The Agenda Wall Exercise.

About the Agenda Wall Exercise:

It is common, when discussing Change and Transformation Projects, to overlook to integral aspects of team work and culture. Managers shape a company’s culture every day in the experiences they create for employees. Employees in turn learn how things are done, and an organisational culture establishes itself.

Yet not all organisational cultures are healthy. In some cases, they can even do more damage than good. In some cases, they can even do more damage than good.

Often, leaders are aware of the need to focus on creating a culture that is beneficial for the company as a whole, from the lowest levels all the way to the top. They then define this goals and a strategy to for their team to achieve. 

However, as seen time and time again, this leads to projects which progress well but fall far from the intended and desired benefits and company strategy.  We consider this distinction between progress and effective change implementation in the article Project Management vs Change Management [Coming Soon]

The Agenda wall is an exercise designed to teach, through practice, the hinderance caused when various aspects of a project fail to be synchronously integrated. The exercise quickly enables a team to nurture a discussion about the impacts of culture and enable participants to effectively align to better ways of working.

The Agenda Wall Exercise.

Introduction

The Agenda Wall is an team-building exercise with a focus on defining the importance of having a clear collective aim for any group, and how poorly a team or organisation functions when individuals (or teams within the whole) have different aims within it. It serves as a physical representation of team culture, examining the implications of a team that operates separately and how a narrow focus on completing ones own task can quickly become hidden agendas. This idea is explored with the teams and their subsequent effects on the shared goal is demonstrated through the exercise.

Purpose

While a clear collective aim is pivotal for any group's functionality, it's surprising how teams often derail due to individual members or subgroups possess different objectives. Sometimes these objectives quickly become conflicting. The Agenda Wall exercise simulates this exact scenario, prompting players to navigate through hidden challenges and yet keep the larger mission in perspective.

Audience

Originating as an ice-breaker for project kick-off meetings, the Agenda Wall was originally benefit both newly-formed and evolving teams. This team exercise can more importantly be used for existing team to help bring the focus to the processess and ways of working.

The intended outcome of this exercise is to guide the audinnce to be self-reflective of their ways of working and the impact this has on the overall organisational strategy.

Preparation and Setup

Required Equipment:

1. Plastic building blocks (Larger blocks, like Mega Bloks, could be preferable for visibility in large groups. Lego Blocks are suitable also).
2. 'Hidden Agenda' cards inside sealed envelopes.
3. Detailed team instructions inside each envelope.
4. Timer.
5. Prizes for the winning team(s).

While any meeting room will suffice, the arrangement would ideally consist of individual tables for teams and a central table to assemble the wall.

The Mechanics

Participants embark on a mission to construct a wall, adhering to specific dimensions dictated by the facilitator. But there's a twist: each team or individual is assigned a goal only known to them. This is the 'hidden agenda' that they must secretly pursue. These agendas often conflict with others, indirectly and directly, planting seeds of competition. As time goes on challenges arise more often the more awareness is drawn to how the actions of others hinder your own objectives.

For an extra layer of complexity, some teams might even unknowingly share objectives, while others might actively aim to disrupt the wall's completion.

Target Outcomes of the Agenda Wall:

1. Awareness: Exposes participants to the realities of hidden agendas in real-world projects.
2. Communication Skills: Encourages dialogue, negotiations, and compromise.
3. Strategy Development: Teams must think on their feet and adapt their strategies as the game progresses.
4. Time Management: Given the time constraints, players learn to prioritise quickly.

Key Insights and Learning Lessons:

1. Conflict Generation: The clashing agendas can lead to genuine friction among participants.
2. Overemphasis: Some players might focus more on their hidden agendas rather than the primary task.
3. Analysis Paralysis: The multifaceted challenges might overwhelm some participants, hampering decision-making.
4. Potential for Exclusion: Strong personalities might dominate, sidelining quieter members.

Team dynamics are intricate. The Agenda Wall beautifully encapsulates this complexity and sets the stage for change. It does so by brining awareness to the friction caused when objectives are defined and purused in isolation.

. It's an invaluable exercise for those wishing to foster cohesion, understand challenges, and ultimately, create efficient teams. Whether you're kickstarting a project and need to align everyone in the room, rejuvenating an existing team and reengineering the ways of working, or merely looking for an engaging team-building exercise, the Agenda Wall is a dynamic classroom exercise.  It encourages participants to emmbrace the challenges, learn from the conflicts, and celebrate the triumphs. In the world of cultural change, understanding teamwork and what motivates your team is half the battle.