# Construction Game: Team Performance Four teams receive identical construction parts but unequal task briefs containing purpose only, roles only, both, or vague cheerleading. After building prototypes against a hidden client standard, groups debrief how clarity of goals and responsibilities drove their performance. **Time:** 50 minutes. Source specifies 45 to 55 minutes; 50 minutes fits the 20-minute build, small group analysis, and structured whole-room comparison. **People:** 20 to 24. Four parallel teams of 5 or 6 participants, plus 1 designated client role if group size permits. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Compare how variations in role clarity and goal clarity affect a team's execution, internal friction, and finished product. **Use it when:** Use during project kickoffs, leadership workshops, or operational reviews when teams struggle with ambiguous mandates or fuzzy job boundaries. **Skip it when:** Skip when you have fewer than 20 participants, lack identical building materials, or need a quick icebreaker under 45 minutes. ## Materials and tools - 4 identical building kits of approximately 200 parts each (such as Tinkertoys, wooden sticks with connectors, or interlocking plastic bricks) - 4 rulers or tape measures - 4 flipchart pads and 8 dark markers - 1 copy of Handout 1 for Team 1 - 1 copy of Handout 2 for Team 2 - 1 copy of Handout 3 for Team 3 - 1 copy of Handout 4 for Team 4 - 4 copies of the Debriefing Handout (one per team) - 1 countdown timer visible to the room - Scratch paper and pens for sketching ## Before participants arrive 1. Arrange four separate tables far enough apart so conversations cannot be overheard. 2. Place one building kit, one ruler, one flipchart pad, and two markers at each table. 3. Keep the four team instruction sheets face down until the timed build begins. ## Say this to open Welcome. Senior leadership has sponsored four independent project teams to create a prototype structure for a city client. You have 20 minutes to work only within your assigned team using the materials in your container. I will hand each team a briefing sheet. Do not discuss your brief with other teams. When the timer starts, open your brief and begin. ## How to run it ### 1. Set ground rules and assign teams (4 minutes) Divide participants into four teams of 5 to 6 people. If 21 or more participants are present, select one extra participant to act as the city client alongside the facilitator. Hand each team their specific brief face down: Team 1 receives Purpose only; Team 2 receives Roles only; Team 3 receives Purpose and Roles; Team 4 receives Cheerleading only. Explain the rules: work only with your team, use only kit materials, no inter-team talking. ### 2. Construct prototype towers (20 minutes) Start the 20-minute timer. Teams flip their handouts and build. Do not clarify missing briefing elements for any team; tell inquiring teams to interpret their written sheets as given. Stop all building immediately when the timer rings. Any hands touching structures must pull away. ### 3. Assess prototypes against criteria (4 minutes) Have the client or facilitator walk to each table with a ruler. Check the three baseline objectives: standing unassisted, completed in 20 minutes, and at least 24 inches tall. Note which structures met all three criteria without declaring a final winner yet. ### 4. Analyze internal team experience (7 minutes) Hand one copy of the Debriefing Questions to each team. Teams spend 7 minutes answering questions 1 through 4 on their flipchart: rate performance 1 to 10, list what worked, identify what they would change, and name missing information they needed. ### 5. Reveal briefings and compare across teams (10 minutes) Call attention to the room. In exact numerical order (Team 1, then 2, 3, 4), have each team present their flipchart ratings and missing information. Once each group presents, reveal to the whole room the specific briefing conditions given to that group. ### 6. Synthesize performance requirements (5 minutes) Facilitate a short discussion on question 5 from the debrief sheet. Ask the client to announce the best prototype based on beauty and stability, then record on a central flipchart the core elements teams require for high performance. ## Debrief questions - How did having clear goals without clear roles (Team 1) compare to having clear roles without clear goals (Team 2)? - Team 4, what happened inside your group when your only guidance was praise and high expectations? - Which missing element created the most hesitation or conflict: not knowing what success looked like, or not knowing who was supposed to do what? **Finished output:** Four finished physical prototypes measured against objective criteria, accompanied by four team-generated flipcharts identifying how information gaps impacted execution. ## Remote This exercise relies on physical tactile construction under identical supply constraints and cannot be run authentically as a simple video call discussion. For an online equivalent, run a digital wireframe or presentation-building challenge where four breakout rooms receive the four distinct briefing conditions (purpose only, roles only, both, cheerleading only) to assemble a 5-slide pitch deck within 20 minutes. ## Hybrid Hybrid delivery is not recommended because physical co-location is critical for hands-on construction. If required, place remote participants into an all-remote digital team competing against in-person physical teams, ensuring the remote team builds via a digital collaborative whiteboard while physical teams build with physical kits. ## Access and participation choices - Participants with limited physical dexterity or standing fatigue can take designated roles such as Architect, Project Manager, or Quality Inspector. - Any participant may choose to act as an observer taking field notes on team communication dynamics instead of direct building. ## If the session gets stuck **Team 4 becomes frustrated or feels set up to fail.** Acknowledge the frustration immediately during debrief. Validate that organizations frequently give teams inspiring cheerleading without actionable goals or authority, and use their reaction as direct evidence of that workplace hazard. **A team tries to spy on or copy another team's tower design.