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Published January 16, 2023 at 09:00 AM

Problem Solving Meeting Agenda: 4 Effective Steps to Conduct a Problem Solving Session

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Ted Skinner a Rhythm Consultant

One of the easiest changes to your meeting is to attempt to solve at least one problem per week. Not just any problem, you should pick the most important problem facing your team each and every week. Think of all of the additional productivity you, your team, and your company could gain if you were able to put the team together and solve at least one problem per week. That’s an additional 52 problems you could solve each and every year, clearly putting you on the path to out-execute your competition and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

At Rhythm Systems, our business KPI and OKR dashboards allow you to quickly and easily find the most important problems each week to solve. Since all of our key performance indicators (KPIs) and projects (Quarterly Priorities) have clear Red, Yellow, Green success criteria and are updated weekly by the owner, the team has a clear visual indicator of the business problems they are facing. Our clients can easily determine where there are problems, find the most important ones (as all KPIs and priorities/OKRs are ranked in order of importance), and brainstorm together on how to get back on track during their weekly adjustment meetings. 

As you can see in our KPI dashboard below, we have a clear issue with our sales pipeline - a leading indicator for revenue. As this is a leading indicator, it helps the team predict revenue in the future; it gives us the added bonus of fixing the revenue problem BEFORE it shows up in the bottom line. To take your KPIs to the next level, follow these  five tips to make sure your team is tracking the right KPIs - both leading and results indicators - successfully.  It is extremely important to define the problem properly, so that you can get to the root cause of the issue.

Now that you have identified the problem to focus on, you can work deeply on the problem until you are able to devise and execute a complete game plan to solve it. If you follow our problem-solving meeting template below, you'll have the proper meeting agenda to help you break through any challenges you face. Use this as a primary agenda, but remember to allow team members to add an agenda item.

4-Step Process for a Problem Solving Meeting Agenda with This Problem-Solving Session Template (or Agenda).

Step One: List and brainstorm every potential cause for the problem or challenge.

• We want to make sure that we solve any structural issues first. These might be open sales positions, known bugs in the software, issues with a supplier - internal or external, known production issues, and those types of challenges. Do we have a standard and complete understanding of the problem? Is the meeting goal clear to everyone? This root cause analysis is an essential part of the process. If you don't find the root of the problem, it will feel like groundhog day as you'll solve the symptoms repeatedly.

Step Two: Brainstorm possible resources to help.

• During this step, think of the people and resources that might help you solve the problem. Are the resources in the room? Are they in the company? What are the budget constraints for a solution? In the sales pipeline example, the sales and marketing leader would likely need to be involved in solving the issue. This is critical to group problem solving: knowing where to get the necessary resources. You'll need to think of resources that might be outside the room. There needs to be a shared understanding of the root cause of the issue and all possible solutions to solve the problem.

Step Three: List and brainstorm every potential solution or approach.

• Think of as many ideas as you can. You might list an email blast to all of your prospects, a sales promotion to help with a sales pipeline issue, contracting an outside expert for search engine optimization, investing in more outbound sales representatives to schedule more meetings, and any other potential approach that is likely to solve the problem. This is where the team comes to a final decision on the recommended course of action or potentially two teams trying two different approaches.

Step Four: Recommendation for action.

• Discuss, Debate, and Agree on the course of action and execute against that plan. Discuss the plans entirely with the person who suggested them, taking the lead to explain their approach to the solution. Allow the team to debate the positive and negative merits of the proposal and repeat the process until all ideas have been presented. The team should be able to reach a consensus on the best course of action. Now the team can agree on the most likely solution (or two - if they are different resources) and create a game plan to execute against. Make sure that everybody on the team can answer the question "what is my role in the solution?"  This action planning process ensures that you have an execution plan to solve the problem.

Move forward with your action plan and keep a constant and deliberate eye on your metrics and KPIs. If that isn't doing enough to move the needle to correct the problem, run through the process again, and determine additional steps to take to alleviate the issue. Keep working until you solve the problem. You can read more about different applications for the process  here  and download our free and handy Breakthrough to Green tool  here .   

However, many of you reading this post don't have a business dashboard solution already, so what can you do?  

• Ask for any issues from the team when setting the agenda for your weekly meeting.
• If you are a manager, bring one of your problems to your team to have them help solve it with you. Making yourself human and vulnerable will encourage them to do the same with any issues they face.
• Work on solving problems, rather than placing blame, when discussing issues. Creating a safe environment for healthy discussions about things that are off track is crucial in solving problems in your business.
• Monitor your KPIs weekly and make sure significant projects get frequent (and honest) updates. If you wait too long between updates, you lose the ability to make the necessary adjustments if issues arise.
• Create a shared spreadsheet to start tracking your most important metrics and projects as a place to start. However, you might find that you'll  outgrow your spreadsheet  quickly; it is a place to get started and organize your thoughts.  
• You're likely to have conflicting opinions, so ensure you set the proper ground rules for conduct and respect.
• Creative problem-solving isn't an event; it is a state of mind. You might not get it 100% right the first time, but with this problem-solving framework, you'll have the correct process to get to the desired solution.

Good luck taking your weekly staff meetings back and making them more productive! Download the free Breakthrough to Green tool to help you properly frame your problem and create an action plan to solve it. Thousands of teams have used this problem-solving process and can help yours too!

Additional Rhythm Systems Weekly Staff Meeting Resources:

How To Have Effective Weekly Staff Meetings (With Sample Agenda Template)

4 Easy Steps to Fix Your Weekly Staff Meetings [Video]

Download our weekly meeting agenda

Supercharge Your Meetings with This Effective Weekly Meeting Agenda

8 Ways to Make Weekly Meetings Strategic vs. Tactical (Video)

Weekly Adjustment Meetings vs. Weekly Status Meetings (Infographic)

Consider using   Rhythm Software to run your weekly meeting , where the status and agenda are automatically created weekly to keep you on track!

Photo Credit:   iStock  by Getty Images 

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Using week in sync notes to solve problems and drive alignment, how to fix a meeting in 4 easy steps [agenda and video], how to gain control of your free time, 5 highly effective strategies for better team meetings [infographic].

How to Crack the Code of Your Problems with a Problem-Solving Meeting?

Maisha Abedin

Hey, it’s Maisha! I enjoy crafting stories and producing content that adds value to readers. Outside of work, you will either find me capturing the beauty in the mundane or daydreaming about the perfect lasagna!

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Imagine a scenario where your car broke down unexpectedly. Stranded and frustrated, you call a few friends. Together, you identify the problem, come up with a solution, and get back on the road. This is the essence of a problem-solving meeting at work.

When an issue arises, whether it’s a tight deadline, a project bottleneck, or a team conflict, it’s like that car breaking down. The situation is unsettling and stressful. But instead of facing it alone, you can bring your team together to tackle the problem head-on with a problem-solving meeting .

In this article, we’ll show you how you can utilize problem-solving sessions to engage your team, streamline discussions, and achieve real solutions.

Stay with us—you’ll find this incredibly useful!

What is a Problem-Solving Meeting?

A problem-solving meeting is like a team huddle where everyone comes together to tackle a tough puzzle. Whether it’s a big problem affecting the whole company or a smaller hiccup in a project, these types of meetings are all about finding answers.

Consider it a brainstorming session mixed with a strategy game plan. The goal? To figure out what’s going wrong, toss around ideas, and decide on the best way forward.

What is an Example of a Problem-Solving Meeting in the Workplace?

A perfect example of a problem-solving session would be a scenario where a company’s marketing team notices a sudden drop in website traffic, resulting in a decline in sales. To tackle this, they decided to have a problem-solving meeting.

The team members gather to identify the root of the problem. They look at recent website changes, marketing strategies, and competitor activities. In order to resolve the issue, they brainstorm ideas such as better website optimization and targeted ads.

They pick a plan, assign tasks, set deadlines, and plan how to measure progress. Feeling positive, they leave the meeting with a clear plan and are ready to act. This is how a problem-solving meeting unfolds!

Who Would Benefit from a Problem-Solving Meeting?

The purpose of problem-solving meetings is to fix problems preventing the team from accomplishing its goals. Meetings in this format are led by a leader/project manager . This person usually knows a lot about the issue or is responsible for fixing it.

The team includes members who know how the problem started and those who will be affected by the solution. When everyone has heard each other’s ideas, they can collectively come up with the best solution.

A Fail-Proof Problem-Solving Meeting Agenda

Here’s a ready-to-use agenda for your next problem-solving meeting. Customize it as needed to match the unique requirements of your company and the specific challenge you’re facing.

Best Practices to Hold a Successful Problem-Solving Meeting

Now that you have a perfect problem-solving meeting agenda ready, integrate it with the best practices for the most effective approach to any challenge.

Keep it Small and Focused

Only invite the key people directly involved or affected by the problem. Getting the right people in the room makes it easier for everyone to speak up and stay on track, avoiding unnecessary distractions.

FluentBooking can help you to keep the meeting focused by inviting only those directly involved or impacted by the issue.

Make Sure Everyone Participates

Set some ground rules at the start so everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts. Assign someone to jot down notes so you don’t repeat yourselves and can keep track of everyone’s input. If possible, bring in a facilitator to guide your problem-solving meeting, ensuring practical and impactful solutions are developed.

Decide on the Best Solution Collaboratively

Have a problem-solving meeting where every team member is looking forward to throwing out ideas. Then, compare them to see which ones make the most sense and are feasible. Talk it out until you all agree on the best way forward. Take into account the pros and cons of each option and make sure everyone’s voice is heard.

Keep Your Focus Outward

Remember, you’re here to solve a problem, not create new ones among yourselves. Stay focused on helping someone outside the meeting, whether it’s a customer, a colleague, or the company as a whole. Groups focusing on solving an outside problem stay united and productive. They see ideas as helpful, not personal attacks. This reduces defensiveness, making it easier to work together and improve ideas.

Be Clear about Tasks

Make sure everyone knows what they need to do after the meeting. Keep it simple and practical, with clear deadlines and responsibilities. Know what’s expected of you, what you expect from your team, and how the meeting will go down. This helps everyone work together smoothly and reduces confusion.

Follow Up and Keep Track

After the meeting, make sure everyone knows what they need to do next. Keep track of what was decided and check in later to see how things are going. Verify that progress is made towards solving the problem.

Transform Your Troubles into Triumphs!

Ever heard the saying, “a well-oiled machine”? Well, think of your problem-solving meeting as just that! It’s like the well-oiled engine that drives your team toward solutions. 

A problem-solving meeting with a well-organized agenda will keep everyone on track and ensure your meetings lead to real solutions. By sticking to a clear plan and using the smart practices discussed above, your team can tackle challenges effectively and keep improving. 

So, get ready with a solid agenda and turn your problem-solving sessions into engines of progress!

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How to Conduct a Problem Solving Meeting + Free Agenda

In any business, problems and challenges are inevitable. To address these issues efficiently, conducting an effective problem solving meeting is crucial. Such meetings provide a platform for individuals or teams to collectively analyse issues, generate ideas, and make informed decisions to find effective solutions. However, conducting a problem solving meeting requires careful planning, facilitation, and an agenda that guides the discussions.

In this guide, we will explore the key steps and strategies for conducting a successful problem-solving meeting. Additionally, we provide a free agenda template that can be customised to suit your specific needs. By following these guidelines, you can foster a collaborative environment, maximise creativity, and ensure the resolution of the identified problems. Let's dive in and learn how to conduct a problem solving meeting that drives results.

What is a problem solving meeting?

A problem-solving meeting is a gathering of individuals or teams aimed at identifying, analysing, and finding solutions to specific challenges or issues. This could be business-wide or focused on a specific project. The purpose of such meetings is to collectively address problems, generate ideas, and make decisions to resolve the identified issues.

Examples of problem solving meetings

From SMES to huge global corporations, every company will hold problem solving meetings. They aren’t limited to one seniority level or department – they are a tool to be utilised whenever there is a hurdle in place. Problem solving meetings can cover:

• Business process improvement
• Product development
• Project management
• Conflict resolution
• Customer complaints
• Quality improvement

Who can benefit from a problem solving meeting?

Problem-solving meetings are an important part of businesses, across all departments and levels of staff. There are problem-solving meetings to suit a wide range of situations, regardless of the scale of the issue at hand. Whether it's a minor problem that requires brainstorming for a quick solution or a persistent challenge caused by a problematic employee, the fundamental principles of problem-solving meetings remain applicable. This approach proves useful in various scenarios where employees come together to collaboratively generate resolutions.

3 key elements of problem solving

A problem-solving meeting can be broken down into 3 core sections:

Analysis and understanding

Creativity and idea generation, evaluation and decision making.

Before finding a solution, it is important that the problem is analysed and thoroughly understood by all involved in the meeting. This can be completed before the meeting and presented or discussed as part of the agenda. Taking the time to analyse the problem helps in identifying underlying issues and potential complexities that need to be addressed.

Problem solving often requires meeting attendees to think outside the box and generate creative ideas. Having a whiteboard or flipchart pad and pad in problem solving meetings is crucial to help with brainstorming, exploring different perspectives, and encouraging innovative thinking.

By fostering a collaborative and open environment within the meeting, diverse ideas can be generated, increasing the chances of finding effective solutions. Creative thinking allows for the exploration of alternative approaches and can lead to breakthrough solutions.

Once potential solutions have been generated in the meeting, they need to be evaluated to determine their feasibility, effectiveness, and potential impact. Attendees will need to assess the pros and cons of each solution, considering resource constraints, and aligning the solutions with organisational goals and values. Making informed decisions based on a careful evaluation helps in selecting the most suitable solution or combination of solutions.

These three elements form a comprehensive framework for an effective problem-solving meeting. By incorporating these elements into meetings, you can approach problems systematically, increasing the likelihood of finding successful resolutions, and promote continuous improvement within your department or company.

Problem solving meeting agenda

Below is your free meeting agenda to use at your next problem solving meeting. Remember, you can adapt and customise this agenda to fit the specific needs of your company and the problem you’re addressing.

Welcome and introduction

Start the meeting by welcoming participants and briefly explaining the purpose of the meeting.

Provide an overview of the problem or challenge that will be addressed during the meeting.

Problem identification

Clearly define and articulate the problem or challenge that needs to be solved.

Allow participants to share their perspectives and ensure everyone has a common understanding of the issue.

Information gathering

Share relevant data, reports, or information related to the problem.

Discuss any research or analysis conducted to gain insights into the problem.

Analysis and discussion

Encourage participants to analyse the problem from different angles and identify its root causes.

Facilitate a discussion to explore potential contributing factors and underlying issues.

Idea generation

Engage in a brainstorming session to generate potential solutions or approaches to address the problem.

Encourage participants to think creatively and suggest diverse ideas without judgment.

Solution evaluation

Evaluate the proposed solutions based on predefined criteria such as feasibility, effectiveness, and impact.

Discuss the pros and cons of each solution and identify potential risks or challenges.

Decision making

Facilitate a decision-making process to select the most appropriate solution(s) from the evaluated options.

Consider reaching a consensus or use a defined decision-making method (e.g., voting) if necessary.

