Daniela Schnagl-Vitak and Kristina Henry
Overview
The German Patent and Trademark Office, DPMA, had restructured its departments on a grand scale. The new units were spread over three corporate sites and were structured into different sections by subject matter. This meant that the new divisions were made up of on average 25 people who did not know or hardly knew each other, or who knew each other well and had in part already worked together in other groups. And it also meant that employees working in a new department were not necessarily located in close proximity to one another.
As a result, the workshop groups were made up of very different people. Sometimes there were only a few employees from an existing department, and sometimes groups of equal size from different backgrounds came together; some departments were completely new. The topic of “management” was repeated, as the departmental heads had in some cases not yet been appointed.
On the whole, the restructuring had been dealt with in a rather formal and functional way. Some employees approached the new developments in a very relaxed and engaged manner, but there was also a great deal of resistance.
Topic
The departments that had been restructured in this way were to be quickly brought into a properly, functional working state. Special attention was to be paid to cooperation at the crossover/interaction points.
Staging
a. Preparation
Three different courses were prepared, all with the same goal. When setting up each course, we paid attention to the balance between feasibility and challenge. Each course started at a place where the team could easily practice without being disturbed. There might be stairs, doors or obstacles on the way to the finish line. If special consideration was to be given to team cooperation, then we included a narrow section where two teams had to coordinate near the finish line. Courses of varying lengths and challenges were interesting because participants learned to think outside the box. Challenging others became a part of the overall departmental task.
b. Performance
The employees, who came from different divisions and different locations, were required to reach shared goals quickly and effectively. We staged the task as follows: “Pipeline is a learning project that allows you to experience the many facets of collaboration, with the focus on reaching the goal together. Each of the three teams will have their own path to get back here, to this destination, to put the ball in the round wooden box. The challenge is that there will be a 40-second window in which, from the ‘clunk’ of the first ball to the ‘clunk’ of the third ball, all three teams must pocket the ball. So we are not competing against each other; this is a team challenge that can only be solved through mutual coordination. To do so, each team will nominate an envoy. This person will organize the communication and coordination with the envoys of the other teams.
Transfer to the real World
| Elements in the learning project | Elements in the real world |
|---|---|
| Transfer of the ball | Crossover/interaction/contact points |
| Testing and using the material | How does the team approach tasks? Strategy and roles |
| Envoys | Communication with more remote parts of the team |
| Different routes | Various fields of activity |
| Arriving at the destination together | Align individual goals with shared goals |
In a moment, we will take you to the starting point of your course. But, before we do, here are a few pointers on how to use Pipeline (the rules can be found on the flip chart at any time):
• It is only allowed for the ball to roll forwards, it must not stand still nor be held.
• It is not allowed for the ball to fall to the floor.
• You are to hold the half-pipes openly in the palms of your hands.
• The person who has the half-pipe with the ball stands completely still.
• For each cycle, everyone in the team must have a go.
• The envoys are permitted to draw attention to compliance with the rules.
• We might ask the envoys to change teams.
Now please take some time to become familiar with the material. In about five minutes, we will begin Pipeline. Have fun!”
Reflection
The employees found out first-hand what it meant to act in unison. Initially, they concentrated on their own teams until they remembered that the goal was for all three teams to get the ball to the destination in a coordinated manner within the specified time frame.
Some of the topics that came to the fore during the subsequent reflection phase were:
• What is the mark of good collaboration at crossover points?
• How does the team work together?
• What form does coordination with the remote team members take?
• How did I experience my colleagues?
• How do we deal with restructuring?
During the “harvest” (an INWIA Consulting specialty) we reflected with the participants on what they had experienced and enabled them to transfer this experience to their respective areas of work. We harvested very specific insights and measures that were directly put into practice.
It was crucial for the next steps to be feasible and actually implemented. And we didn’t simply move on after each insight from the learning project, but continued to reflect and follow up so that the impact of each insight really resonated in the department.
This insight-harvest did the participants good. They could take what they had developed and experienced away with them and be proud of what they had achieved.
Conclusion
Pipeline is a tool that gets the participants playing an active role in which they experience first-hand how they work together. This fosters collaboration, regardless of whether the team members have already worked together a lot or have previously had little to do with each other.
It shows quite explicitly the strengths and weaknesses of the way they collaborate and enables such insights to be harvested when they are in an active and productive frame of mind. It also reveals impediments that need to be addressed and resolved in the next step. The harvest can be used for deep reflection and intensive transfer.