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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Kotter Groups
Relationship Mapping

Kotter Groups

Quick and dirty small group work. Reinforce/foster discussion around materials presented in presentations. Promote engagement. Accelerate micro-education or assignment.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25), Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
BalancedENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
Medium cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Network Design This relationship mapping exercise strengthens Network Design, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. When all participants are gathered together, ask them to join their assigned people science teams or turn to one another to form groups of 3 or 4 optimal for small discussions
  2. They are given an assignment and discuss what they just heard, what they want to hear, what questions they desire, etc
  3. Be sure to have participants introduce each other before focusing on the content!
  4. It can be helpful to explain that these groups were named after the famed John Kotter
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

When all participants are gathered together, ask them to join their assigned people science teams or turn to one another to form groups of 3 or 4 optimal for small discussions

They are given an assignment and discuss what they just heard, what they want to hear, what questions they desire, etc

Be sure to have participants introduce each other before focusing on the content!

It can be helpful to explain that these groups were named after the famed John Kotter

Run this with your AI assistant +

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

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Kotter Groups. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: When all participants are gathered together, ask them to join their assigned people science teams or turn to one another to form groups of 3 or 4 optimal for small discussions; They are given an assignment and discuss what they just heard, what they want to hear, what questions they desire, etc; Be sure to have participants introduce each other before focusing on the content!; It can be helpful to explain that these groups were named after the famed John Kotter. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Relationship Makers Handbook; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Relationship Makers Handbook.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with