Action planning

Develop an action plan to implement the chosen solution(s).

Define specific tasks, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, and allocate necessary resources.

Follow-up and review

Discuss how progress will be monitored and how the effectiveness of the implemented solution(s) will be evaluated.

Set a date for a follow-up meeting or communication to review the outcomes and make any necessary adjustments.

Closing statement

Summarise the key points discussed and decisions made during the meeting. Thank attendees for their contributions and commitment to problem solving.

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Solving the Problem with Problem-Solving Meetings

Leadership development expert Jonathan Levene shares an effective tool for facilitating productive problem-solving meetings.

Jonathan Levene

Your team is facing a complex problem. So you gather everyone for a meeting, only to spend hours disagreeing on the ideal solution — with no progress toward consensus.

Facilitating productive problem-solving meetings can be challenging. You want to foster an open dialogue and gain buy-in while working toward an ideal solution. To do this effectively, it helps to understand one very important aspect of human nature: how we reason.

A Tool for Better Group Reasoning

In my work with clients, I have found that the ladder of inference* is an essential framework for understanding human reasoning, identifying opportunities, and keeping group reasoning on track. It is especially helpful when your challenge involves ambiguity or complexity.

The ladder of inference lays out the mental steps in our reasoning — from receiving data to drawing a conclusion. It also explains how we adopt certain beliefs about the world.

While our reasoning process may feel logical, our analysis at every step is always based on past experience. And everyone’s experience is different.

Here is how the ladder of inference reveals our reasoning process:

• We begin with the pool of information available to us — the observable data and experiences.
• We then select some of the information — typically that which grabs our attention or seems particularly significant — and ignore the rest.
• Then, we interpret the information, drawing on personal/cultural meanings and making assumptions based on those meanings.
• Finally, we draw a conclusion based on that interpretation. Over time, these conclusions inform our beliefs and drive our actions.

Our beliefs might be founded on faulty selection or interpretation of data. For example, if you have a number of memorable interactions with a few customers, you might focus on and generalize from those experiences. This leads you to certain conclusions about the entire marketplace. We all proceed through these mental steps, often subconsciously. And we’re not always aware of our assumptions.

By using the ladder of inference as a tool to expose chains of reasoning, we are better able to understand ourselves and our colleagues, find the best solutions, and overcome resistance to change.

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Your Role in Meetings of the Minds

As the moderator, your job is to:

• Listen carefully to the views expressed.
• Figure out what type of contribution each person is offering: belief, assumption, or interpretation.
• Bring hidden reasoning into the open by asking questions.

For example, if a person makes an assertion about what should be done, you might ask him or her to describe the chain of reasoning that led to that conclusion.

If two people have reached very different conclusions, one or both may be missing a key subset of data. Or perhaps they are missing an interpretive lens that would lead to a new set of possibilities.

The only way to know is to ask open-ended questions, such as:

• Can you help me understand your thinking?
• What was your chain of reasoning?
• What assumptions are you making?
• What data are you basing your recommendation on?

In asking these questions, you are not challenging people or judging them. You don’t want to put anyone on the defensive. Instead, you want to bring their reasoning to light so that it becomes part of the group’s thinking.

To do so, you can reflect back on what you’re hearing: “It sounds like we’re talking about assumptions here.” Or, if someone has difficulty articulating a chain of reasoning, you might say, “Think about it, and we’ll come back to you.”

At the same time, you should consider what is  not  being said. Keep in mind that silence does not imply agreement — or that a person has nothing to say. Your goal is to understand what’s happening in people’s heads and surface ideas that have not been articulated.

Better learning and decision-making result from staying low on the ladder. By slowing down the conversation — focusing on selecting and interpreting data — you encourage the group to avoid reaching conclusions prematurely. Using the ladder of inference, you can invite more contributions. Think about the ideas that might come to light when you ask questions like:

• Does anyone else have data that bears on this?
• Does anyone think something different might happen if we did this?
• Did anyone else arrive at a different conclusion?
• Did anyone make different assumptions?

The Ladder of Inference in Your Toolbox

As a manager, you can use the ladder of inference in multiple ways. You might start by employing it yourself as a framework for structuring your  own  thinking and interactions. Then, as you become more familiar with the approach, you can introduce the ladder as an explicit standard tool in team meetings.

Once you have introduced the concept, your team will begin to take on ownership of the process. They’ll develop better habits of mind and follow your lead by probing one another’s reasoning in meetings.

Over time, the ladder can become an integral part of how you think and work. Along the way, you’ll be encouraging open-mindedness, building more effective teams—and coming up with better solutions.

*The ladder of inference was initially developed by the late Chris Argyris, former professor at Harvard Business School, and elaborated on in numerous publications including The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization (Peter Senge, Richard Ross, Bryan Smith, Charlotte Roberts, Art Kleiner).

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About the Author

Levene is a leadership coach and facilitator at Harvard Business School with over 15 years experience leading teams in product development organizations.

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How to Run an Urgent Problem Solving Meeting

Everything exploded. you’ve got a mess. now what.

In one of the first posts on this blog, our friend and former partner wrote about adapting his emergency response training as a SCUBA instructor to the business setting. Chris translated the steps for triaging a physical emergency into a basic meeting agenda. It looked very much like the “Red Light” process John used when he worked a computer manufacturing firm, and like the “All Hands on Deck!” meeting I remembered from my time in client services. Since then, I’ve seen many formats for problem-solving meetings, and the basic pattern holds.

Here at Lucid, we’ ran into a thorny problem we need to solve quickly, and that none of us could fix on our own. To find a solution, we used our “Problem Buster” meeting process that we adopted way back when Chris wrote that first SCUBA-inspired post. Happily, our challenge also presents an opportunity to share this process and (a new meeting template!) with you.

When to Use this Process

This meeting format is best for urgent problems that require a speedy tactical response. When you leave the meeting, someone will immediately go out and do something to start solving the problem.

What counts as urgent? “Urgency” is obviously subjective, but we can provide some guidance about the kind of problems that should be addressed by other means.

An urgent problem is NOT:

• An Emergency Emergencies should not wait for a meeting. In our business, when we have an emergency that requires collaboration to resolve, we all log in to a live chat window and keep voice communication open. In our case, we use either Slack, Skype, or Lucid’s “Meet Now” and swarm on the problem until the crisis passes.
• Chronic or Institutional The big thorny problems that get baked into how an organization works, that arise out of personality conflicts, strategic blunders, or operational ineffectiveness, require deeper thought and more time to address than this format allows. Leaders should plan Issue Identification and Resolution sessions, with several rounds of brainstorming, analysis, and prioritization, to tackle these big soupy messes.
• Procedural Some problems become clear as we work on a project. We make mistakes that could be prevented in the future, and we find problems with existing tools and processes that inhibit progress. These kinds of problems are best addressed using continuous learning methods such as retrospectives , postmortems, and after-action planning meetings.

Our example

Our urgent problem had to do with an upcoming software release. We’d been working to build in support for recurring meetings in Lucid, and thought we were days away from shipping the release. We were so pleased with the progress and confident in the result that we promised the feature to several clients, and to a prospect scheduled to visit us for a preview later in the week.

But then, calamity! One of our test scenarios completely broke down in Outlook. When we fixed the software to work for Outlook, the Apple Calendar failed. Every fix that made the feature work in one calendar broke the feature for another one. A week of whack-a-mole later and we’re at an impasse. No one knew how to solve this edge-case issue, and we needed to ship the update.

It was time to come up with some new solutions quickly. Urgently.

And it worked! We released support for recurring meetings one week later, using the strategies we identified in this meeting.

Preparation

Because the situation is urgent, but not an emergency, you have a little time to prepare. We will schedule this meeting with at least an hour to prepare, and up to one day. (Urgency is relative.)

The meeting begins with a situation assessment, in which the team gets a shared understanding of the problem. Then, you’ll discuss the solution goals and constraints; what you want to see happen and what you have to work with to make it happen.

Use the preparation time to write up the facts. Usually one or two people will take responsibility for this basic situation description, which they should write up and add to the agenda before the meeting.

You want succinct answers to questions like:

• What was the original problem?
• What have we tried?
• What have we learned?
• What exactly is the problem we need to solve now?
• What does an immediate solution need to achieve?
• What hard constraints do we have to work within (time, resources, commitments, etc.)?

Important: do not use this meeting to discuss who or what is to blame .

There is a time and a place for root cause analysis. There are occasions when a problem really is someone’s “fault” and they need to be held accountable.

But that’s not what this meeting is about. This meeting is about finding solutions . Describe the problem briefly, factually, and as it exists right now so you can focus the group’s attention and energy on finding the best solution they can, right now. Too much attention on how and why the problem arose takes up valuable time and shifts the group’s energy to fault-finding and away from creating solutions.

Who to Invite

Be aggressive about keeping the group small . Invite only the people needed to understand and solve the problem. In an urgent situation, speed counts, and extra people will require more time to understand the problem and the constraints. You don’t want to spend any time getting someone up to speed who isn’t directly involved.

• Situation Report
• Solution Constraints
• Brainstorm Solutions
• Define Action Plan
• Confirm Next Steps

The agenda is simple. There are no complicated exercises or fancy meeting techniques here – just enough structure to help the group bust through the problem effectively. Here’s the step-by-step.

1. Situation Report

Ideally, everyone will read the data about the problem before the meeting. Use this first agenda item to ask and answer questions, and make sure everyone fully understands the situation. Ask everyone to wait to share ideas about solutions for the moment; focus solely on understanding the problem.

2. Solution Goals & Constraints

Next, talk about the solution goals and any constraints on what you can try.

For example, our goal solution included a software release within the week. Our constraints were the impending customer visit and limited staff availability.

3. Brainstorm Solutions

Most likely, people arrived at the meeting with some possible solutions in mind. We still start this agenda item with a few minutes of silent individual brainstorming, which gives everyone a chance to assimilate all they’ve learned into their thinking. Each person writes their ideas separately.

After a few minutes, we all paste our ideas into notes at once, then take a moment to look through all the contributions. In Lucid, we do this by individually typing notes in Lucid, then all hitting “Save” at the same time. You could achieve the same thing using Slack or a Google Doc . If you meet in person, use sticky notes and post them all up on the board at once.

Then, discuss what you see. Ask questions, combine ideas, and prioritize the best ones. If you feel compelled, you can use dot voting or some other way to pick a solution. We often find that we reach consensus without any particular process, and when we don’t, the problem owner makes the final decision.

4. Define the Action Plan

Urgent problems require a tactical response. Once you’ve settled on an approach, get specific. Who will do what, and by when?

5. Confirm Next Steps

Finally, review everything. Does your plan address the immediate problem? Do you know exactly what will happen next? Is everyone clear and committed to what they need to do?

Then, set a time to meet again and check progress. Your plan should include actions that will either solve the problem, or fail to do so. Schedule the follow up meeting for as soon as you can reasonably expect to know whether the plan is working or not.

After the Meeting

Send out the meeting notes and schedule the follow-up meeting. Then get to work on putting your solution in action!

Try the Template

You can find the agenda and guide for this meeting template on our website , and Lucid customers can add the template for use in their online meetings .

Just want the instructions?

If you use this process or one like it, let us know: what did you learn? What worked? How can the process be improved? We use this process ourselves, and any ideas you can share to make it more effective are very welcome. After all, when we’re up against an urgent problem, we love to use anything that helps us solve it faster and better.

Categories: meeting design

Elise Keith

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How to Run an Urgent Problem Solving Meeting

• How to Run an Urgent Problem...

Description of the Template and Guide

This meeting agenda template helps a team find short-term tactical solutions to an urgent problem. The conversation includes time to gain a shared understanding of the problem, but focuses primarily on listing and evaluating possible solutions and the creation of a short- term action plan.

Use this meeting to answer the question: “What are we going to do about this problem now?”

This design is NOT intended for use during an emergency, nor does it focus on finding the root cause of a problem.

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Elise Keith

Elise Keith, founder of Lucid Meetings and New Rules for Work Labs, revolutionizes meetings and team collaboration. With 15+ years of merging research with practice, she's a pioneer in innovative collaboration strategies. Elise enhances organizational meeting culture, decision-making, and collaboration through ongoing research, workshops, speaking, and consulting.

Welcome to Gordon Training International

Gti has been helping people all over the world have better relationships at work, at home, and in schools through the gordon model skills., we hope to help you, too.

Seven Best Practices for Problem-Solving Meetings

Oh Ye Gods and Monsters, not another <groan> meeting .

Admit it. You’ve said that. Or some version of it, only NSFW.

In Leader Effectiveness Training , Dr. Thomas Gordon dedicates 28 jam-packed pages to “How to Make Your Management Team Meetings More Effective.” Unsurprisingly, in an environment already using the No-Lose Method of conflict resolution, this approach will build trust and consensus. It’s a surefire basis to make meetings more productive .

Leaders can help ensure the teams they assemble to solve tricky workplace problems function optimally (and maybe even have fun while they’re at it—it’s science! ) by following these guidelines, amalgamated and abstracted from Dr. Gordon’s original 17 guidelines for problem-solving management teams.

• Frequency and Duration: While new groups will have to meet more often, and frequency will be dictated by the number and complexity of the problems the group is working on, consistency is key. Meet at the same time on the same day , even if the group leader can’t be there. And never, ever meet for more than two hours at a time. Enforce that limit, because brains fry.
• Get the Right People in the Room: The problems a group will be working on should dictate group membership (never more than 15 people; more voices than that become unworkable). Does each member have access to critical data that will be important to solving the problem or represent an organizational group that will be directly affected by the group’s decision? Then they’re in. Also, each member will need to a delegate an alternate with full participatory and decision-making authority should he or she not be able to make it to a meeting.
• Agendas and Priorities: The group, not the leader, develops the agenda, either ahead of time or at the beginning of the meeting, with a means for adding items at the last minute if needed. The group prioritizes items at meeting kickoff.
• Discussion Ground Rules: Surprise! In a functional autonomous group of adults entrusted with solving important workplace problems, they should also be trusted to come up with their own ground rules. The group leader’s main role is to stay out of the way of productive discussion.
• Right Problem/Wrong Problem : The Polish proverb “ Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys ” is as good a guideline as any to help a problem-solving group decide what is an appropriate problem to tackle and what is not. If group members agree a problem affects them and is within their span of authority and scope of responsibility, it’s the right problem. If not, they can and should delegate up, down, or out.
• Reaching Consensus : Like a jury, a problem-solving group must strive for unanimous consensus. This means a member with a very strong opinion needs to be willing to let it go when she’s greatly outnumbered; conversely, members without strong feelings should always be willing to go with the majority. And in some cases (highly technical software purchasing decisions, for example), the group should be willing to defer to members with the greatest responsibility for implementation or expertise in the area under consideration.
• Follow-up: Agenda items should be marked resolved in one of several ways: Resolved; Delegated (inside or outside the group); Deferred to a future agenda; Removed by the submitter; or Redefined in other terms. Meeting notes should be sent to members as soon as possible after the meeting (record only decisions, task assignments, future agenda items, and follow-up items—not discussion details). Finally, the group itself should set up a mechanism to periodically evaluate its own effectiveness.

