Activity 3
Anchors & Sails
20–25 minutesDiscussion & reflectionProblem-solvingIndividualWhole groupIn personVirtualHybrid
What is this activity?
Identify what holds a team back and what helps it move forward.
Preparation
Draw a boat with an anchor and sails; provide sticky notes or a shared board.
How to run it
- 1State the shared goal.
- 2Individuals write obstacles on anchors and enabling behaviours on sails.
- 3Cluster similar notes.
- 4Prioritise the most significant items and agree on one action.
Example in Action
A team wants to improve collaboration. Participants write things slowing them down on anchor-shaped sticky notes, such as unclear responsibilities or too many meetings. On sail-shaped notes, they write things helping them move forward, such as trust, quick decisions and helpful colleagues. The group then agrees on one anchor to remove and one sail to strengthen.
Make it your own
Adapt the topic, scenario or materials to suit your audience.
Found in collections