[This post is one of many sparked by Agile 2015.]
Somehow I ended up attending a lot of sessions related to Conflict at Agile2015. Back at home I offered a workshop to share 3 games / exercises with the wider company. I’ll share the games and our experiences with them in this and the next 2 posts.
First off is “What color is Conflict?” from Ellen Grove‘s workshop “Games for Learning about Conflict Resolution” (my favorite session of all of Agile 2015, BTW).
All you have to do is scatter a number of color swatches (pilfer paint samples from Home Depot?) on the table.
Each person has to pick the color that they associate with conflict. Then you go around the table and everyone explains why they picked their color. Even if most people pick red, they pick it for different reasons and those reasons are interesting.
This game is great for a new team that’s just starting out together, e.g. during a liftoff. It lets each team member know all the others’ attitudes towards conflict.
Thanks to Ellen for her inspiring workshop!
PS: I pondered conflict so much since Agile 2015 that conflict is now a different color to me than it used to be. Curious, eh?