** Remind participants of the initial ground rule that project teams work independently. If sight lines allow copying, reposition flipchart stands as visual screens between tables. ## Terms used here - Prototype: A preliminary physical model built to evaluate a concept and test dimensions. - Structural Stability: The ability of a construction to stand upright on its own base without human support or leaning. ## Participant material: Team 1 Instruction Sheet TEAM 1 INSTRUCTIONS Background: Your project team is sponsored by senior company leaders. The company builds traditional structures like bridges, tunnels, and towers. The CEO formed this project team to explore state-of-the-art building concepts. Purpose: Your team is responsible for building a miniature prototype of a state-of-the-art tower which could ultimately be selected by the client to be built in the client's city. Objectives: The CEO will present four tower prototypes to the client. The performance objectives are: - The prototype must be structurally stable. It must stand alone without anyone touching it or leaning against any object. - Complete production in 20 minutes. There is no advantage to finishing early. - Build a prototype at least 24 inches in height. Height above 24 inches is not a performance objective. The client will evaluate based on: meeting stability, production time, and height requirements; unique structural beauty; and appealing complementary colors. ## Participant material: Team 2 Instruction Sheet TEAM 2 INSTRUCTIONS Background: Your project team is sponsored by senior company leaders. The company builds traditional structures like bridges, tunnels, and towers. The CEO formed this project team to explore state-of-the-art building concepts. Roles: - 1 Project Manager: Has overall authority for execution and logistics. Tracks time and makes final staffing decisions. - 1 Architect: Responsible for creative design vision. Sketches design on paper; meets with Project Lead and Construction Lead. Has final decision on height, color, and appearance. Does not handle actual construction. - 1 Structural Engineer: Ensures the prototype is structurally sound and stands alone. Periodically inspects work. Does not handle actual construction. - 1 Prototype Construction Lead: Manages builders to ensure work is completed on time. Can assist in building. Does not make creative design changes. - 1 or 2 Builders: Construct the prototype according to specifications. Do not make creative decisions or change design. ## Participant material: Team 3 Instruction Sheet TEAM 3 INSTRUCTIONS Background: Your project team is sponsored by senior company leaders. The company builds traditional structures like bridges, tunnels, and towers. The CEO formed this project team to explore state-of-the-art building concepts. Purpose: Your team is responsible for building a miniature prototype of a state-of-the-art tower which could ultimately be selected by the client to be built in the client's city. Objectives: The CEO will present four tower prototypes to the client. The performance objectives are: - The prototype must be structurally stable. It must stand alone without anyone touching it or leaning against any object. - Complete production in 20 minutes. There is no advantage to finishing early. - Build a prototype at least 24 inches in height. Height above 24 inches is not a performance objective. The client will evaluate based on: meeting stability, production time, and height requirements; unique structural beauty; and appealing complementary colors. Roles: - 1 Project Manager: Overall authority for execution and logistics. Tracks time and makes final staffing decisions. - 1 Architect: Responsible for creative design vision. Sketches design on paper; meets with Project Lead and Construction Lead. Final decision on height, color, and appearance. Does not handle construction. - 1 Structural Engineer: Ensures the prototype is structurally sound and stands alone. Periodically inspects. Does not handle construction. - 1 Prototype Construction Lead: Manages builders to complete on time. Can assist in building. Does not make creative changes. - 1 or 2 Builders: Construct prototype to specifications. Do not make creative decisions. ## Participant material: Team 4 Instruction Sheet TEAM 4 INSTRUCTIONS Background: Your project team is sponsored by senior company leaders. The company builds traditional structures like bridges, tunnels, and towers. The CEO formed this project team to explore state-of-the-art building concepts. Message: The company's senior leaders say: 'We are expecting the best from you. We've picked the best people to be on your team. Good luck!' ## Participant material: Team Debriefing Questions DEBRIEFING QUESTIONS Discuss and record your team's consensus answers on your flipchart sheet: 1. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 lowest, 10 highest), rate your team's overall performance. 2. What worked well within your team? 3. What could your team have done differently? 4. What information did your team need, but not have? How would that information have helped? 5. What common elements need to be in place for any team to succeed? ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Thiagi GameLetter, July 2008 ('Construction Game: Team Performance' by Christopher Hunter). Published by The Thiagi Group. Retained Christopher Hunter's original four-treatment simulation design, roles, 20-minute build window, and debrief sequence from Thiagi GameLetter (July 2008). Added explicit step-by-step facilitation timings totaling exactly 50 minutes, standardized participant materials, troubleshooting tactics, and remote/hybrid guidance. UWT adapted staffing to the stated team size: the four named specialist/lead roles are joined by one builder in a five-person team or two builders in a six-person team. The construction lead may assist with building as the role card already permits. [The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/july2008.html) [The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/july2008.html) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/tgl-july-2008/