And there you have it. A seven-point prescription for more productivity and less pain in meetings. A kind of analgesic, or acupuncture (depending on your painkiller preference) for getting people together and focused on getting stuff done— which, after all, is the purpose for work team meetings in the first place: to collaborate on problems that can’t be solved alone .

Try it. (If you want to read the full 28 pages—well worth your time—get a copy of Leader Effectiveness Training .)

TIPS Meeting Minutes Template

Data-based Decision Making

October 6, 2015

Suggested Citation:

Todd, A. W., Newton, J. S., Horner, R., Algozzine, B., Algozzine, K. M. (2015) TIPS 2 Meeting Minutes Form. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon, Educational and Community Supports.

Related Resources

Improving attendance and reducing chronic absenteeism, systematic screening tools: universal behavior screeners, lessons learned from district and school-site leaders conducting systematic screening.

This website was developed under a grant from the US Department of Education, #H326S230002. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Mohamed Soliman.

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How to write an effective team meeting agenda (with templates!)

Because if there’s no agenda, there shouldn’t be a meeting in the first place.

Managing Editor, Products & News

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5-second summary

• Team meeting agendas help you prioritize important topics and keep things running smoothly and efficiently, so your team walks away from the meeting feeling motivated and aligned.
• All agendas are not created equal; read our tips to learn what to include on every agenda, and how to tailor your agenda depending on the goals of your meeting.
• Templates are a helpful jumping-off point, and can be tailored to meet the needs of your particular meeting.

Imagine you’re knee-deep in work, laser-focused, and ready to tackle the next task on your lengthy list. Nothing can stand in your way…except for the meeting you have in 10 minutes. Now imagine that you come out of that meeting inspired and motivated – exhilarated, even. And despite that dreaded context-switching , you’re able to pick up right where you left off with even more gas in the tank. This is how productive and effective meetings should make you feel. But how do you get there?

Your secret weapon might just be a team meeting agenda. Too often relegated to an afterthought, this handy tool can go a long way to help you run more effective in-person or virtual meetings. It helps with managing time, setting expectations, and staying on the task at hand. Agendas ensure that you have a clear purpose and that you can achieve the goals you set, whether you’re plotting your quarterly budget or creating a project timeline – real, shareable results. Team meeting agendas also help you prioritize the things you want to talk about, so you can guide your team through the most important topics of the week.

Leading productive, fruitful meetings doesn’t always come naturally – and that’s okay. Follow these helpful tips for creating an effective team meeting agenda, including a few free templates to get you started and a video with tips on how Atlassian approaches meeting agendas, taken from Atlassian University’s course How to Run Effective Meetings .

What is a team meeting agenda?

A team meeting agenda is an organized and scheduled list of topics and action items that you plan to discuss with your team during a meeting. It’s there to help you prioritize the most important topics and keep things running smoothly and efficiently so your team walks away from the meeting feeling motivated and aligned. But it’s not enough to jot down a simple list of topics and put a time stamp next to each one; it actually takes a fair amount of thought and effort to organize an effective team meeting agenda.

5 tips for creating an effective team meeting agenda

How to run effective meetings in the era of hybrid work

The most effective team meeting agendas are well-planned, clear, and concise. Here, it really helps to take a step back and put yourself in your team’s shoes. Be sure to consider your audience and what they already know; the purpose of your meeting (are you trying to solve a problem, brainstorm ideas, or make a decision; and how you can make your meeting as engaging and memorable as possible?

After skimming the agenda items, all team members should understand the purpose of the meeting and their roles within it, as well as anything they need to prepare for like questions about a certain project or deadline. This kind of preparation eliminates distractions and keeps the momentum going, leading to a more productive meeting. Here are five ways to create an effective team meeting agenda.

• Tailor your agenda to each meeting. Not all meetings are created equal, and not all agendas should be either. Maybe your weekly team meeting agenda needs a space for wins and shoutouts, but your workshop meeting agenda doesn’t. Because there are many types of meetings, do your best to format your agenda in a way that’s appropriate for your meeting and your team.
• Prioritize your agenda items. They’re the meat of your entire meeting – the reason(s) you’ve decided it was worthwhile to pull everyone away from their work and discuss each topic. That’s why it’s absolutely necessary to prioritize each item from highest priority to lowest priority, with the understanding that you’ll push the lowest-priority items to the next meeting if you run out of time.
• Include an icebreaker or other team-building activity . Icebreakers set a more casual tone (if that’s what you’re going for), and serve as a way to engage each person on the team. But keep in mind the size of your team and the length of your meeting. A complex icebreaker with 20 participants could take up your whole meeting.
• Hold enough time for questions and discussion. A well-planned meeting holds more than a measly 60 seconds for questions at the end. Reserve enough time to discuss the items on your agenda and encourage participation. Instead of asking, “Do you have any questions?” Try rephrasing it as “What questions do you have?” It’s a lot easier to shake your head “no” and get on with your day rather than thinking about questions for the agenda items. This could also spark healthy debate and spars.
• End on a positive note. Saving a few minutes to give team members some kudos will leave them feeling valued and motivated – when’s the last time you got an appreciative shoutout and did less work afterward? Whether it’s calling out people individually or thanking everyone as a group, your team will see that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.

On a more granular level, here are some characteristics at the core of most or all team meeting agendas.

What should all team meeting agendas include?

Every team meeting agenda should include the following basic elements to keep everyone in the loop:

• Date, time, and location: These details are especially important for dispersed teams. Be mindful of where everyone is and specify which time zone you’re in. As for the location, these days it might be a Zoom link or another chat channel instead of a physical location, so don’t forget to include that as well.
• Objective and goals: Use this as your North Star. Ask yourself, “What type of meeting is this? What am I trying to get out of it?” Be straightforward with everyone else about it so everyone’s on the same page and stays focused on the task at hand.
• Facilitator and attendees: You don’t necessarily have to take attendance, but keeping track of who’s running the show can orient team members about who to notify in case they can’t make it to the meeting or if they have something to add to the agenda.
• Agenda items: The purpose of agenda items is to make it crystal clear to the team what topics you’ll be discussing, what you want to accomplish within that item, and any action that needs to be taken. Keep it brief and avoid using jargon so everyone has a crystal-clear understanding of what’s to come.
• Time for each topic: Indicating an estimated time for each agenda item is crucial to keeping your meeting on track and on pace.
• Team check-in: Whether or not you do an icebreaker, find time to check in with your team members and their well-being. It’s important to show compassion and make sure they know you also care about factors that might be affecting them outside of work. Check-ins also ease your team into the meeting before diving right into business.

It’s also worth noting that agendas need to be circulated to all participants at least a day before the meeting. Doing so ensures that your team has had a chance to review what projects and assignments will be covered so that they come prepared for discussion. You might also welcome some feedback from your team in case you missed a thing or two.

Atlassian’s approach to team meeting agendas

Curious about how we approach meeting agendas at Atlassian? Check out this clip from Mark Cruth, Atlassian’s resident Modern Work expert and evangelist. Focused on practice over theory, Mark spends his days coaching both Atlassian and customer teams on new ways of working.

For more practical tips, enroll in the How to Run Effective Meetings course from Atlassian University – it’s completely free.

Team meeting agenda templates to get you started

6 types of meetings that are worth your time (and 3 that aren’t)

You might be wondering whether it’s worth your time to create an agenda. Although it can be a lot of work upfront, the amount of time you put into making a clear agenda can be compensated for by the efficiency of your now-wildly-productive meeting.

There are tons of free templates to choose from online – don’t hesitate to tailor them to your meeting’s particular needs. To start, check out our top team meeting agenda Confluence templates (downloadable with a free account) and explore how you can make each one your own.

• All hands meeting agenda template
• Remote team meeting agenda template
• Workshop meeting agenda template
• Brainstorming meeting agenda template
• Problem-solving meeting agenda template

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The Two Traits of the Best Problem-Solving Teams

• Alison Reynolds
• David Lewis

You need both diversity and safety.

An analysis of 150 senior teams showed that the ones who solve problems the fastest tend to be cognitively diverse. But this isn’t always true — sometimes, those teams still struggle. So what separates the best teams from the rest? It turns out that it’s a combination of cognitive diversity and psychological safety. Teams high in both traits show curious and encouraging behavior, and also the level of forcefulness and experimentation needed to keep their momentum. Teams low in either trait were either too combative (if they were high in cognitive diversity and low in psychological safety) or too prone to group-think (if the reverse was true).

Imagine you are a fly on the wall in a corporate training center where a management team of 12 is participating in a session on executing strategy. The team is midway through attempting to solve a new, uncertain, and complex problem. The facilitators look on as at first the exercise follows its usual path. But then activity grinds to a halt — people have no idea what to do. Suddenly, a more junior member of the team raises her hand and exclaims, “I think I know what we should do!” Relieved, the team follows her instructions enthusiastically. There is no doubt she has the answer — but as she directs her colleagues, she makes one mistake and the activity breaks down. Not a word is spoken but the entire group exude disappointment. Her confidence evaporates. Even though she has clearly learnt something important, she does not contribute again. The group gives up.

• AR Alison Reynolds  is a member of faculty at the UK’s Ashridge Business School where she works with executive groups in the field of leadership development, strategy execution and organization development. She has previously worked in the public sector and management consulting, and is an advisor to a number of small businesses and charities.
• DL David Lewis  is Director of London Business School’s Senior Executive Programme and teaches on strategy execution and leading in uncertainty. He is a consultant and works with global corporations, advising and coaching board teams.  He is co-founder of a research company focusing on developing tools to enhance individual, team and organization performance through better interaction.

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The 10-Part Checklist for Effective Team Meetings

Nicole Garrison on August 10, 2020

Let me make one thing clear. This post doesn’t have any magical formulas for more effective team meetings right away (and you shouldn’t believe people who say they do). Making each and every meeting 100 percent productive is simply not possible. If it was, you wouldn’t be here reading this article. 

Here, you won’t find just another fortune cookie advice. I’m going to give you a 10-point checklist with true-and-tested tips to maximize the effectiveness of each meeting. 

I’ve divided the checklist into three essential meeting stages: preparation, the actual meeting, and follow-up . 

Each tip was chosen to fit these criteria:

• Speed (make meetings as fast as possible)
• Order (Establish ground rules no one can break)
• Productivity (Keep meetings focused on one problem).

Let’s begin by talking about why you should focus on the three stages. It’s going to take 30 secs, but it’s important because you can go straight to the checklist being more prepared.

The Three Stages: Preparation, Meeting, and Follow-up

Working in most businesses is nothing but routine. Meetings are a major reason for that. 

Some meetings lead to amazing ideas. Others feel the biggest waste of time in the history of humanity. The most surprising thing about all meetings is that people don’t like them, yet do nothing about it. 

The key to effective team meetings is organization.

That’s why you should focus on preparation, meeting, and follow-up stages to make effective team meetings. The reason is simple: this makes it easier for you to organize each meeting . 

If you know what to do at each point before, during, and after the meeting, you’ll be more likely to hit all goals and solve more problems. Here’s the 10-point checklist, divided by the three stages.

The Preparation Stage

1. Establish ground rules

2. Define a goal and meeting type

3. Collect information from participants

4. Set the start time and end time.

The Meeting Stage

5. Repeat the goal and agenda

6. Focus on one topic

7. Assign tasks

8. Provide a summary

9. End the meeting as soon as the work is complete.

The Follow-up Stage

10. Ask for feedback.

This is a good plan to follow, right? Now, let’s talk about each point in more detail.

Follow these steps for each meeting to maximize productivity and efficiency. 

The Preparation Stage Checklist 

1. Establish Ground Rules

You know what they say: you get what you tolerate. 

This is applicable to many situations, but in this case, a lack of ground rules can be disruptive and lead to conflict, longer meetings, and poor effectiveness. 

In fact, two rules-related issues – interruptions and distracted participants – are in the top 5 common meeting complaints, according to this survey cited by Business Talent Solutions. 

More than half of all participants say these two issues as the most important, so this could be true for your team, too. You need to address them if you’d like to have effective team meetings. 

Establishing ground rules is one of the best ways to do so. They will be your tool for managing the meeting that gives you an opportunity to keep the team focused. 

Consider these ground rules for your meetings:

• Respect everyone’s time. It means to be on time, ask relevant questions, do not monopolize the discussion
• Know the meeting’s agenda . Read the agenda sent by the meeting’s manager to be able to contribute 
• No interruptions. Listen with others speak and comment when they’re done
• Don’t use your smartphone . Check your smartphone before the meeting, and don’t look at it until the end.

These simple, yet essential rules will help you to facilitate the environment needed to make important decisions. Write them in a single document and use tools like TopEssayWriting , Grammarly and GrabMyEssay to ensure clarity and lack of mistakes. 

Pro tip : have some fun with the ground rules . Allow people to drink coffee during the meeting or do other non-distracting things. 

Related: Daily Standup Meeting Excel Template for Your Scrum Team

2. Define a Goal and Meeting Type

These two go well together because the goal determines the type. To set a clear direction for each meeting, you need to know the goal. You can’t make any decisions if what you’re trying to accomplish is poorly defined. 

The goal, in turn, helps with choosing the proper type for effective team meetings.

The most common types include:

• Problem-solving meetings. The goal is to work through a problem and solve it, so the meeting manager limits the participants to those who can help
• Planning meetings . Used to plan a course of action for a time period; also include the participants entrusted with planning responsibilities
• Retrospective meeting . Used to discuss the tasks that were completed during a specific time period and propose ideas for improvement
• Feedback meetings . The participants share their thoughts and reactions to a recent event, data, or information.

Important: the goal sets the agenda for each meeting, so you need to have it ready, too. Read the guide for more tips.

Dive Deeper: 6 Killing Tips to Create an Agenda For a Virtual Team Meeting

3. Collect Information from Participants

Some meetings, such as retrospective and feedback, require significant input from all participants. Asking for it during the meeting adds unnecessary time to and can turn into a major time loss. 

As the mentioned survey found, 66 percent of meeting participants see a late ending as a major problem. So, why not collect some information beforehand?

The best news is that you can automate this process. 

One way is to pre-write all questions and have a Standuply Slack bot send them to participants at a specific time before the meeting. The participant receives the poll, fills it out, and the replies are automatically saved. 

This slack bot integrates with task management tools and other popular apps, so it’s easy to make it a part of your team communication plan . This way, you can learn a lot of information from participants before actually starting the meeting. 

Slack polls have become really important among project managers, and it’s really easy to see why. Using a bot saves a lot of time while collecting important data for the meeting. 

4. Set the Start Time and End Time

Have the start time and end time for each meeting defined before the start. 

This one is easy but very important. 

Not only this helps you and others schedule their time more effectively but also prevents unnecessary stress from spending too much time on meetings.

The Meeting Stage Checklist

5. Repeat the Goal and Agenda

“ The most important thing for you is to remind the participants why you’re there and what you’re going to do ,” says Ariel Thompson, a senior HR writer from ClassyEssay . “ This helps everyone to be on the same page and focused on the right task.”

Feel free to repeat the goal and agenda after everyone is done greeting each other. 

