Dinner Party Mayhem - Managing Change . Download training materials and resources.

Dinner Party Mayhem - Managing Change

About

Time:
This exercise will take about 45 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 70 minutes to complete this module.

Aims:
• To create a situation where participants have to manage change driven by one department, affecting the work of another.
• To identify some key learning points about managing change.
• To test information gathering and sharing skills.
• To demonstrate the importance of effective questioning, summary and clarification and active listening.
• To consider the pros and cons of different leadership styles.

Group Size:
This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 15 participants.

Useful For:
Staff at all levels.

You'll Need:
• Each team will need a space to work where they cannot be overheard by the other team (s).
• Each HR team will need an egg timer that takes 3-4 minutes for the sand to pass from one side to the other.

Notes:
As well as useful in programs concerned with change, this exercise can also be used as a general communication exercise, or in training concerned with internal customer care.

Remote/Virtual Delivery:
There is a Remote Delivery version of this module available in Trainers’ Library - Dinner Party Mayhem - Managing Other Teams.

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I recently used this team exercise as part of a companywide team-building programme. The delegates included senior leaders, all people leaders and key subject specialists. The framework for the programme was Patrick Lencioni's '5 Dysfunctions of a Team' and my challenge was to find an exercise that demonstrated how ambiguity can impact negatively on individuals' commitment in a team. The exercise was run in two cohorts and was equally successful in each. The simplicity of the exercise is the key; all the competing teams have to do is arrange a seating plan; however they only have partial information. Some of the missing information provided in a hurried and unsystematic way by the 'HR' team was vital. The frayed emotions and frustration were very real, which made this feel 'real life' rather than a training exercise. I would recommend its use for team-building, post-restructuring culture building and in leading change through uncertain conditions.

Paula Cook rated this item with 5 stars.

I used it as the very first activity in a one-day module of our Leadership Development program called “Communication for Change”.
What I liked about it was that it could be run with almost no preparation – just print out the briefs, give them to the teams, and away they go. The teams did all the stereotypical things while participating that gave us some great discussion in the debrief – e.g. confusion about what the other team was doing, poor communication, competitive streaks coming to the surface, time wasting through lack of information sharing, too much focus on the task and not enough on the people etc. It was a great intro to our workshop, and was extremely engaging for the participants.
Next time I would probably elaborate a bit more on the briefing to make it clearer that it is a CHANGE. For example, that the dinner party was all organised but then the restaurant changed the tables available etc. This would make a slightly smoother transition into the program topic I’m including it in.
Overall it worked really well and generated very useful discussion. I will definitely continue to include it in this program.

Previous Member rated this item with 4 stars.

This exercise did not work very well as it was far too easy with the corporate team solving the problem within 10-15 minutes, therefore not having to adjust to any change. Further complications could be added in order to make the exercise more challenging, such as reduction in time or the facilitator acting as the HR team and taking a variety of approaches to directing change. The current time of 45 minutes to complete the exercise is far too long. I recognised this and reduced it to 30 minutes yet this was still too long and the learners felt that they got nothing from the exercise, other than demonstrating how clever they were!

Nick Lennon-Barrett rated this item with 2 stars.

If you want a great activity to use for topics on change management, this is the one. From understanding change, planning change and implementing change, this activity has the versatility to be used around any of these topics. When I first joined trainer’s library I used it nearly every month for about 2 years – a great activity that can really help delegates understand how individuals react differently to change.
I do feel that it is Important to have 2 facilitators so that notes can be made on the behaviours people demonstrate during the activity. A brilliant activity that I continue to go back to…

Gary Shewan rated this item with 5 stars.