The story of “The Tortoise and the Hare” from “Aesop’s Fables” presents two different strategies in teamwork; that of racing to the goal but failing to finish and the slow and steady plod that finishes. Both initial ideas have value. The hare knew where he was going, make a quick start to get there, but he allowed distractions to derail his path and lost the race. The tortoise also knew where he was going, started on his own path and arrived because he kept his eye on the goal. If the two combine their strengths instead of competing, they stand a better chance of successfully finishing. Have students explore ways the tortoise and hare could work together to arrive at the goal.
Angeles Arrien delivered a speech titled “Lessons From Geese” at the 1991 Organizational Development Network. Provide a copy of the speech’s five points to students and ask them to derive strategies for use in small groups based on the speech. After the small groups, discuss the strategies each group brings and create blended ideas from class wisdom. Post the strategies in the class for use in future small groups.
Invite students to look inside the organization of successful and failing teams. Choose from sports teams, Fortune 500 companies or reality shows such as “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race.” “Dancing with the Stars,” or “Face-Off.” List the characteristics of teams that succeed and teams that fail. Pinpoint strategies you can adapt when working in small groups or as a class to reach a common goal. Create a warning list of things to avoid when working together. Once your lists are complete, give a copy to each student for inclusion in directions for small groups.
Invite a panel of successful business leaders in your community to speak to the class in a round robin. Give them a few questions to plan their information to the class, such as “what do you look for in a team leader or team members” and “what skills alert you to leadership potential on a team?” After each speaker has a chance to talk about team skills, encourage students to pose individual questions. Create groups with a team task and have one presenter work with each team to brainstorm and plan solutions to the task.