6. Focus on One Topic

This point applies not only to problem-solving meetings that focus on one issue. The topic of effective team meetings is their goal, which is something you need to make your team focus on.

Without proper focus, the meeting can easily spin off to a dozen other things. Here’s how to prevent that:

• Don’t plan more than one major meeting goal . Multiple important goals might make a meeting a total mess
• Address people who initiate off-topic conversations. Get them back on track by saying “Let’s get back to the topic” or “That’s a bit off track”
• Use the agenda to guide the meeting. It’ll serve as an agreement about the topic and direction of the meeting. 

7. Assign Tasks

Should any tasks be assigned, do so during the meeting. Managers often make a list of action items based on the decisions made by the team, so why not have someone assigned to each?

This technique can help with planning and faster problem resolution. 

When assigning team members to action items, remember that they might have other ongoing tasks. In fact, stats say that 73 percent of remote workers inter-team collaboration to do their projects.

To avoid overloading them, always ask or make the task more manageable by assigning multiple people. 

8. Provide a Summary

Take notes during the meeting to remember the most important decisions and action points. They will be your summary that you read at the end of the meeting.

Pro tip: send the summary to each participant via Slack after the meeting . 

9. End the Meeting as Soon as the Work is Complete

Set the expectation in front and make sure that the meeting ends on schedule. 

But, if you think that you’re done with everything, feel free to finish right away. No reason to make your team stay and listen to someone talking.

The Follow-up Stage Checklist

10. Ask for Feedback

Regardless of how good your meeting went, always ask the participants for feedback. Giving them an opportunity to express their opinions is a must for positive work culture, employee respect, and effective team meetings. 

Good questions to use:

• Are you satisfied with the duration of the meeting? Do you think it should be shorter?
• What can the manager do to make the next meeting better?
• Did you feel like you had enough opportunities to participate?

Keep in mind that you can use a Slack bot to automate feedback collection.

You’re Done! 

Whew, we made it.

Experience is the best teacher of effective team meetings, so try as many improvements as possible and test them.

By creating your own checklist based on these tips , you’ll be constantly improving your meetings. Keep everything in check with this checklist and don’t forget to ask your team for the feedback! 

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

Nicole Garrison

Nicole Garrison is a veteran blogger and content writer from Subjecto . She applies her extensive knowledge of HR and marketing to write in-depth, value-packed articles for small and mid-sized businesses. When Nicole is not reading a new book on meditation, she’s thinking about, talking about, or writing about content marketing and talent management.

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22 Unbeatable Team Building Problem Solving Activities

Problem-solving is a critical skill for professionals and with team building problem-solving activities, you can sharpen your skills while having fun at the same time.  

Updated: March 1, 2024

In the professional world, one thing is for sure: problem-solving is a vital skill if you want to survive and thrive. It’s a universal job skill that organizations seek in new potential employees and that managers look for when considering candidates for promotions.  

But there’s a problem. 

According to Payscale, 60% of managers feel that new grads entering the workforce lack problem-solving abilities – making it the most commonly lacking soft skill.  

Problem-solving skill needs to be practiced and perfected on an ongoing basis in order to be applied effectively when the time comes. And while there are tons of traditional approaches to becoming a better problem-solver, there’s another (much more interesting) option: team building problem-solving activities. 

The good news? This means learning and having fun don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And you can create a stronger team at the same time. 

16 In-Person Team Building Problem Solving Activities for Your Work Group  

1. cardboard boat building challenge, 2. egg drop , 3. clue murder mystery, 4. marshmallow spaghetti tower  , 5. corporate escape room, 6. wild goose chase, 7. lost at sea  , 8. domino effect challenge, 9. reverse pyramid  , 10. ci: the crime investigators, 11. team pursuit, 12. bridge builders, 13. domino effect challenge, 14. hollywood murder mystery, 15. code break, 16. cardboard boat building challenge, 6 virtual team building problem solving activities for your work group  , 1. virtual escape room: mummy’s curse, 2. virtual clue murder mystery, 3. virtual escape room: jewel heist, 4. virtual code break  , 5. virtual trivia time machine.

• 6. Virtual Jeoparty Social

There are a ton of incredible team building problem solving activities available. We’ve hand-picked 16 of our favorites that we think your corporate group will love too. 

Split into teams and create a cardboard boat made out of just the materials provided: cardboard and tape. Team members will have to work together to engineer a functional boat that will float and sail across water without sinking. Once teams have finished making their boats, they will create a presentation to explain why their boat is the best, before putting their boats to the test. The final challenge will have teams racing their boats to test their durability! Nothing says problem-solving like having to make sure you don’t sink into the water!

Every day at work, you’re forced to make countless decisions – whether they’re massively important or so small you barely think about them.  

But your ability to effectively make decisions is critical in solving problems quickly and effectively.  

With a classic team building problem solving activity like the Egg Drop, that’s exactly what your team will learn to do. 

For this activity, you’ll need some eggs, construction materials, and a place you wouldn’t mind smashing getting dirty with eggshells and yolks.  

The goal of this activity is to create a contraption that will encase an egg and protect it from a fall – whether it’s from standing height or the top of a building. But the challenge is that you and your team will only have a short amount of time to build it before it’s time to test it out, so you’ll have to think quickly! 

To make it even more challenging, you’ll have to build the casing using only simple materials like: 

• Newspapers 
• Plastic wrap
• Rubber bands
• Popsicle sticks
• Cotton balls

Feel free to have some fun in picking the materials. Use whatever you think would be helpful without making things too easy! 

Give your group 15 minutes to construct their egg casing before each team drops their eggs. If multiple eggs survive, increase the height gradually to see whose created the sturdiest contraption.  

If you’re not comfortable with the idea of using eggs for this activity, consider using another breakable alternative, such as lightbulbs for a vegan Egg Drop experience. 

With Clue Murder Mystery, your team will need to solve the murder of a man named Neil Davidson by figuring out who had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime.

But it won’t be easy! You’ll need to exercise your best problem-solving skills and channel your inner detectives if you want to keep this case from going cold and to get justice for the victim.

Collaboration is critical to problem solving. 

Why? Because, as the old saying goes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This expression reflects the fact that people are capable of achieving greater things when they work together to do so. 

If you’re looking for a team building problem solving activity that helps boost collaboration, you’ll love Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower.  

This game involves working in teams to build the tallest possible freestanding tower using only marshmallows, uncooked spaghetti, tape, and string.  

The kicker? This all has to be done within an allotted timeframe. We recommend about thirty minutes.  

For an added dimension of challenge, try adding a marshmallow to the top of the tower to make it a little more top heavy.  

Whichever team has the highest tower when time runs out is the winner! 

If you’ve never participated in an escape room, your team is missing out! It’s one of the most effective team building problem solving activities out there because it puts you and your colleagues in a scenario where the only way out is collaboratively solving puzzles and deciphering clues.  

The principle is simple: lock your group in a room, hide the key somewhere in that room, and have them work through challenges within a set time frame. Each challenge will lead them one step closer to finding the key and, ultimately, their escape.    

At Outback, we offer “done-for-you” escape rooms where we’ll transform your office or meeting room so you don’t have to worry about:

• Seeking transportation for your team 
• Capacity of the escape rooms  
• High costs 
• Excessive planning  

That way, you and your team can simply step inside and get to work collaborating, using creative problem solving, and thinking outside the box.   

In this smartphone-based scavenger hunt team building activity , your group will split into teams and complete fun challenges by taking photos and videos around the city. Some examples of challenges you can do in this activity are:

• Parkour:  Take a picture of three team members jumping over an object that’s at least waist-high.
• Beautiful Mind:  Snap a photo of a team member proving a well-known mathematical theorem on a chalkboard.
• Puppy Love:  Take a photo of all of your team members petting a stranger’s dog at the same time.

It takes a ton of critical thinking and problem-solving to be crowned the Wild Goose Chase Champions!

Can you imagine a higher-pressure situation than being stranded at sea in a lifeboat with your colleagues? 

With this team building problem solving activity, that’s exactly the situation you and your group will put yourselves. But by the time the activity is over, you’ll have gained more experience with the idea of having to solve problems under pressure – a common but difficult thing to do. 

Here’s how it works. 

Each team member will get a six-columned chart where: 

• The first column lists the survival items each team has on hand (see the list below) 
• The second column is empty so that each team member can rank the items in order of importance for survival  
• The third column is for group rankings  
• The fourth column is for the “correct” rankings, which are revealed at the end of the activity 
• The fifth and sixth columns are for the team to enter thee difference between their individual and correct scores and the team and correct rankings 

Within this activity, each team will be equipped with the following “survival items,” listed below in order of importance, as well as a pack of matches:  

• A shaving mirror (this can be used to signal passing ships using the sun) 
• A can of gas (could be used for signaling as it could be put in the water and lit with the pack of matches) 
• A water container (for collecting water to re-hydrate ) 
• Emergency food rations (critical survival food) 
• One plastic sheet (can be helpful for shelter or to collect rainwater) 
• Chocolate bars (another food supply) 
• Fishing rods (helpful, but no guarantee of catching food) 
• Rope (can be handy, but not necessarily essential for survival) 
• A floating seat cushion (usable as a life preserver)  
• Shark repellant (could be important when in the water) 
• A bottle of rum (could be useful for cleaning wounds) 
• A radio (could be very helpful but there’s a good chance you’re out of range) 
• A sea chart (this is worthless without navigation equipment) 
• A mosquito net (unless you’ve been shipwrecked somewhere with a ton of mosquitos, this isn’t very useful) 

To get the activity underway, divide your group into teams of five and ask each team member to take ten minutes on their own to rank the items in order of importance in the respective column. Then, give the full team ten minutes as a group to discuss their individual rankings together and take group rankings, listed in that respective column. Ask each group to compare their individual rankings with those of the group as a whole. 

Finally, read out the correct order according to the US Coast Guard, listed above.  

The goal of this activity is for everyone to be heard and to come to a decision together about what they need most to survive.  

If your team works remotely, you can also do this activity online. Using a video conferencing tool like  Zoom , you can bring your group together and separate teams into “break-out rooms” where they’ll take their time individually and then regroup together. At the end, you can bring them back to the full video conference to go through the answers together. 

Many problems are intricately complex and involve a ton of moving parts. And in order to solve this type of problem, you need to be able to examine it systematically, one piece at a time.  

Especially in the business world, many problems or challenges involve multiple different teams or departments working through their respective portions of a problem before coming together in the end to create a holistic solution. 

As you can imagine, this is often easier said than done. And that’s why it’s so important to practice this ability.  

With a collaborative team building problem solving activity like Domino Effect Challenge, that’s exactly what you’ll need to do as you and your group work to create a massive, fully functional chain reaction machine. 

Here’s how it goes. 

Your group will break up into teams, with each team working to complete their own section of a massive “Rube Goldberg” machine. Then, all teams will regroup and assemble the entire machine together. You’ll need to exercise communication, collaboration, and on-the-fly problem solving in order to make your chain reaction machine go off without a hitch from start to finish. 

Being a great problem-solver means being adaptable and creative. And if you’re looking for a quick and easy team building problem solving activity, you’ll love the reverse pyramid. 

The idea here is simple: break your group out into small teams and then stand in the form of a pyramid.  

Your challenge is to flip the base and the peak of the pyramid – but you can only move three people in order to do so.  

Alternatively, rather than doing this activity with people as the pyramid, you can do another version –  the Pyramid Build  – using plastic cups instead.   

This version is a little bit different. Rather than flipping the base of a pyramid to the top, you’ll need to build the pyramid instead–but in reverse, starting from the top cup and working down. 

With this version, you’ll need 36 cups and one table per group. We recommend groups of five to seven people. Give your group 20 to 30 minutes to complete the activity. 

To get started, place one cup face down. Then, lift that cup and place the subsequent two cups underneath it. 

The real challenge here? You can only lift your pyramid by the bottom row in order to put a new row underneath – and only one person at a time can do the lifting. The remaining group members will need to act quickly and work together in order to add the next row so that it will balance the rest of the pyramid. 

If any part of your pyramid falls, you’ll need to start over. Whichever team has the most complete pyramid when time runs out will be the winner!  

The value of being able to approach problems analytically can’t be overstated. Because when problems arise, the best way to solve them is by examining the facts and making a decision based on what you know. 

With CI: The Crime Investigators, this is exactly what your team will be called upon to do as you put your detective’s hats on and work to solve a deadly crime. 

You’ll be presented with evidence and need to uncover and decipher clues. And using only the information at your disposal, you’ll need to examine the facts in order to crack the case. 

Like many of our team building problem solving activities, CI: The Crime Investigators is available in a hosted format, which can take place at your office or an outside venue, as well as a virtually-hosted format that uses video conferencing tools, or a self-hosted version that you can run entirely on your own.  

Each member of your team has their own unique strengths and skills. And by learning to combine those skills, you can overcome any challenge and solve any problem. With Team Pursuit, you and your team together to tackle challenges as you learn new things about one another, discover your hidden talents, and learn to rely on each other.

This team building problem solving activity is perfect for high-energy groups that love to put their heads together and work strategically to solve problems as a group.

Collaborate with your colleague to design and build different segments of a bridge. At the end, see if the sections come together to create a free-standing structure!   

Together as a group, see if you and your colleagues can build a gigantic “chain-reaction” machine that really works!

In smaller groups, participants work together to solve the challenge of creating sections of the machine using miscellaneous parts, and at the end, you’ll have to collaborate to connect it all together and put it in motion.

The case is fresh, but here’s what we know so far: we’ve got an up-and-coming actress who’s been found dead in her hotel room following last night’s awards show.

We have several suspects, but we haven’t been able to put the crime on any of them for sure yet. Now, it’s up to you and your team of detectives to crack the case. Together, you’ll review case files and evidence including police reports, coroners’ reports, photo evidence, tabloids, interrogations, and phone calls as you determine the motive, method, and murderer and bring justice for the victim.

You’ll need to put your problem-solving skills to the test as you share theories, collaborate, and think outside the box with your fellow investigators.

Using Outback’s app, split up into small groups and put your heads together to solve a variety of puzzles, riddles, and trivia. The team who has completed the most challenges when time is up, wins!

Can you stay afloat in a body of water in a boat made entirely of cardboard? Now that is a problem that urgently needs solving.

With this team building problem solving activity, you and your colleagues will split into groups and create a cardboard boat made out of just the materials provided – cardboard and tape.

Team members will have to work together to engineer a functional boat that will float and sail across water without sinking. Once teams have finished making their boats, they will create a presentation to explain why their boat is the best, before putting their boats to the test. The final challenge will have teams racing their boats across the water!

If you and your team are working remotely, don’t worry. You still have a ton of great virtual team building problem solving options at your disposal.

In this virtual escape room experience, your team will be transported into a pyramid cursed by a restless mummy. You’ll have to work together to uncover clues and solve complex challenges to lift the ancient curse.

You’ve probably never heard of a man named Neil Davidson. But your group will need to come together to solve the mystery of his murder by analyzing clues, resolving challenges, and figuring out who had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit a deadly crime. 

This activity will challenge you and your group to approach problems analytically, read between the lines, and use critical thinking in order to identify a suspect and deliver justice.  

