Finding Swing Workshop

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Assess an intact team across five collaboration dimensions and produce agreed behavioral commitments for daily work.

Use it when: Use with an intact working team of 8 to 16 people seeking to align on coordination norms, recover from friction, or improve handoffs.

Skip it when: Skip for newly gathered cohorts with no shared workflow, or during active disciplinary investigations where public score reflection is unsafe.

Group arrangement: Whole-room plenary combined with small groups of 3 to 5 people for scenario analysis.

Timing: Matches the 120-minute source run time across six structured phases.

Materials and tools

• Printed Finding Swing Framework handout (1 per participant)
• Printed Swing Assessment Cards (1 set of 5 cards per participant)
• Printed Boat Challenge Scenario Cards (1 per small group)
• Printed Team Commitment Charter poster or large flipchart template (1 for the room)
• Sticky notes (3 per participant, single neutral color)
• Pens (1 per participant)
• Flipchart easel, blank flipchart paper pads, and markers
• Dot stickers for voting (2 per participant: 1 for blocker, 1 for builder)
• Masking tape

Before participants arrive

1. Draw 5 vertical columns on a flipchart sheet labeled Trust, Ego Surrender, Shared Rhythm, Willingness to Sacrifice, and Honest Communication.
2. Prepare two adjacent flipchart sheets titled Swing Blockers and Swing Builders.
3. Post the blank Team Commitment Charter template on a wall or easel.
4. Place 1 framework handout, 1 set of assessment cards, 3 sticky notes, and a pen at each seat.

Say this to open

In 1936, nine working-class young men from the American West rowed together to win Olympic gold against elite crews. They relied on a state rowers call swing. Swing happens when crew members stop acting as separate individuals and pull together so smoothly that the boat lifts and glides with less drag. Swing cannot be forced by raw effort alone. It appears when individual ego yields to trust and shared rhythm. Take thirty seconds of quiet reflection to recall a moment when our team felt in swing and work clicked. We will hear from three or four volunteers before we assess our current baseline.

How to run it

1. Introduce Swing and Past Moments 10 minutes

   Speak the opening script. Give the room 30 seconds of quiet reflection. Invite 3 or 4 volunteers to share brief examples of times the team felt in sync. Stop after 4 shares to preserve the schedule.

2. Examine the Five Dimensions 15 minutes

   Present the 5 dimensions on the framework handout: Trust, Ego Surrender, Shared Rhythm, Willingness to Sacrifice, and Honest Communication. Give participants 2 minutes to read the self-checks silently. Run a quick show of hands: ask who sees opportunity for team growth in at least 2 dimensions.

3. Rate Dimensions and Map Scores 25 minutes

   Ask participants to score the team silently from 1 to 10 on each card for 8 minutes. Writing notes is optional. On count of three for each dimension, participants call out or hold up their score. Record all numbers in the flipchart columns. Calculate the range and rough median. Where numbers diverge by more than 3 points, invite neutral observations about the differing experiences without debate.

4. Analyze Boat Challenge Scenarios 25 minutes

   Divide participants into small groups of 3 to 5. Give each group 1 Scenario Card. Groups review the situation and discuss remedies for 12 minutes. Bring the room back together. Give each group up to 3 minutes to present their scenario and one clear practice that would help the crew regain swing.

5. Map Swing Blockers and Builders 20 minutes

   Select the dimension with the lowest score or widest variation. Give participants 4 minutes to write up to 3 sticky notes: 1 workflow blocker, 1 existing builder, and 1 untried helpful action. Each person takes up to 30 seconds to post and read their notes. Group related notes into clusters. Give everyone 2 dot stickers to mark the most urgent blocker and strongest builder.

6. Build Team Charter and Confirm Next Steps 25 minutes

   Take the top-voted dimension and draft the Team Commitment Charter on the wall template. Agree on 1 start behavior, 1 stop behavior, 1 continue behavior, observable indicators of progress, a check-in date 3 to 4 weeks away, and a meeting owner. Participants who wish to do so sign or initial the charter to close the session.

Debrief questions

• Looking at our numeric score variation, where did our daily experiences diverge the most, and why?
• What specific operational obstacle makes our chosen focus dimension hardest to protect during high workload?
• What is the first observable sign within the next 7 days that will show our team is using the new charter agreement?

Finished output: A completed Team Commitment Charter detailing specific start, stop, and continue behaviors, observable indicators of progress, an accountability owner, and a review date 3 to 4 weeks out.

Remote

Use video conferencing and an online collaboration whiteboard. Complete steps 1 and 2 in plenary. In Step 3, participants submit numerical scores into an anonymous digital form or a hidden board column, and the facilitator tallies the range and average on screen. Form breakout rooms of 3 to 5 people for Step 4 using digital scenario cards. In Step 5, post virtual sticky notes on Blocker and Builder columns, cluster them, and use digital voting stamps. In Step 6, write the charter together on the digital whiteboard. Team members can type their name or initial the document if they choose.

Hybrid

Keep whole-room scoring visible on a shared digital board projected in the room. Remote participants submit scores and sticky notes directly to the digital board while in-person participants post physical cards that a designated co-facilitator mirrors online. For Step 4, place remote attendees in their own breakout group while in-person attendees form room pods. Ensure plenary microphone coverage so remote speakers are heard clearly during step debriefs.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may pass during verbal sharing rounds or submit written notes to the facilitator to read aloud anonymously.
• Scoring and note submission can be done privately without public defense.
• Signing or initialing the final charter is voluntary; participants may choose to observe without adding their signature.

If the session gets stuck

Participants score the team unrealistically high across all categories to avoid awkward conversations.

Remind the room that polite scoring conceals friction. Ask: 'What would an honest partner or customer say is our biggest friction point right now?'

Sticky notes contain complaints aimed at specific people instead of team workflows.

Intervene immediately and rephrase the comment into an operational habit. Ask: 'What shared ground rule or handoff standard would resolve this pattern across the whole team?'

Terms used here

• Swing: In rowing, the state where crew members pull together in total rhythm, allowing the boat to glide smoothly with minimal resistance.
• Coxswain: The crew member who steers the boat, sets the stroke cadence, and gives direct, unvarnished feedback on alignment.