The Spider Web

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Map visible interpersonal and functional connections across a group using physical string or a digital node chart.

Use it when: Cohort kickoffs, cross-functional project launches, or team retreats to show shared background, mutual support, and operational dependencies.

Skip it when: Groups where physical catching or tossing poses acute discomfort, or newly formed teams with zero shared operational context or common history.

Group arrangement: Whole-room circle, passing turns sequentially across the room.

Timing: Source specifies 20 to 40 minutes for 8 to 30 people. Suggested UWT baseline is 20 minutes for up to 24 participants.

Materials and tools

• 1 ball of yarn, thread, or thin cord (at least 50 meters)
• Scissors (for safe disassembly at the end)
• 1 flipchart or whiteboard with chosen prompt written visibly
• External wide-angle camera (for hybrid setup)
• Shared online collaborative whiteboard (for remote and hybrid setups)

Before participants arrive

1. Clear chairs and tables to form an open circle where all participants face inward with unobstructed lines of sight.
2. Write the chosen prompt on the flipchart so everyone can read it clearly.
3. For remote or hybrid delivery, create an online board with labeled name tags for each participant positioned around a central circle.

Say this to open

We are going to build a physical network that shows how our work and backgrounds connect. I will start with this ball of yarn. I will hold the loose end, answer the prompt on the board, name the person I am tossing to, make eye contact, and gently toss or roll the ball to them. When you catch it, hold onto your strand, keep it gently taut, state your connection, and toss the ball to someone who has not received it yet.

How to run it

1. Introduce prompt and rules 3 minutes

   Explain the mechanics and point to the prompt on the flipchart. Clarify safety norms: toss gently underhand, check that the receiver is ready with hands up, and keep a light grip on your piece of yarn without wrapping it around fingers.

2. Pass the yarn and weave the web 10 minutes

   The first speaker holds the yarn end, names the recipient, and answers the prompt. For example: 'I pass to Sarah because we both support client onboarding.' The receiver grasps their section, states their connection, and tosses to someone who has not held the ball yet. Repeat until every person holds at least one strand. The last person tosses the ball back to the facilitator to close the loop.

3. Test network tension 2 minutes

   Ask everyone to hold their strand at waist height. Direct one volunteer to gently raise their hand two inches, then lower it. Ask the group who felt that movement. Invite another volunteer across the circle to gently tug their strand so the group observes how tension travels across the interconnected strings.

4. Reflect and disassemble 5 minutes

   Facilitate a short debrief using the questions below while participants observe the web. Take two or three observations from the room. To conclude, ask participants to lay their strands gently on the floor in the center, or use scissors to snip sections for tidy cleanup without knotting.

Debrief questions

• What did you notice about where the strands clustered or spread out across our circle?
• When one person moved their string, how did that impact the people around and across from them?
• What does this physical network suggest about how information or stress travels across our actual team?

Finished output: A visible geometric web of yarn connecting all participants, followed by an agreed list of group interdependencies noted during debrief.

Remote

Use a shared online collaborative whiteboard pre-populated with circular name tags for each participant arranged in an open circle. The facilitator starts by holding virtual focus, answering the prompt, naming a recipient, and drawing a connector arrow from their node to that recipient's node. The recipient answers next and draws an arrow to an unconnected participant. Turns continue until every participant is connected into the continuous loop, finishing with the last person drawing a line back to the facilitator.

Hybrid

Run the physical web in the room with an external wide-angle camera framing the circle. Display the shared online collaborative whiteboard on the room screen. Pair each remote participant with an in-person partner. When a remote person's turn is called, they speak their answer via room audio, and their in-person buddy catches, holds, and tosses the physical yarn on their behalf while drawing the matching digital line on the online whiteboard so remote participants see the web emerge in real time.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may roll the ball across the floor or have an adjacent peer hand the yarn across instead of catching a flying toss.
• Any participant may pass on personal disclosure by naming an operational connection, such as working in the same department or timezone, or by passing the ball directly with a simple handoff.

If the session gets stuck

The yarn gets tangled or pulled too tight, making it hard to hold.

Pause the toss. Ask everyone to step forward half a step to release tension, and remind people to pinch the string loosely rather than winding it around fingers.

Participants repeat passes to familiar colleagues, leaving others out.

Remind the group that the ball must go to someone who has not yet received a strand until everyone holds at least one piece.

Terms used here

• Node: An individual point or person in a network diagram where connection lines meet.