If you and your team like brainteasers, then Virtual Escape Room: Jewel Heist will be a big hit.  

Here’s the backstory.

There’s been a robbery. Someone has masterminded a heist to steal a priceless collection of precious jewels, and it’s up to you and your team to recover them before time runs out.

Together, you’ll need to uncover hidden clues and solve a series of brain-boggling challenges that require collaboration, creative problem-solving, and outside-the-box thinking. But be quick! The clock is ticking before the stolen score is gone forever.

With Virtual Code Break, you and your team can learn to be adaptive and dynamic in your thinking in order to tackle any new challenges that come your way. In this activity, your group will connect on a video conferencing platform where your event host will split you out into teams. Together, you’ll have to adapt your problem-solving skills as you race against the clock to tackle a variety of mixed brainteaser challenges ranging from Sudoku to puzzles, a game of Cranium, riddles, and even trivia. 

Curious to see how a virtual team building activity works? Check out this video on a Virtual Clue Murder Mystery in action. 

Step into the Outback Time Machine and take a trip through time, from pre-pandemic 21st century through the decades all the way to the 60’s. 

This exciting, fast-paced virtual trivia game, packed with nostalgia and good vibes, is guaranteed to produce big laughs, friendly competition, and maybe even some chair-dancing. 

Your virtual game show host will warm up guests with a couple of “table hopper rounds” (breakout room mixers) and split you out into teams. Within minutes, your home office will be transformed into a game show stage with your very own game show buzzers! 

And if your team loves trivia, check out our list of the most incredible virtual trivia games for work teams for even more ideas.

6.  Virtual Jeoparty Social

If your remote team is eager to socialize, have some fun as a group, and channel their competitive spirit, we’ve got just the thing for you! With Virtual Jeoparty Social, you and your colleagues will step into your very own virtual Jeopardy-style game show—equipped with a buzzer button, a professional actor as your host, and an immersive game show platform! Best of all, this game has been infused with an ultra-social twist: players will take part in a unique social mixer challenge between each round. 

With the right team building problem solving activities, you can help your team sharpen their core skills to ensure they’re prepared when they inevitably face a challenge at work. And best of all, you can have fun in the process. 

Do you have any favorite team building activities for building problem-solving skills? If so, tell us about them in the comments section below! 

Learn More About Team Building Problem Solving Activities  

For more information about how your group can take part in a virtual team building, training, or coaching solution, reach out to our Employee Engagement Consultants.     

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And stay updated, related articles.

How To Manage Remote Teams: Insights from 6 Business Leaders

The Role of Corporate Training in Employee Experience

18 Incredible Virtual Trivia Games for Work Teams

I love how this blog provides a variety of problem-solving activities for team building. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to foster teamwork and collaboration!

How to have a more productive team meeting (that staff and managers will love)

The team meeting. A necessary evil, an exercise in wasting time, or your organization’s secret weapon? At it’s best, a team meeting is a way to ensure your staff and management teams are aligned , that no obstacles stand in the way of company progress, and to create an open forum for dialogue and discussion . At their worst, team meetings can frustrate and cause more problems than they solve with many employees facing meeting overload . Can you afford to have bad meetings that could lose clients or cause friction with internal stakeholders when there is a solution?

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As organizations develop more dynamic ways to communicate, the tried and tested team meeting needs an upgrade. You can have more efficient, fun, and engaging meetings with your team. In this article, we’ll show you how!

First, we’ll explore how to organize and plan more purposeful meetings. Next, we’ll show you what to put in your meeting agenda and then we’ll show you how to lead them in a way that generates results and connection.

What is the purpose of a team meeting?

What are the six types of team meeting, what is the importance of a team meeting, how to plan an engaging team meeting, what to put in a team meeting agenda, how to lead more productive meetings, team meeting faq.

At its core, the purpose of a team meeting is to share information efficiently and to provide scope for discussion around what is being shared . A good team meeting helps teams align on the topics of discussion, air any concerns or obstacles, and have clarity on future actions. 

The exact purpose of a team meeting is decided by the topics in the agenda and the business needs of the meeting and your organization. 

Your team meeting might be business-critical – a place where company developments or valuable information or training are shared. Team meetings can also be where your staff are able to spend time together informally and share what’s on their mind. Conducting team meetings to improve wellness, for open discussion, or simply to try something new are all viable reasons to bring your team together.

Key to a successful team meeting is to always have a clear purpose. Define what it is that you are gathering people for – their time is as precious as anyone’s and if they think it’s time wasted, it will work against you and certainly won’t energise the team! Jane Mitchell , Founder JL&M, Director at Karian and Box

The most productive and effective team meetings have a clear purpose in mind. As a manager be sure to identify the purpose of your meeting, whether it is to align your team, to have fun and get to know new members of staff, or to deliver business-critical information. Going into a team meeting with a clear purpose helps ensure you can stay on track and be more successful as a result. 

Not all team meetings are made for the same purpose. When you’re looking for team meeting ideas and what kind of meeting you should run, it’s helpful to consider your purpose and what you want to achieve.

Here are some of the most common types of team meetings, with a rundown of what they might involve and how you might run them.

Status update meetings

A status update meeting is one of the most common meetings you will lead, and one you will likely perform on a regular schedule. This often involves giving status updates on current projects and ensuring alignment on next steps for the week. The status update meeting might be a general catch-up, where staff and stakeholders can brief the team on their progress and give a general overview of their status. This helps teams stay aligned and discuss any challenges or barriers .  Regular meetings to discuss the status of a project are hugely helpful in ensuring everyone is moving forward in the right direction. They can help remove blockers and support further work while giving the project manager everything they need to manage effectively.

Information sharing meetings

All organizations will have information they need to share with their teams at some stage. An information sharing meeting might include presentations from stakeholders or sub-teams, keynote speeches, company updates or briefings for new staff. Subtypes of this meeting might include the company all-hands, training sessions, external parties delivering presentations, product demonstrations, and more. While some items can be distributed via email, there is power and value in sharing information in a live, public setting where you can clarify any points of confusion and highlight your key points. Remember that information-sharing meetings do not need to be wholly passive. As a team leader, you should consider where you can use activities and games to ensure engagement.

Decision making meetings

Team meetings that bring people together to focus on a common goal are great places to make decisions and solve problems. A decision making meeting can vary from information gathering and sharing, coming together to evaluate solutions, voting on a course of action, or aligning around the implementation of a chosen decision. In this kind of meeting, clearly setting the purpose and desired outcome is integral to its success. If you want to come out of the meeting with a decision made, set this expectation prior to the meeting taking place. It’s also important to ensure that everyone involved in the decision is considered and that their views are heard. Group decision-making meetings with a clear leader are an effective way to pool resources but also ensure action is taken.

Problem solving meetings

All teams face problems both big and small. These might relate to business challenges, internal politics, external pressures or particular projects or team goals.

A problem solving meeting can be a great place to employ out-of-the-box techniques and exercises , consider problems from new angles, and create change in an organization. Your problem solving meeting might even be focused on first clearly identifying and defining a problem with data, or creating a strategy to deal with problems that you expect may arise. Proactive problem solving is a great way to engage your team and delight your customers .

Innovation meetings

The design and innovation meeting is where your team can be creative, bringing new ideas to the table that can help drive innovation in your organization . Here, your team might conduct workshops, design sprints, and ideation games to generate innovation before moving on to finessing and honing those ideas into something more concrete. Though they might be looser in nature, innovation and ideation meetings should always have goals and outcomes in mind and be focused on creating actionable items you might iterate on in the future.

Check out the ideation workshop template to see how you might schedule and run this kind of meeting effectively.

Team building meetings

Every meeting you run with your team should be an opportunity for collaboration, discussion, and conversation : all items that contribute to building a strong and effective team. That being said, dedicated team building meetings are vital to building a vibrant company culture, bringing a team together, and to help keep everyone happy and productive. You might go on a company away day, facilitate conversation between previously siloed teams, celebrate your team’s successes, engage in activities and exercises, and unify your staff.

Check out the team canvas template agenda for a great example of how you might spend time on creating better team cohesion in an upcoming meeting!

It’s really important that meeting participants have clarity on the ’type’ of meeting they are attending. Too often people think they are there to make decisions when it’s not even a decision making meeting! Be explicit before and during, especially at the start to the meeting, whether it’s an info share, problem solving or decision making meeting and if it IS a decision making meeting what decision making strategy and tool/method will be used to decide!” Gary Austin , Co-Founder & Director, circleindigo IAF Global Director of Communications

Team meetings are incredibly important to a productive team and organisation. Ensuring that all the members of a team are given what they need to perform well, remain aligned and be happy and effective in their work is vital, and meetings remain one of the most efficient ways to facilitate teaching, conversation and change . 

In large organizations with many teams, there comes the danger of siloing teams or individuals away from the rest of the company. Communication between teams is integral to helping everyone understand business goals and company direction, all with the goal of promoting better collaboration and to prevent friction or frustration.

In a Fierce, Inc survey on team collaboration , they found that “ 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures .” Well-constructed team meetings promote collaboration and communication and can ensure that any difficulties that might lead to the above failure can be addressed before it occurs.

Consider whether members of your product team have regular contact with your support or success teams. Meetings that reach across teams and pull people who might not work closely together is a great way of sharing ideas and knowledge and ensuring that work done will be valuable and not repeated . Product teams can develop better features with the input of customer-facing teams; executive teams can only address staff concerns if they are productively raised and discussed. Team meetings allow this exchange of knowledge and expertise to occur. 

Asynchronous tools to help improve communication, log tasks and collect feedback are great and should be used, though there’s always value in discussing business-critical decisions in person or in remote team meetings. When a group of people get together in a room on virtually, you are able to iterate quickly, develop ideas and be agile. There is always value in putting your team in a safe, non-hierarchical space to discuss ideas .

The best teams communicate often and reappraise their goals, methods, and outcomes regularly. A good team meeting can be the most effective way to accomplish this, though a bad team can set your team back and even ruin morale. So how can you improve your team meeting and avoid time-wasting? Read on to see how planning, agendas, and good practice can make your team meeting more effective. 

Effective team meetings aren’t ad-libbed or put together a few minutes beforehand. Planning the structure, purpose, and scope of your meeting not only helps you understand the value it can provide but also helps you keep everything on track. Here are some tips on how to plan an effective team meeting.

Ask whether this needs to be a meeting

Before you schedule a meeting, ask yourself whether what you aim to achieve or discuss needs to be done in a meeting. Can the aims of the meeting be better accomplished with collaborative online tools or via other methods? Meetings without value or purpose can frustrate your staff or divert attention from business-critical items.

Every meeting should have a clear purpose and outcome in mind , whether that’s to generate ideas, teach the use of a new tool, or to eat birthday cake. If you do not have a purpose or outcome for your meeting, reassess whether it is a good use of your team’s time.

Remember that giving your staff an open forum to air concerns or to take some downtime and get to know one another does have value. So long as the meeting is the most efficient way of reaching a particular outcome, even if that outcome is an open conversation or simply having fun, it deserves to be run.

Clarify the purpose and expected outcomes of the meeting

Team meetings can be fluid in nature: certain topics may generate large amounts of discussion while others may be straightforward. The key to a successful meeting is to be clear on the purpose of the meeting and what outcomes you and the team should expect as a result. Clarify this early on in the planning process so that you can ensure your meeting is on point and so that everything you design for the meeting is relevant.

Create a team meeting agenda and prioritize your topics

Start by creating an agenda for your meeting, including all the topics you want to cover. Have a clear idea of what items in your agenda are most important so you can adjust accordingly, keep things on track, and allow for further discussion if necessary. Prioritize your topics so you can ensure that what needs to be covered is done so without issue, and so that any time in the meeting is well spent.

Being in control does not mean being inflexible : as a team leader, you should have a feel for what is most valuable to your team and this means ensuring that happens, but that you are able to adapt to what comes up in the meeting.

Collaborate with other stakeholders

90% of employees in the Fierce Inc survey believed decision-makers should seek other opinions before making a final decision . 97% of people also believed that a lack of alignment within a team directly impacted the outcome of a project . This is true for meetings as much as any other organizational process. Seeking the opinions and input of others and aligning ahead of meetings through collaboration is vital to making your meetings more effective. Ensure stakeholders from other departments have a channel to raise items for discussion. Use the expertise and insight of your team to deliver better meetings. If you’re briefing your executive team on product developments, get input from your product team and, if possible, get them in the room to lead the relevant sections. Team meetings are places to build bridges, whether that be between gaps in knowledge or between team members – help build those bridges by putting the right people in the room together. Be certain to judge how much collaboration is necessary for your meeting. A large-scale meeting about the direction of a company should have feedback and input from many divisions; a small group meeting about how to use a specialized piece of equipment, possibly not. It’s worth noting that facilitating collaboration with the right tools and processes is vital to make this work. Using emails to collect meeting ideas, collaborate on sessions and develop plans is likely to be inefficient and lead to things being lost in the cracks.

Tailor the agenda and format to suit the purpose of the meeting

A team meeting intended to finalize a decision-making process will need a mix of methods and techniques very different to a daily stand-up meeting. One size does not fit all and your meeting should be explicitly constructed with the purpose in mind . This might mean including icebreaker games if the purpose of the meeting is team building, or including design and innovation techniques for an ideation workshop . Your agenda may need amending if the meeting is for senior stakeholders versus the whole team. An open forum might benefit an informal discussion but you may need to employ a different model when leading a business-critical meeting that needs to be delivered quickly. Design your meeting to suit its purpose, the allocated time, and participants, and it will be much more productive as a result.

Be wary of fatigue

Some meetings are longer than others by necessity, though you should always consider the effect this will have on your participants. Allocate breaks preferably at least every 90 minutes, if not sooner. 

If you have particularly dense items to go through, consider how you might make them more engaging or easy to understand. Multiple formats for presenting information can help – mixing collaborative exercises and more discursive teaching can be a good way of keeping people engaged and avoiding fatigue.

Design your meeting with the attendees in mind

A small team meeting with your HR department will require a different approach to a company all-hands with dozens of attendees. You may need to adjust timings, put in additional items or construct your meeting differently. If you’re discussing development roadmaps with a team with varying levels of technical knowledge, consider the language used and whether you might want to circulate FAQs or explainers ahead of the meeting. When including facilitation methods, exercises or games, bear in mind the number of attendees and whether you might need breakout groups. A team-building exercise with dozens of attendees could take the entire meeting if not handled correctly. Remember: this will likely not be the first or last meeting people will have attended. If you are leading a meeting for design professionals, many techniques or methods will already be known to them and you should plan accordingly. Different skill and experience levels require different approaches and as such, you should know who will be attending ahead of the meeting. Design your sessions so that they are engaging and useful for everyone.

Know your audience and be humble in recognising that a burning subject for you may not be uppermost in the minds of the team! Once you balance that in your preparation – approach the meeting accordingly to get the best out of everyone and to meet your own needs. Jane Mitchell , Founder JL&M, Director at Karian and Box

Carefully select who needs to attend

If your meeting is for stakeholders in a particular topic or is focusing on a particular product area, it may not be pertinent for everyone in your company to attend. Think about who will find it valuable, who it affects and who has something to contribute. Always go back to your purpose and outcomes and if some people aren’t going to find value in attending, rethink whether they should attend. Frustration can arise if people are in meetings they have no reason to be in or where they have nothing to learn or add.

