Tall Ships Building Effective Teams Complete Game Kit

Tall Ships is a highly engaging experiential exercise/learning game where the objective is to focus attention on the "Seven C’s", the key factors that define high-performing teams. The game challenges teams to race against the clock (and other teams) to build the tallest ship mast at the lowest cost. Players not only learn the skills behind the seven factors that research demonstrates are most critical to effective team performance; they will practice them long-term too.

How It Works

Tall Ships, an experiential learning activity, provides individuals with the opportunity to apply various team concepts and learn how to enhance team performance.

Teams representing imaginary companies have been selected by The Seven Seas Company to bid on a lucrative contract for designing and building a tall ship. Problem is, for any team to be awarded the winning bid, they must first demonstrate that they can successfully embody the Seven C's upon which The Seven Seas Company is founded:

• Clarity
• Capability
• Collaboration
• Commitment
• Communication
• Continuous improvement
• Creativity

Three game rounds reveal the team dynamics that impact team effectiveness.

Round I starts by asking teams to assemble the tallest ship mast possible in the least amount of time. Lessons learned from this round are discussed and applied to the Seven C's model.

Round II challenges teams to rethink their strategy and build yet a taller mast in the same amount of time, but at the lowest cost.

Round III allows teams to make one last attempt at the task, assembling the mast according to new specifications and requirements. Finally, an action-planning phase provides teams and team members with an opportunity to improve their performance.

Uses and Applications

Tall Ships helps team members experience the value of addressing critical team performance factors through a fun and engaging activity. It can be used as a stand-alone learning event or integrated into a longer team meeting, workshop, or larger training context. The design can be easily customised for specific learning needs and contexts and/or adapted to address topics such as:

• Leadership
• Change management
• Consolidations/mergers & acquisitions
• Quality awareness
• Process improvement
• Safety awareness

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, participants will: 

• Learn and practice the seven factors critical to effective teamwork
• Explore strategies to improve team performance
• Uncover how to identify and apply actions to real-life team situations