Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 14d99f115125376c0542998344eb786a096e76fac095bf33c4c44f2e51084ffd

# Ducks in a Row

Participants assign shared values or working agreements to rubber ducks, decorate them as visual tokens, and position them relative to a baseline to assess current group habits.

**Time:** 25 minutes. Playmeo notes 15 to 20 minutes; set to 25 minutes to allow realistic small group reporting and whole-room debrief across up to 24 participants.
**People:** 4 to 24. Table groups of 4 to 6 people. For 4 to 7 participants, work as one whole room. For larger groups, divide into tables of 4 to 6 (for instance, 13 divides into 4, 4, and 5).

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Compare agreed working standards against observed day-to-day team performance using a tactile scale.
**Use it when:** Continuous improvement reviews, retrospectives, or quarterly check-ins where a group wants to evaluate how daily practices match established norms.
**Skip it when:** When the team has no established shared values yet, or when team conflict is severe enough that visible ratings will trigger retaliation.

## Materials and tools

- 4 to 6 standard rubber ducks per small group
- Assorted craft supplies (permanent markers, sticky notes, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, scrap cloth)
- One roll of masking tape for baseline table lines
- Index cards and pens for each table

## Before participants arrive

1. Tape a straight baseline across each team table.
2. Place 4 to 6 rubber ducks, craft items, index cards, and pens on each table.
3. Display the team existing list of agreed values or behavioral norms on a central board where all can read them.

## Say this to open

We often say we want to get our ducks in a row. Today we will test that literally against our agreed team values. Each table has rubber ducks. Your team will turn each duck into a visual symbol for one of our core values, set them on your baseline tape, and then adjust their positions based on how we are actually performing right now.

## How to run it

### 1. Assign and decorate values (6 minutes)

Form tables of 4 to 6 people, or stay as one group if 7 or fewer participants. Pick 4 to 6 agreed values or working norms from the existing list, matching the number of ducks provided to your group. Decorate one duck for each value using markers, cloth, or sticky labels so everyone recognizes what standard it represents. For example, draw a hard hat on a duck for safety, or a stopwatch for responsiveness.

### 2. Set the baseline line (3 minutes)

Direct groups to line all their decorated ducks along the masking tape line, facing the same direction. Placing every duck directly on the tape represents meeting that standard consistently.

### 3. Adjust positions to reality (6 minutes)

Ask the table to evaluate current daily habits. Move any duck forward, backward, or away from the tape line based on current performance. If the team excels at a value, slide that duck ahead. If the group struggles with a value, pull that duck behind the line or turn it sideways. Aim for team consensus on placements. If participants hold differing views, place the duck at the compromise point and write both views on an index card next to it.

### 4. Report alignment across groups (5 minutes)

Invite one spokesperson from each table to share exactly one sentence naming which duck sits furthest behind their baseline and one specific action they will take to realign it. Keep sharing strictly to one turn per table so all groups report within five minutes.

### 5. Whole-room debrief (5 minutes)

Facilitate a brief whole-room reflection using the debrief questions. Invite up to three participants to respond to question one, then up to three participants to respond to question two.


## Debrief questions

- Which duck moved furthest out of line, and what specific habit caused that drift?
- What is one concrete change that will bring your lowest duck back to the baseline?

**Finished output:** A physical line of value ducks showing assessed group performance and one documented action commitment per table written on an index card.

## Remote

Use a digital whiteboard with pre-loaded duck icons labeled with the team values along a horizontal baseline. Breakout rooms discuss their norms, drag ducks above or below the line, and add sticky notes explaining each position before returning to share in the main room.

## Hybrid

In-person participants position physical ducks on a baseline table. The facilitator designates one in-person volunteer per table to mirror duck movements on a shared digital whiteboard. Remote participants view the whiteboard, suggest adjustments via audio or chat, and co-write the action card.

## Access and participation choices

- Provide sticky notes and pre-cut card tags for participants who prefer writing over sketching or crafting.
- Participants may contribute ideas verbally or in chat without handling materials.
- Anyone may choose to observe the positioning discussion without being forced to state a personal rating.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants spend all their time crafting intricate decorations and run out of time for the evaluation.**

Remind participants at the three-minute mark of the six-minute crafting step that quick marker sketches, tags, or simple rubber bands are sufficient.

**The group argues over whether a duck is performing well or poorly and reaches an impasse.**

Place the duck on the line and write both viewpoints on an index card beside it, then move to the next duck.


## Terms used here

- Ducks in a row: An idiom meaning to organize tasks, standards, or elements cleanly and effectively.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in the Playmeo activity database, credited to Mark Collard (2022).

Retained the core Playmeo mechanic of decorating ducks to embody values and arranging them in a row to reflect performance. UWT added explicit group sizing for all counts up to 24, expanded total duration to 25 minutes with dedicated reporting and debrief steps, aligned the value selection count to the physical ducks provided, defined designated hybrid tech mirroring, and clarified consensus impasse handling.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/health-wellbeing/ducks-in-a-row/)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/health-wellbeing/ducks-in-a-row)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/continuous-improvement-activity-for-team-growth-ducks-in-a-row/