Consider the location and plan ahead

Are you using powerpoint or conducting a software demo? Do you want people to be able to break out into smaller teams? Ensuring you have the right location, room setup and resources for your meeting will keep your meeting on time and effective. Think about accessibility and the needs of all the members of your team when choosing a location and design your meeting accordingly.

Circulate your agenda ahead of the meeting

Giving your team time to prepare and arrive at the meeting with an idea of what they’d like to bring is imperative in ensuring a productive meeting. Some topics are complex and benefit from forethought – by circulating the team meeting agenda in advance, participants can get a headstart and feel prepared.

Give your participants clear expectations of the meeting

When circulating your agenda, ensure you give your staff an outline of what is expected of them . If they need to prepare material, be clear about what they need to prepare and exactly what you want from them. Are they bringing an idea they can present in thirty seconds or something more robust? Do they need to bring any equipment or materials? Do you need them to review a document or product prior to attending? At the planning stage, itemize everything your participants will need to bring to the meeting or tasks they will need to do before. With this clarity, both you and your participants can thoroughly prepare and the meeting can run more efficiently. At this stage, it can also be useful to set the ground rules for the team meeting. This might include delineating leaders, expected etiquette, attendance and more. This is likely to be reiterated in the meeting, but giving your participants an expectation of behavior and how the meeting will be conducted at this stage can help prevent future issues from arising.

Create room in your meeting for discussion

Realistically allot time to tasks and, depending on the meeting format, allow time for questions and feedback. It’s sometimes tempting to cram topics and exercises into a meeting and try and rush through everything. Ensure your workload and agenda is sensibly timed , and that you have some wiggle room if a task generates additional discussion or needs further explanation. If the subject of the meeting is likely to create a discussion among your team, it can be incredibly frustrating to cut that short.

Set a schedule and stick to it where possible

Having a consistent time and schedule for your team meetings is tremendously useful. Setting a routine is great at ensuring your staff will remember to attend and get into a habit of checking the agenda and doing preparatory work. 

People like to know what’s coming and scheduling your meetings on the hoof can lead to frustration. Set a schedule so your staff can plan around their work around the meeting and be at their most productive.

Expect equipment to fail and plan ahead

Technical solutions and audio-visual equipment can enrich any meeting, though what happens if something goes wrong? Can you afford to cancel a meeting because the sound refuses to come out of the speakers or your magic pointer is out of battery? Plan for the event of a tech failure so you can deliver a productive, effective meeting whatever the circumstances. This might mean bringing printouts, having back-up materials, or alternative ideation exercises. 

Extra considerations for virtual team meetings

Before you jump into a video call, there are a few more things you’ll want to think about in order to make the session a success.

Does everyone have access to the video app or the meeting link? Use google calendar or similar to ensure everyone can see the meeting and attend. Reminders in Slack or calendar software are also useful to ensure everyone gets into the meeting on time. 

Remember to consider timezones when selecting a time for a remote meeting . Your US team might not appreciate a team meeting at midnight in their timezone!

Should the meeting be recorded for other members of staff who may not be online can gain benefits? If so, how will that be done? Doing things last minute or finding out how to record during the meeting isn’t the best use of time – plan ahead so that your meeting runs smoothly.

Be sure to make it clear at the outset whether you want people to respond in chat, or by speaking up. This can ensure everyone feels able to contribute while also keeping your video call on time!

Lastly, you might want to consider the tools you’re using for your virtual team meeting. Combining the best collaboration tool with your video software of choice can massively impact the success of your session. Take a peek at our collection of free online tools to get started!

Setting a clear agenda can be one of the most effective ways of ensuring your meeting is a success. Creating a team meeting agenda that covers expectations, how everyone should prepare, and including the complete rundown of the meeting should be your first port of call when putting your meeting together. 

In short, your team meeting agenda is a tool to outline what will be included in your team meeting, including topics, times, and additional material. It is an overview that you and your staff can refer to ahead of and during the meeting. 

Want to get started with a complete example agenda? Check out our collection of meeting and workshop templates to get inspired and see a schedule in action.

An example team meeting agenda might include:

Meeting details: time, location, and host

News and announcements, progress report or follow-up on a previous meeting, future actions.

Make sure your team knows when and where the meeting is, and who will be leading it. Add contact details if necessary so participants can forward questions ahead of the meeting. The details or introduction of your agenda should also include goals and expected outcomes, what the purpose of the meeting it, and what do you want your team to get out of it. Having a clear goal and letting your team know what you hope to achieve can really help make a meeting more productive.

Don’t assume that everyone on your team reads every email announcement. Here, you can highlight key bits of news, share announcements, and give kudos to team members who deserve extra recognition. Beginning a meeting in this manner helps staff settle in and warm up before the real work of the meeting kicks off.

Was an item raised in the previous meeting that needs to be checked in on? Was a business-critical action agreed on that requires a debrief or status update?  If the subject of a series of team meetings is a particular project or initiative, you might discuss what progress has been made, what the next steps are and what obstacles exist. This portion of a meeting is intended to align and resolve any issues swiftly so that everyone can be productive once the meeting is over.

This is often where the bulk of meeting time is spent. The team leader or other stakeholders will explore the topics of the meeting with the group and lead them towards the desired outcome. This might include the teaching of a new product feature by a lead developer, a discussion of employee benefits, or workshops or exercises designed with a specific goal in mind. 

The format of this section will be tailored to the needs of the meeting and should be focused on fulfilling the purpose and goals of the meeting. If your meeting is designed to generate new ideas, this will be where you create space for exercises and group work. If there is business-critical information your team needs to receive, the approach you take might be more discursive. The important thing is that you go through the key items of your agenda in an efficient, productive manner. Outlining the key topics that will be covered in your agenda helps you do this in a cinch.

Opening the floor to your team and allowing room for them to feedback on the contents of the meeting or to raise other concerns is an important element of most team meetings. As a manager, creating space to listen to your team and encourage open, honest discussion is one of the most empowering things you can do for your staff.  It’s worth noting that there are many ways to facilitate discussion in a team meeting: you may have a plenary discussion, roundtables, town hall-style, note-and-vote, small group breakouts or an open forum. Tailor the form of discussion to your group size and the purpose of the meeting. Many meetings will allow time and space for discussion throughout, but having dedicated time towards the end of a meeting can allow your staff the opportunity to plan ahead and bring concerns that will benefit from group discussion to the table. 

Here is where you will wrap up the outcomes of the meeting and agree on actions to be taken as a result of what has been discussed. These might include follow-ups with particular staff members, new tasks, or items to be actioned ahead of the next meeting. Just as you set clear expectations of what you wanted from your team prior to the meeting, this is a place to set the expectations you have of staff following the meeting.

This list is by no means exhaustive and will be tailored to your meeting. If the focus of your team meeting is to discuss a business-critical issue, you may not have need for other news and announcements. If you having a team-building meeting, you may want to avoid more formal topics in your agenda. Remember: your agenda sets the stage for your meeting and affects what expectations people will have as a result. Your agenda will let your staff whether they are going into a meeting where they will be primarily taught, whether they need to prepare for group discussions, or if its a looser team development meeting.

So you’ve created an awesome team meeting agenda, planned everything down to the finest detail, and gotten everyone into the right place. How do you lead a meeting and ensure it is productive for everyone involved?

Conducting a team meeting effectively is an important skillset and is an often neglected area of managerial duty . The best meeting agenda can fall apart if a meeting is allowed to go off the rails. Here are some tips on what to do before the meeting, during the meeting, and afterward.

• Before the meeting
• During the meeting
• After the meeting

What to do before your team meeting

Preparation and planning is key to a successful team meeting. Here are some tips on what you can do before your meeting that will help it be more productive.

Be familiar with the equipment and meeting location

Are you using a projector to display materials or running a product demo? Check your equipment and set-up beforehand so that the meeting can run smoothly. Acts of gods can happen, but prepare for eventualities where equipment may fail. If you’re booking an unfamiliar meeting room, arrive early or scope it out beforehand. Are there enough chairs? Allow yourself time to set-up the room before it begins. Time spent arranging a room during a meeting will cut into your agenda time.

Allow sufficient time for prep

Giving your team the time to properly prepare for the meeting is integral to ensuring it is a success. If they have materials to prepare or read through, ensure that everyone has time to go through them. Sending a document last minute and expecting everyone to receive and digest it is likely to cause issues. On the flip side, ensure you have time to prep yourself. Getting to a staff meeting late and having to set-up in a hurry can mean your meeting sets off on the wrong foot. Giving yourself time to mentally prepare, particularly if the subject of a meeting is business critical or emotive is also important. Have time to take a breath, set-up the room and go over your agenda before you start.

Keep it lean

A team meeting is just one small part of the working day and productive teams will have other tasks they need to attend to. Keep your meetings lean and cut out extraneous items so they can be all killer, no filler. Tight, well-designed meetings are more engaging and will save time too!

Remember that time for questions and discussion is vital and should not be the first thing on the chopping block. You are the expert in what your team needs and what is of greatest value to them. Design with that in mind and your meetings will be more effective as a result. 

Be clear about the purpose and scope of the meeting

Not being clear can allow a meeting to be derailed or to focus on non-vital areas for too long. Always bear in mind the purpose of the meeting and adjust when something goes off track if it is not of value.

There is a fine line to tread between being rigid and flexible but any tension can be mitigated by being clear both before and during a meeting. Being clear about the scope of the meeting is also important: no single meeting can cover everything happening in a company and it’s important to know what can be accomplished in the time you have allocated. 

What to do during your team meeting

Once the meeting has begun, there are a number of things you will want to keep an eye on so that it is valuable and engaging for all involved. Here are a few things you can do to make your staff meeting a success.

Set the ground rules

This can make the difference between a productive meeting where everyone feels heard, and a meeting where people become angry and lose interest. The ground rules for a meeting might take the form of a quick word on how people can raise items, how they should interact with other members and what is expected of them or can become as exhaustive as a contract that attendees agree to. You should be clear about what is expected of your participants and also, what is unacceptable behavior. Becoming aggressive, shouting over other attendees or not engaging with the group are all things you might want to guard against by setting out the rules before you begin. 

Effective team meetings are based on respect, trust, and communication: your ground rules should lay down the importance of these items so your attendees can operate in the knowledge they will be heard and respected in the meeting.

Watch the clock

Keep your eye on the clock and ensure your meeting runs on time. This might mean wrapping up certain discussions early or allowing others to continue. You need to judge the value of what’s being discussed but broadly speaking, stick to your agenda and keep to your timings so that everything is covered. 

Ensure that there is a clear meeting leader

Even when bringing in other parties, there should be a person in the room responsible for timekeeping, leading and curating the meeting. This will ensure that if things get out of hand there is one person to defer to and make judgment calls for when to move on. This does not mean that meetings should be run dictatorially – it is simply important to have someone in control of the flow of the meeting and to redirect energies where necessary.

Model the behavior you want to see

Remember that as a leader you are modeling the behavior you want to see in your staff. If you do not appear that you want to be in the meeting, your team will pick up on that. Be positive and engaged, listen to your team and collaborate where possible and set the example for meeting behavior your team can follow.

Share responsibilities 

Trying to do everything as the leader of a team meeting is valiant but may not result in the most effective or enjoyable meeting. Collaborate before the meeting by getting input from stakeholders and domain experts. Share tasks if applicable and leverage the expertise of your team. This might mean having chosen attendees leading particular sections of the meeting, having a designated note-taker or person responsible for tech. If your focus is on facilitating the meeting most effectively, be empowered by sharing other tasks with members of your team.

Be flexible to business conditions

Try starting every meeting with a quick review of the agenda and of the parameters of the meeting. Is something business-critical occurring, or have some of the items to be covered drastically changed since the agenda was circulated? Business is fluid and as the leader of a team meeting, you should be flexible when judging if the meeting needs to change or be abandoned.

Be engaging

If you are delivering training, there are many ways you can transmit information more effectively and by engaging your team in fresh ways. A meeting should not be a one-way conversation and by trying proven techniques of increasing engagement, you can have more productive meetings.  You might include some exercises or activities to get your team to energized or think of problems in new ways. Remember that changing things for the sake of changing them can also lead to frustration. Not every kind of meeting needs an energizer or ice breaker. You are the expert on your team, and you should judge the tenor and make-up of the meeting accordingly. 

Consider inclusion and engagement and help everyone feel of equal value in the room – that they are valued for who they are. This means making the meeting accessible physically, but also socially/psychologically – e.g. the language used, waiting at least 7 seconds for people to respond to a question, using people’s names to invite them into a discussion. Remember that people “engage” in different ways – some speak up, others process thoughts quietly. Just “showing up” can be a form of engagement.  Laura Sly , Trainer, Facilitator, Coach, Consultant; YLS Ltd

Encourage participation by creating the right environment

When facilitating a team meeting, participation is one of your key measures of success. Creating space in your agenda for people to participate and contribute is important. Create a safe space where people feel they can participate without judgment. Set your expectations when it comes to participation and outline the ground rules so that everyone gets a chance to speak. Some team members are likely to be chattier than others: stay alert and encourage your less forthcoming team members to speak up. Ensuring that everyone feels heard and empowered to contribute leads to a greater range of input and helps build a safe environment for sharing. 

Encourage honesty and openness

All teams may disagree on certain points, whether it comes to direction, focus or strategy. Build an environment where your staff can be honest, candid and direct in team meetings. Encouraging your staff that honesty and candidness is not only encouraged but celebrated can help accelerate any process and ensure that every staff member can speak their mind. While there will always be a meeting leader, make it clear that everyone’s opinion is valuable, whether they are part of the executive team or a junior member who just joined the organization.

Take notes, minutes or record the meeting

Have you ever lead a great team meeting only to forget what the takeaways were as soon as you’ve left the room? Genius can strike in the moment and be lost just as quickly. Have a method in place for recording the meeting or taking notes. If you are leading a meeting, this might be conducted by another team member. For remote teams, this might be recording the video of the meeting or can be just as simple as having a notepad at the ready. Recording the meeting also means you have resources to learn from in the future and improve your meetings if something didn’t go well.

Make reviewing meetings part of the routine, something you do at the end of every meeting, so that everyone is learning how to do it better all the time. Three simple questions: to what extent did we meet our aims in this meeting? What helped? What got in the way? Give everyone a chance to say something and put the responses in the note of the meeting so you remember to make improvements next time. Penny Walker , Facilitator, Trainer, Coach, Consultant for sustainable development

What to do after your team meeting

Most team meetings will result in actions being agreed upon and further steps your staff will need to take. Be sure to continue the work done during the meeting with the following tips on what to do once the meeting is over.

Be sure to allow time for feedback both inside and outside of the meeting. This might be in a slack room, a google poll or an email after the meeting, but hearing from the attendees on what worked and what didn’t can be instrumental in ensuring the value of future meetings. 

