Team Dynamics Thumball

Look under your thumb and share your reaction to whatever prompt lies beneath it. Thumball™ is a soft 6" stuffed ball with loads of applications!

The Team Dynamics Thumball looks like a cool soccer ball and has 32 panels pre-printed with cogent phrases suited for adults and teens. 

Teams are everywhere – at work, at home, at school, on and off playing fields. From board rooms to church basements, we're thrown together with people we may or may not know well, and are challenged to achieve great results. Is your team performing to the max? How do you support each other? How do you develop consensus and manage disagreements? Team Dynamics Thumball is a playful way to raise these critical questions so that your teams can reach their full potential.

1. Use Team Dynamics Thumball to stimulate conversation, promote team spirit, and boost flagging energy.
    
   
   
   
   Team Dynamics Thumball prompts:
   1. What's the best thing about being on a team?
   2. What's most challenging about being on our team?
   3. What inhibits trust in our team?
   4. How do we build trust among team members?
   5. How can we make sure everyone feels heard?
   6. How do we make everyone feel included?
   7. How do we show respect for one another?
   8. How can we ensure we don't duplicate efforts?
   9. How do we gain commitment?
   10. What if someone isn't pulling their weight?
   11. How should we manage disagreements?
   12. Give an example of a goal we are all working towards
   13. How can we prevent negative energy from bringing us down?
   14. How do we celebrate success?
   15. What happens if we admit mistakes to each other?
   16. Give an example of a mistake we learned from.
   17. How can we better support each other?
   18. How do we show respect each other's role in the team?
   19. When was the last time we had constructive conflict?
   20. How do we check that we are working to the same goal?
   21. How might we show appreciation of good work done?
   22. How can we make our meetings more positive and productive?
   23. Is our team good at solving problems?
   24. Do we share our own weaknesses with each other? Why?
   25. How can we inspire each other to achieve our goal?
   26. Do you consider yourself a good team player? Why?
   27. What teams are you a part of in your life?
   28. What's been your most positive team experience?
   29. How should we develop consensus?
   30. How does our communication speed or slow our process?
   31. How do we balance individual and team success?
   32. What de-motivates our team?
   
   ©Trainers Warehouse – Trainers Warehouse holds the copyright for this set of questions. Reproductions cannot be made without express approval.

[NOTE: Silver Series Conversation Prompts are available as Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! Pocket & Deck, and Virtual/Remote PPT.]

** TIPS **

FACILITATION Suggestions

EXPLAIN HOW IT WORKS: Someone throws the ball, another catches it and responds to the prompt under their thumb.

FACILITATION TIP 1:  SET EXPECTATIONS AND EXPLAIN CLEARLY

In order to achieve greatness, sometimes teams need to take a step back and reflect on their relationships, communication, and their process of working together.

Tailor your Thumball game to meet your needs:

• • Option 1: Have each player respond only to the prompt under their thumb, then toss the ball to another.
  • Option 2: After the first player has responded to their prompt, invite others to share their perspective or discuss ways they could work together more effectively.

FACILITATION TIP 2:  SET GROUND RULES

Explain that conversations about team dynamics can become emotionally charged. The goal of the Team Dynamics Thumball activity is to raise i