Welcome to My World
Welcome to My World fosters empathy and understanding by having team members visually represent each other's roles and responsibilities. This activity helps break down silos and promotes appreciation for diverse perspectives within an organization.
Use this method when you need to improve cross-functional collaboration, address misunderstandings between teams, or increase awareness of individual contributions to the overall organization.
Solves: Lack of understanding between teams, Siloed thinking, Miscommunication of roles and responsibilities
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Step 1: (5 min) Provide each participant with sticky notes, markers, and flip chart paper. Ask them to write one of their key job responsibilities on a sticky note and attach it to themselves.
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Step 2: (2 min) Instruct participants to mingle and pair up with someone whose job responsibility they are least familiar with or most curious about. If there's an odd number, the facilitator joins in.
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Step 3: (5-15 min) In pairs, have each person silently draw their interpretation of the other person's workflow related to the job responsibility. No questions or clarifications are allowed during this drawing phase.
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Step 4: (5 min) Each person shares their drawing with their partner, explaining their interpretation of the workflow.
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Step 5: (5-10 min) The pair discusses the drawings, clarifying any misunderstandings and agreeing on the realities of each other's work. Identify areas of ease, friction, and interaction with others. Add to the drawings as needed.
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Step 6: (10 min) Invite volunteers to share their visuals and insights with the larger group.
- Emphasize that artistic skill is not important; the focus is on understanding.
- Encourage participants to be open-minded and curious during the sharing and discussion phase.
- Instead of drawing, participants could use LEGO bricks or other physical materials to represent workflows.
- The activity could be adapted to focus on understanding different perspectives on a specific project or problem.