Some questions you might ask can include:

• Were you given enough time/resources to prepare for the meeting?
• How did the meeting deliver value and meet your expectations?
• What would you have added to the agenda? 

Listen to your team

What do they need from your meetings and how can you deliver better value to them? This might come up during open discussions in your meeting, though its key to allow other forums for your team to raise these items without the scrutiny of speaking in front of everyone. You may even consider allowing anonymous feedback with a form or survey if the topics of discussion would benefit from anonymity. What’s important is that every member of staff can give feedback and have their voice heard in the way that is best for them.

Demonstrate value

Demonstrate the value of your meetings to your teams and stakeholders throughout the organization. Did your team meeting expose a customer pain point or result in a great new product idea? Were you able to solve a problem as a team that can benefit the whole organization? If your team is one part of a greater whole, share best practices and your findings. If you can prove your team meetings generate results, staff will likely be more engaged in future meetings.

Running better team meetings that engage your staff and increase productivity is not an exact science. Use the tips above but be sure to trust your instincts and tailor your approach to your team. 

Running a successful team meeting is an alchemy of planning, facilitation, great exercises, and engaging content. Is there something we didn’t cover above but is on your mind? We highlighted some of the most commonly asked questions about team meetings below for you!

What are the benefits of team meetings?

Is there such thing as too many team meetings, is the traditional team meeting dead, how do i make team meetings more fun, how should i start a team meeting, what should i do in my first team meeting, what are team meetings best used for.

When you bring your team together effectively, something magic happens. You can create a sense of energy and shared purpose, clean up misconceptions and remove blockers too. The best team meetings enable great work to happen without taking up too much time or frustrating participants.

It takes effort, planning, and good facilitation skills , but the benefits of a team meeting include:

• improved team cohesion and alignment
• clear designation of tasks and next steps
• removal of blockers and challenges
• celebration of wins and accomplishments
• space to brainstorm and ideate together
• keep the team informed of developments and upcoming items
• team bonding and connection
• opportunity to practice presentation skills
• time to give feedback and improve team processes

Yes and no. It’s true that many organizations have too many unproductive or dull meetings, but it’s also true that we still need good meetings in order to create high-functioning and connected teams.

Any manager running meetings should have a clear idea of the purpose and benefits of the meeting. If the meeting has no value or purpose, you should really question whether the meeting needs to go ahead at all. If you are running multiple team meetings, consider whether they can be condensed, made leaner or whether some of them can be replaced with collaborative online tools. Meeting fatigue is very real and burning your team out on an excessive number of meetings can only reduce productivity. 

No. Teams will always need to meet and discuss business items and, where possible, meeting in person is still hugely valuable. Creating engaging meetings with purpose and fresh approaches to engaging staff will help your team meetings be something your staff look forward to, rather than dread.

Slack channels and collaboration tools are great but do not discount the value of a well-planned and properly run team meeting where people can collaborate face-to-face.

Fun is a tricky concept when it comes to team meetings. Does every meeting need to be fun, and should a meeting’s value be judged on whether it is fun or not? Perhaps a better question would be: How do I make a team meeting more engaging? In a business-critical meeting where high-level items are being discussed, you do not necessarily need people to have fun, but to be engaged with the subject of the meeting and have clear takeaways and actions. In a team development meeting designed to get teams talking, fun should absolutely be a consideration. Use energizers, exercises and proven methods of engagement from our library to help people connect, build bridges and have fun. Every meeting should be the best version of itself it can be: if it’s a meeting where people are getting to know each other, make it more fun and include some energizers . If it’s a meeting where you are trying to improve collaboration between staff, make it more collaborative.

By focusing on making your meeting more engaging, your meeting will be more successful: successful teams inevitably have more fun. Create a positive feedback loop!

Warming up your staff ahead of complicated or emotive discussion is a great idea. This might include an icebreaker activity , the sharing of good news or announcements, or a quick debate on a small issue. Encouraging the activity you’d like to see in the meeting in a fun, brief form is a good way to ensure staff are warmed up and ready to engage with the rest of the meeting. Engage people with open questions to invite them into the meeting, set the tone, be positive, and make lots of eye contact. Remember you are modeling the behavior you want to see from your participants, and by making a great example, people can follow suit.

When you are leading your first team meeting, whether with an entirely new team or in a new role, you are setting the tone for future meetings and interactions with your team. Lead a poorly planned and executed meeting and you are teaching your team to dread your future meetings. Make a big impact by finessing your first meeting and creating a template for future success.

In your first team meeting, ensure you have ample time to get to know everyone, break the ice and have open, frank discussions. After your first team meeting, give your team the chance to offer feedback and help you improve – creating an environment of honest, unilateral feedback will pay dividends in future meetings.

Team meetings are great places to resolve issues and confusion with honest, open discussion. Items that might take dozens of back and forth emails to clarify can be talked through in a safe public forum and you can save time as a result. In many organizations, team meetings might be the only time you can get the right minds all together in a room for a single purpose. The collaborative atmosphere is great for developing ideas, problem-solving and fast iteration. Bouncing thoughts off one another in a meeting environment can be extremely effective and lead to unexpected outcomes. Team meetings are also best used for transmitting critical information in a way you know your staff will receive. Emails can be missed or items in a bulletin can be skipped. In a team meeting you can ensure everyone is on the same page and that any concerns and raised.

In conclusion

We hope we’ve given you some insight into how to lead a better team meeting and get the most out of the time you spend in meetings. Whether you run a team meeting once a week or every three months, taking the time to plan, collaborate and consider how to make your meeting more engaging is an integral part of managing and leading a team.

If we’ve left anything out or if you have questions about any part of the post, write to us in the comments below. We’d love to hear how you connect with staff in team meetings and your tips to lead the best team meeting possible!

James Smart is Head of Content at SessionLab. He’s also a creative facilitator who has run workshops and designed courses for establishments like the National Centre for Writing, UK. He especially enjoys working with young people and empowering others in their creative practice.

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Whether you are working remotely or in the office, these activities are going to generate trust, create stronger relationships and improve your team's problem-solving abilities.

It goes without saying that problem-solving skills are absolutely essential in the workplace. Solving problems in a group setting requires strong collaboration skills, the ability to adapt, and clear communications across the team. Team building activities are an interactive and creative approach to strengthen these skills. These activities are going to generate trust, create stronger relationships and improve problem-solving abilities, simultaneously. Whether you are working from home or you’re in the office; and whether you’re working with a large group or small groups, the Fellow team has compiled 5 team-building problem-solving activities that will connect, engage and energize your team . 

What is team building?

The benefits of team building problem solving activities, 5 effective team building problem solving activities, free team building agenda template.

Let’s take it back to basics: What is team building, anyway? The Oxford English Dictionary defines team building as: 

“The action or process of causing a group of people to work together effectively as a team, especially by means of activities and events designed to increase motivation and promote cooperation.”

The Balance Careers also provide an excellent explanation of what team building means in the 21st century: 

“Team building is the process of turning a group of individual contributing employees into a cohesive team. A team is a group of people organized to work together interdependently and cooperatively to meet the needs of their customers by accomplishing their purpose and goals.” 

Although some managers may feel reluctant at first to initiate problem solving activities with their teams, there are so many benefits that make team building exercises worth the while.

Team building problem-solving activities promote increased trust between teammates. Because there are higher levels of trust, it then becomes much easier to provide constructive criticism. These exercises are a great relationship-building opportunity that can foster clear communications, which in turn encourage a collective effort, making it a lot easier to work together towards a common goal.

Another benefit of solving problems as a team is a leaner and faster onboarding . Again, with these strengthened relationships, stronger communication and a deeper understanding of the way each team member approaches problems, new employees will recognize this cohesiveness and feed off of it. 

Enhance your team’s problem-solving skills

Write down the problem, thought processes, and next steps in a meeting agenda that everyone has access to collaborate on. Try a tool like Fellow!

Here are 5 problem solving team building exercises that are going to bring you and your team closer together to tackle every day problems in the most effective way possible. 🙌

You’ll find a comprehensive description of the games, their importance in problem solving, the time required and the instructions on how to play below: 

• Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower
• A Shrinking Vessel

1 Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower

Promotes : Collaboration

Importance of collaboration in problem solving: When a manager actively participates with the rest of their team, employees feel much more supported. It is that support that then generates the motivation to contribute to the success of the team and perform well. A positive work environment will encourage your employees to work hard, build relationships and welcome challenges. If your team is used to tackling problems in a collaborative manner, challenges that arise will be welcomed by them as they have the professional drive to solve problems with the help of their colleagues. 

Equip yourself with (per team):

• 20 sticks of uncooked spaghetti
• 1 roll of masking tape
• 1 yard of string
• 1 marshmallow

Time needed : 30 minutes.

Can we play remote? No. 

How to play

• The objective of this activity is to see which team can use the materials provided to build the tallest tower within a 30-minute time period. The team must build the tower so that it can stand on its own, without any support!
• You can make this activity more challenging by making it a must to add a marshmallow to the top of the tower. This team-building problem-solving exercise pushes teams to think on the spot while building communication and leadership skills. 

2 A Shrinking Vessel

Promotes : Adaptability

Importance of adaptability in problem solving : The more adaptable your team is, the more productive they will be, too. The ability to welcome change with more ease will diminish stress-levels for your team members and allow them to use the time that may have been spent worrying on solving problems instead. If your team is adaptable, they are much more likely to carry leadership skills, to take initiative, to be determined and analytical. These are all valuable qualities that contribute to the success of any team. 

Equip yourself with : A rope or a string. 

Can we play remote ? No. 

• Use the rope to make a shape on the floor that everyone can fit into.
• Slowly shrink the space over a time period of 10-15 minutes.
• Work together to figure out how to keep everyone within the shrinking boundaries.

Promotes : Communication and decision making

Importance of communication and decision making in problem solving : Strong communications within your team are paramount to teamwork and to resolving issues together. The clearer the communication, the less time you will spend remedying problems that arise so that you can make sound decisions. Good communication skills for remote teams are just as (if not more) important. Working on clear communication will allow you and your employees to solve problems more effectively, no matter the physical separation.

Equip yourself with : An office space/ virtual space. 

Time needed : 40 minutes.

Can we play remote ? Yes.

Begin by setting the scene for the group: Your team has been stranded in the office. The doors are locked, and knocking down the doors or breaking the windows is not an option. Your team has 30 minutes to decide on 10 items in the office they need to survive and rank them in order of importance. The goal of the game is to have everyone agree on the 10 items as well as their ranking in 30 minutes.

Promotes : Communication

Importance of communication in problem solving : We’ve already discussed how communication is essential to the success of group work, though there are countless reasons it is important. Another reason why communication skills are essential to problem solving is because it makes us more comfortable with one another, the more we engage. Fostering a strong relationship with your colleagues will allow you to be more open, more receptive and more collaborative when solving problems. 

Equip yourself with : Legos.

Can we play remote? Yes. Group people together virtually. One person per team must have legos (in addition to the “overseer”) and the other team member(s) will help instruct their teammate how to build the lego. See below for details!

• Divide everyone into small groups of two or more.
• Select an overseer who isn’t on a team to build a random structure using Lego building blocks within 10 minutes.
• The other team(s) must build and replicate the structure exactly (including size and color) within 15 minutes. However, only one member from each group may look at the original structure. They must figure out how to communicate the size, color, and shape of the original structure to their team.

Importance of collaboration in problem solving : A group has a much higher chance of resolving an issue more effectively and in a timelier manner than doing it alone. Collaboration means that problems that arise will feel less overwhelming because you’ll know that you have your team to help you come up with the proper approach and overall solution. Whether this collaboration is in small groups or a large group, knowing that at least one person has your back is reassuring, to say the least. Team work makes the dream work!

Equip yourself with : 

• A lockable room
• 5-10 puzzles or clues (depending on how much time you want to spend on the game) 
• Sticky notes to create the puzzles or clues 

Time needed : 30 minutes- 1 hour depending on your preference. 

Can we play remote? Yes. The scenario can be made hypothetical and you can still create virtual clues on how your team can “get out” of the room. 

The objective of this activity is to solve the clues, find the key, and escape a locked room within the time allotted. It is the same idea as a scavenger hunt except you are finding the clues to “get out”!

• Hide the key and a list of clues around the room (or virtual room).
• Gather the team into the empty room and “lock” the door (this becomes hypothetical if you work remotely). Option to divide your group into two teams if you have a large group. 
• Give them either 30 minutes or 1 hour to find the key using the clues hidden around the room. The team must complete their puzzle as quickly as possible. 

There is always room for improvement when it comes to problem-solving in the workplace. If you feel like you and your team need some new inspiration to generate more creative ways to bring the team together to solve problems, consider using these problem-solving activities. You will benefit from them by creating more trust between one another, by encouraging clear communications and by promoting stronger and healthier relationships, all while having some fun . 

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Are you looking to enhance your or your team’s problem-solving abilities? Engaging in activities specifically designed to stimulate your and your team’s critical thinking skills can be an excellent way to sharpen your problem-solving prowess. Whether you enjoy puzzles, brain teasers, or interactive challenges, these activities provide an opportunity to overcome obstacles and think creatively.

By immersing yourself in problem-solving activities, you can develop valuable strategies, improve your decision-making abilities, and boost your overall problem-solving IQ.

One key aspect of successful problem-solving is ensuring clear and effective communication, such as when teams use critical tools available online. For example, testing emails for deliverability and using an email spam checker to avoid spam filters can improve team efficiency. Try Maileroo’s free mail tester to validate your email campaigns effectively. Get ready to unlock your full potential and tackle any challenge that comes your way with these exciting activities for problem-solving.

In this article, we will explore activities for problem-solving that can help enhance your team’s problem-solving skills, allowing you to approach challenges with confidence and creativity.

What Are Problem Solving Activities?

Problem-solving activities or problem-solving exercises are interactive games requiring critical thinking to solve puzzles. They enhance teamwork & critical thinking. Examples include building towers, navigating simulated challenges, and fostering creativity and communication.

For instance, imagine a team working together to construct the tallest tower using limited materials. They strategize, communicate ideas, and problem-solve to create the best structure, promoting collaboration and inventive thinking among team members.

Some widely practiced problem-solving activities include:

• A Shrinking Vessel: Teams must fit into a shrinking space, testing their cooperation and adaptability.
• Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower: Participants build a tower using marshmallows and spaghetti, promoting creative engineering.
• Egg Drop: Protecting an egg from a fall challenges problem-solving skills.
• Desert Island Survival: Teams simulate survival scenarios, encouraging creative solutions.
• Rolling Dice: A simple yet effective game involving chance and decision-making.
• Build a Tower: Constructing a stable tower with limited resources fosters teamwork and innovation, etc.

13 Easy Activities For Problem-Solving Ideas to Enhance Team Collaboration

Team building activities offer a great opportunity to test problem-solving abilities and promote effective collaboration within a group to problem solving group activities. By engaging in these activities, teams can break the monotony of the workplace and create a more inclusive and welcoming environment.

Here are nine easy-to-implement activities that can bring substantial change to your team culture and overall workplace dynamics.

