AFS

Working Together at a Distance

Completion of Menu Choices Review “What’s For Lunch” menu Make and mark your choices - 1 for

each section Your goal is to get the group to which

you are assigned to select the lunch choices you have marked.

Rules for the Exercise Your assignment is to select a group

menu for lunch, through whatever process The Boss determines.

While selecting this menu, each of you is required to work and negotiate diligently to get your personal menu choice selected. Do not wimp out.

The individuals who were split off are still part of their Headquarters (HQ) group for this exercise; they are not a group of their own.

Members of the HQ group cannot physically go visit members of the field groups, nor may members of the field groups visit the HQ group.

Other methods of communication (paper airplanes, yelling, using the facilitator as a fax machine) are acceptable.

Timeframe will not be provided now, but you will be informed as the deadline approaches.

Time Check

You have 5 minutes left.

Time Check

You have 2 minutes left.

Time Check

You have 1 minute left.

Questions To what extent did you feel like

you were part of the decision making process of your group?

What happened, or didn’t happen, to make you feel that way?

Side Effects of Organizational Complexity Tension between “headquarters” and

“outposted” team members Depersonalized leadership Fragmented understanding Inefficient project work and teamwork Growing subservience to paperwork Individual agendas flourish

“Distance”

Physical Hierarchical Temporal Psychological

Group Analysis Share the situations you wrote on

your cards with the other members of your group.

Select one current situation or to discuss as a group.

Discussion Questions When thinking about the people

involved in the situation, what are the feelings and attitudes that result from “distance”?

What could you do differently to address the “distance” issues and improve the situation?