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Mount Rushmore

Purpose

1. To introduce the topic of team-player behaviors.
2. To allow team members to talk about team-player behaviors in a nonthreatening way.
3. To identify an initial list of team-player behaviors.

Team Size

An intact team of up to twenty people.

Required Resources

1. A flip chart and markers.
2. Masking tape or push pins.
3. A picture of Mount Rushmore [optional].

Time

Thirty to forty-five minutes.

Room Setup

For a small, intact team: chairs around a table. For a larger group: clusters of tables and chairs around the room.

Design Steps

1. Introduce the activity by stating its purpose.
2. Ask if anyone has visited Mount Rushmore and/or can tell the team who are depicted there. Ask why those people are so honored.
3. Explain that the team is going to create its own Mount Rushmore. Each person should create a list of four people whom he or she regards as exceptional team players. The people selected may be from a wide range of groups including:
   • Famous people (dead or alive),
   • Sports figures (living or dead),
   • People the team members have know or worked with,
   • Current team members,
   • Members of the team members' families.
4. Ask the members to think about why they selected each person-what does/did this person do to be regarded as a good player?
5. Allow about five minutes for participants to compile their lists individually.
6. If the team is small, ask each person to present his or her list. Record the person's reasons for selection (behaviors) on the flip chart. If the group is large, have the members take a few minutes to share their lists in small groups, with one person taking notes on the reasons (behaviors). Then ask the recorder to report the lists while you write the behaviors on the flip chart.
7. Facilitate a brief discussion of each person's list, asking the following questions:
   • What strikes you about the list or what are your general impressions of it?
   • Are there any surprises?
   • What are the common themes?
8. Ask each of the participants to assess his or her performance as a team player in terms of the list. What are each person's strengths and where are improvements needed?

Variation

The videotape, Team Building II: What Makes a Good Team Player, may be shown in conjunction with this activity.

Reprinted from Glenn M. Parker, Cross-Functional Teams Tool Kit, Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 1997.