Photo Challenge: A Lighthearted Team Exercise

In the northern hemisphere the middle of January is notoriously dark, cold, and depressing. I’m sure you will be familiar with ‘Blue Monday’. The festive season is over, nights are long and days are short. Many of us will be arriving at work in the dark and leaving to go home in the dark.

It’s a time of year when people can feel lonely and unhappy. Getting ahead of this is a good idea. I have put this feel-good lighthearted team exercise together as a fun activity to do to brighten up the day. It’s also a bit of a different way to get to know each other a little more deeply.

Taking a little time out of the daily grind to run an exercise not completely focused on work itself shows that you care about your team’s well-being.

The photo challenge requires little effort from you

The photo challenge is a simple sharing exercise where each team member shows a photo that is meaningful or funny, or both, and they tell a small positive story associated with it.

Everyone gets a chance to speak, it’s not work related, and it generates a feel good atmosphere. It’s an easy to use exercise which requires very little preparation and effort from you.

Free worksheet

I’ve put a worksheet together for you to use to guide you through the workshop. Click here for your free download.

Photo challenge preparation

A day or two in advance of your team meeting, let your team know that you will be running a lighthearted team exercise as a bit of fun.

Ask them to either take a photo while out and about, or to find an existing photo. The topic can be anything that is meaningful or positive to them and they should bring it into work on the day.

Let them know what format the photo should be in, for example, can you project from a phone? I recommend that you keep this as low friction as possible i.e. asking them to bring a printed photo might be a barrier.

If they can’t take a photo and don’t already have one, ask them to find one online that they can use.

Meeting Planning

Make sure there is a way of sharing the photos. If everyone is in the same room it’s obviously easy, but if anyone is remote then be inclusive, ensure there is a way those online can also see the photos and share their own.

Plan a quick intro and work out how long each person can speak for. Two or three minutes to tell the anecdote should be enough to retain attention throughout the exercise.

Don’t forget to take your own photo with you so you can be part of the event – this is very important and will increase how approachable you are.

Introduction

In your own style, thank your team for coming to the meeting. Let them know it’s great to see them and that today you will be going through a lighthearted team exercise together. Put your trust in the exercise.

Explain the exercise

• The group will take it in turns to show their photo and tell their story
• Each person will have two to three minutes to tell a positive/meaningful/funny story that their chosen photo reminds them of – time-boxing will ensure you get chance to hear from everyone
• Encourage the group to chat and ask questions throughout
• Ask for a volunteer time-keeper if you don’t already have one (see ‘be inclusive to those who would find this difficult’ below)

Run the exercise

• Ask for a volunteer to go first, if several people step up it’s a good idea to pick the least dominant person of those to start
• Ask the presenter to show their photo and tell their story
• Give your time-keeper a nod to start a timer, they can signal the speaker when they have 10 seconds left, they might not need to do this for everyone but it will help if you have people who like to talk
• If no questions or comments are forthcoming to the first presenter, lead the way and ask a lighthearted question
• At the end of each segment thank the volunteer and lead a round of applause for them
• Ask the next person to step up
• At some point – not the beginning and preferably not the end, you should tell your story, make sure you adhere to the same rules you have set for everyone else

Close the exercise

When everyone including yourself has done their show and tell, make a closing statement. This should include:

• Thanks to everyone for taking part and sharing their photos and their stories
• Thanks to volunteers who helped out with other tasks such as time-keeping and technical help
• Let them know what you particularly enjoyed about the exercise and ask if they enjoyed it
• Wish them a nice day

Be inclusive to those who would find this difficult

Some of your team members may be introverts, and this exercise could be their idea of hell. It’s important to recognize this and be sensitive to their needs as well as the needs of the wider group.

Here is some advice on how to deal with this, use this with caution, you really need to tailor this to your own personal situation:

• Take them to one side in advance, let them know that you’re planning this exercise, tell them everything about it and why you are doing it – be absolutely honest about how the exercise will go
• Ask them to have a think about if they are comfortable joining in, don’t push them to decide on the spot, but do ask them in advance of the meeting itself, if they are not comfortable let them know you will find another less stressful role for them in the meeting
• If they tell you they don’t want to present, let them know you still want them to be included, you can do this by asking them to take care of the timer, this will let them be an active part of it, and hopefully they can relax knowing they won’t have to get up and present
• Check in with them afterwards to enquire how they felt and if it was okay for them
• Ask them if looking back they would choose differently

What do you think?

Did you try the exercise, how did it go? I would love to hear about this in the comments. If you didn’t already get my free worksheet click here for your free download.

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Check out my detailed article about building an unbreakable team spirit in 2019. Inside you will find a case study about one of the most successful sports leaders in the world, Sir Alex Ferguson. In addition it contains guidance on the two aspects you should be focusing on for yourself and your team.