the envelopes to complete the task. There are some index cards in the envelopes that you will use those to communicate. No Talking. Sleepy Grumpy Happy

5. Debrief Goofy- leader of the organization- they know what the task is, but they don’t communicate it well. Had no eye contact, faced forward. Knew what needed to get done but had trouble communicating it to front line supervisors and production team. Dopey- Middle Manager – took a little while until Donald knew what the task was. So busy passing paper and working with head down, being pulled in lots of directions No time or understanding of the bigger picture to communicate the task down to the grass roots.   Happy, Grumpy Sleepy – Grass roots level team members. Interestingly you had no idea what the task was, however you weren’t going to sit there. You guessed what the task was and had the initiative to guess and try to figure things out.   Ask the people in the back row. What was the task? Usually Sleepy, Grumpy and Happy have no idea of what the task was Which symbol is on each persons slip? Dopey - What were you doing during the exercise? Dopey was spending a lot of time moving information, writing. Dopey - did you know what the task was? Answer - after awhile it came clear. What was the point of the Disney Character Exercise? Sequence - Dopey (1), Happy (2); Sleepy (3); Grumpy (4), Goofy (5) Dopey- Supervisor: Very busy with paperwork, Happy ; Sleepy ; Grumpy : Didn’t know what was going on, Got frustrated and disinterested The purpose of the exercise was to show how important communication and eye to eye contact is Manufacturing cells bring all related activities together and help eliminate waste, frustration and paperwork. The symbolism of this exercise- Draw out from the group: - What was missing: Shared Vision - Communication limited. Best communication is eye to eye. Do not assume the people in your organization understand the vision. Really check that Middle Managers understand the vision. Keep communicating it. Middle Managers- are so busy and being pulled in many directions. Spend time face to face with them.  True involvement- if the grass roots employees do not understand what the task is all about, the grass roots level people will just check out.   Supportive Systems: Communication methods- one way