#1. Crossword Puzzles

Objective: To enhance problem-solving skills, vocabulary, and cognitive abilities through engaging crossword puzzles. 

Estimated Time: 15-20 Minutes 

Materials Needed:

• Crossword puzzle sheets
• Pens or pencils
• Distribute crossword puzzle sheets and pens/pencils to each participant.
• Explain the rules of crossword puzzles and the goal of completing as many clues as possible within the given time.
• Participants individually or in pairs work on solving the crossword puzzle by filling in the correct words.
• Encourage critical thinking, word association, and collaborative discussions for solving challenging clues.
• At the end of the time limit, review the answers and discuss any interesting or challenging clues as a group.
• Enhanced Problem-Solving: Participants engage in critical thinking while deciphering clues, promoting effective problem-solving skills.
• Vocabulary Expansion: Exposure to new words and phrases within the crossword improves vocabulary and comprehension.
• Cognitive Stimulation: The mental exercise of solving the puzzle stimulates the brain, enhancing cognitive abilities.
• Team Collaboration: If done in pairs, participants practice collaboration and communication to solve clues together.
• Achievement and Motivation: Successfully completing the crossword brings a sense of accomplishment and motivates individuals to explore more puzzles.

Tips for Facilitators:

• Provide varying levels of crossword puzzles to accommodate different skill levels.
• Encourage participants to share strategies for solving challenging clues.
• Emphasize the fun and educational aspects of the activity to keep participants engaged.

#2. A Shrinking Vessel

Estimated Time: 10-15 Minutes

• Materials Needed: A rope and a ball of yarn
• Prepare the Setting: Lay a rope on the floor in a shape that allows all team members to stand comfortably inside it. For larger teams, multiple ropes can be used, dividing them into smaller groups.
• Enter the Circle: Have all team members stand inside the rope, ensuring that nobody steps outside its boundaries.
• Shrinking the Circle: Begin gradually shrinking the rope’s size, reducing the available space inside the circle.
• Adapt and Maintain Balance: As the circle shrinks, team members must make subtle adjustments to maintain their positions and balance within the shrinking area.
• The Challenge: The objective for the team is to collectively brainstorm and find innovative ways to keep every team member inside the circle without anyone stepping outside.
• Collaboration and Communication: The activity promotes teamwork and open communication as participants strategize to stay within the shrinking circle.
• Adaptability: Team members learn to adapt swiftly to changing circumstances, fostering agility and flexibility.
• Creative Problem-Solving: The challenge encourages inventive thinking and brainstorming to find unique solutions.
• Trust Building: By relying on each other’s actions, participants build trust and cohesion among team members.
• Time-Efficient: The short duration makes it an ideal icebreaker or energizer during meetings or workshops.
• Observe and Facilitate: Monitor the team’s dynamics and offer guidance to encourage equal participation and effective problem-solving.
• Encourage Verbalization: Prompt participants to voice their ideas and collaborate vocally, aiding in real-time adjustments.
• Debrief Thoughtfully: Engage the team in a discussion afterward, reflecting on strategies employed and lessons learned.
• Emphasize Adaptability: Highlight the transferable skill of adaptability and its significance in both professional and personal contexts.

#3. Human Knots

• Objective: Improving Collaboration & enhancing Communication Skills

Estimated Time: 15-20 minutes

• Materials: None required

Procedure: 

• Organize your team into a compact circle. For more sizable teams, subdivide them into smaller clusters, with each cluster forming its own circle. 
• Direct each individual to grasp the hands of two other people in the circle, with the exception of those positioned directly adjacent to them. This action will result in the formation of a complex “human knot” within the circle. 
• Present the challenge to the group: to unravel themselves from this entanglement while maintaining their hold on each other’s hands. If preferred, you can establish a specific time limit. 
• Observe the team members collaborating to unravel the knot, witnessing their collective effort to devise solutions and free themselves from the intricate puzzle.
• Team Cohesion: The activity encourages team members to interact closely, promoting bonding and understanding among participants.
• Effective Communication: Participants practice clear and concise communication as they coordinate movements to untangle the knot.
• Problem-Solving: The challenge stimulates creative thinking and problem-solving skills as individuals work collectively to find the optimal path for untangling.
• Adaptability: Participants learn to adapt their actions based on the evolving dynamics of the human knot, fostering adaptability.
• Trust Building: As individuals rely on each other to navigate the intricate knot, trust and cooperation naturally develop.
• Set a Positive Tone: Create an inclusive and supportive atmosphere, emphasizing that the focus is on collaboration rather than competition.
• Encourage Verbalization: Urge participants to articulate their intentions and listen to others’ suggestions, promoting effective teamwork.
• Observe Group Dynamics: Monitor interactions and step in if needed to ensure everyone is actively engaged and included.
• Reflect and Share: Conclude the activity with a debriefing session, allowing participants to share their experiences, strategies, and key takeaways.
• Vary Grouping: Change group compositions for subsequent rounds to enhance interactions among different team members.

#4. Egg Drop

Helps With: Decision Making, Collaboration

• A carton of eggs
• Construction materials (balloons, rubber bands, straws, tape, plastic wrap, etc.)
• A suitable location for the activity
• Assign each team a single egg and random construction materials.
• Teams must create a carrier to protect the egg from breaking.
• Drop the carriers one by one and increase the height if necessary to determine the most durable carrier.
• The winning team is the one with the carrier that survives the highest drop.
• Decision Making: Participants engage in critical decision-making processes as they select construction materials and determine carrier designs.
• Collaboration: The activity necessitates collaboration and coordination among team members to construct an effective carrier.
• Problem-Solving: Teams apply creative problem-solving skills to devise innovative methods for safeguarding the egg.
• Risk Management: Participants learn to assess potential risks and consequences while making design choices to prevent egg breakage.
• Celebrating Success: The victorious team experiences a sense of accomplishment, boosting morale and promoting a positive team spirit.
• Provide Diverse Materials: Offer a wide range of construction materials to stimulate creativity and allow teams to explore various design options.
• Set Safety Guidelines: Prioritize safety by specifying a safe drop height and ensuring participants follow safety protocols during construction.
• Encourage Brainstorming: Prompt teams to brainstorm multiple carrier ideas before finalizing their designs, fostering diverse perspectives.
• Facilitate Reflection: After the activity, lead a discussion where teams share their design strategies, challenges faced, and lessons learned.
• Highlight Collaboration: Emphasize the significance of teamwork in achieving success, acknowledging effective communication and cooperation.

As a teamwork activity, Egg Drop can help team members solve problems through collaboration and communication.

Each team can design and customize their own balloons and can display their team logo, slogan, or elements related to team culture through custom balloons . Awards can also be set up, such as the most creative balloon design, the strongest frangipani structure, etc., to increase the motivation for competition and participation. 

After the activity, team sharing and feedback can be conducted to allow everyone to share their learning experience and feelings about teamwork.

This combination allows team members to experience the importance of teamwork in creativity and practice, and strengthen team cohesion by completing challenges and sharing experiences.

#5. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower

Helps With: Collaboration

Estimated Time: 20-30 Minutes

Materials Needed (per team):

• Raw spaghetti: 20 sticks
• Marshmallow: 1
• String: 1 yard
• Masking tape: 1 roll
• Tower Construction: Instruct teams to collaborate and utilize the provided materials to construct the tallest tower possible within a designated time frame.
• Marshmallow Support: Emphasize that the tower must be capable of standing independently and supporting a marshmallow at its highest point.
• Prototype and Iterate: Encourage teams to engage in prototyping and iteration, testing different design approaches and refining their tower structures.
• T eamwork and Communication: Promote effective teamwork and communication as team members coordinate their efforts to build a stable and tall tower.
• Evaluation Criteria: Evaluate each tower based on its height, stability, and the successful placement of the marshmallow at the top.
• Collaboration: Participants collaborate closely, sharing ideas and working together to design and construct the tower.
• Innovative Thinking: The activity encourages innovative thinking as teams experiment with different strategies to build a stable tower.
• Time Management: Teams practice time management skills as they work within a specified time limit to complete the task.
• Problem-Solving: Participants engage in creative problem-solving to address challenges such as balancing the marshmallow and constructing a sturdy tower.
• Adaptability: Teams adapt their approaches based on trial and error, learning from each iteration to improve their tower designs.
• Set Clear Guidelines: Clearly explain the materials, objectives, and evaluation criteria to ensure teams understand the task.
• Foster Creativity: Encourage teams to think outside the box and explore unconventional methods for constructing their towers.
• Emphasize Collaboration: Highlight the importance of effective communication and teamwork to accomplish the task successfully.
• Time Management: Remind teams of the time limit and encourage them to allocate their time wisely between planning and construction.
• Reflect and Share: Facilitate a discussion after the activity, allowing teams to share their design choices, challenges faced, and lessons learned.

Objective: To engage participants in the strategic and analytical world of Sudoku, enhancing logical thinking and problem-solving abilities. 

Estimated Time: 20-25 Minutes 

• Sudoku puzzle sheets
• Pencils with erasers
• Distribute Sudoku puzzle sheets and pencils to each participant.
• Familiarize participants with the rules and mechanics of Sudoku puzzles.
• Explain the goal: to fill in the empty cells with numbers from 1 to 9 while adhering to the rules of no repetition in rows, columns, or subgrids.
• Encourage participants to analyze the puzzle’s layout, identify potential numbers, and strategically fill in cells.
• Emphasize the importance of logical deduction and step-by-step approach in solving the puzzle.
• Provide hints or guidance if needed, ensuring participants remain engaged and challenged.
• Logical Thinking: Sudoku challenges participants’ logical and deductive reasoning, fostering analytical skills.
• Problem-Solving: The intricate interplay of numbers and constraints hones problem-solving abilities.
• Focus and Patience: Participants practice patience and attention to detail while gradually unveiling the solution.
• Pattern Recognition: Identifying number patterns and possibilities contributes to enhanced pattern recognition skills.
• Personal Achievement: Successfully completing a Sudoku puzzle provides a sense of accomplishment and boosts confidence.
• Offer varying levels of Sudoku puzzles to cater to different skill levels.
• Encourage participants to share strategies and techniques for solving specific challenges.
• Highlight the mental workout Sudoku provides and its transferable skills to real-life problem-solving.

Helps With: Communication, Problem-solving, & Management

• A lockable room
• 5-10 puzzles or clues
• Hide the key and a set of clues around the room.
• Lock the room and provide team members with a specific time limit to find the key and escape.
• Instruct the team to work together, solving the puzzles and deciphering the clues to locate the key.
• Encourage efficient communication and effective problem-solving under time pressure.
• Communication Skills: Participants enhance their communication abilities by sharing observations, ideas, and findings to collectively solve puzzles.
• Problem-solving Proficiency: The activity challenges teams to think critically, apply logical reasoning, and collaboratively tackle intricate challenges.
• Team Management: The experience promotes effective team management as members assign tasks, prioritize efforts, and coordinate actions.
• Time Management: The imposed time limit sharpens time management skills as teams strategize and allocate time wisely.
• Adaptability: Teams learn to adapt and adjust strategies based on progress, evolving clues, and time constraints.
• Clear Introduction: Provide a concise overview of the activity, emphasizing the importance of communication, problem-solving, and time management.
• Diverse Challenges: Offer a mix of puzzles and clues to engage various problem-solving skills, catering to different team strengths.
• Supportive Role: Act as a facilitator, offering subtle guidance if needed while allowing teams to independently explore and solve challenges.
• Debriefing Session: Organize a debriefing session afterward to discuss the experience, highlight successful strategies, and identify areas for improvement.
• Encourage Reflection: Encourage participants to reflect on their teamwork, communication effectiveness, and problem-solving approach.

#8. Frostbite for Group Problem Solving Activities

Helps With: Decision Making, Trust, Leadership

• An electric fan
• Construction materials (toothpicks, cardstock, rubber bands, sticky notes, etc.)
• Divide the team into groups of 4-5 people, each with a designated leader.
• Blindfold team members and prohibit leaders from using their hands.
• Provide teams with construction materials and challenge them to build a tent within 30 minutes.
• Test the tents using the fan to see which can withstand high winds.
• Decision-Making Proficiency: Participants are exposed to critical decision-making situations under constraints, allowing them to practice effective and efficient decision-making.
• Trust Development: Blindfolding team members and relying on the designated leaders fosters trust and collaboration among team members.
• Leadership Skills: Designated leaders navigate the challenge without hands-on involvement, enhancing their leadership and communication skills.
• Creative Problem Solving: Teams employ creative thinking and resourcefulness to construct stable tents with limited sensory input.
• Team Cohesion: The shared task and unique constraints promote team cohesion and mutual understanding.
• Role of the Facilitator: Act as an observer, allowing teams to navigate the challenge with minimal intervention. Offer assistance only when necessary.
• Clarity in Instructions: Provide clear instructions regarding blindfolding, leader restrictions, and time limits to ensure a consistent experience.
• Debriefing Session: After the activity, conduct a debriefing session to discuss team dynamics, leadership approaches, and decision-making strategies.
• Encourage Communication: Emphasize the importance of effective communication within teams to ensure smooth coordination and successful tent construction.
• Acknowledge Creativity: Celebrate creative solutions and innovative approaches exhibited by teams during the tent-building process.

#9. Dumbest Idea First

Helps With: Critical Thinking & Creative Problem Solving Activity

Estimated Time: 15-20 Minutes

Materials Needed: A piece of paper, pen, and pencil

• Problem Presentation: Introduce a specific problem to the team, either a real-world challenge or a hypothetical scenario that requires a solution.
• Brainstorming Dumb Ideas: Instruct team members to quickly generate and jot down the most unconventional and seemingly “dumb” ideas they can think of to address the problem.
• Idea Sharing: Encourage each participant to share their generated ideas with the group, fostering a relaxed and open atmosphere for creative expression.
• Viability Assessment: As a team, review and evaluate each idea, considering potential benefits and drawbacks. Emphasize the goal of identifying unconventional approaches.
• Selecting Promising Solutions: Identify which seemingly “dumb” ideas could hold hidden potential or innovative insights. Discuss how these ideas could be adapted into workable solutions.
• Divergent Thinking: Participants engage in divergent thinking, pushing beyond conventional boundaries to explore unconventional solutions.
• Creative Exploration: The activity sparks creative exploration by encouraging participants to let go of inhibitions and embrace imaginative thinking.
• Critical Analysis: Through evaluating each idea, participants practice critical analysis and learn to identify unique angles and aspects of potential solutions.
• Open Communication: The lighthearted approach of sharing “dumb” ideas fosters open communication, reducing fear of judgment and promoting active participation.
• Solution Adaptation: Identifying elements of seemingly “dumb” ideas that have merit encourages participants to adapt and refine their approaches creatively.
• Safe Environment: Foster a safe and non-judgmental environment where participants feel comfortable sharing unconventional ideas.
• Time Management: Set clear time limits for idea generation and sharing to maintain the activity’s energetic pace.
• Encourage Wild Ideas: Emphasize that the goal is to explore the unconventional, urging participants to push the boundaries of creativity.
• Facilitator Participation: Participate in idea generation to demonstrate an open-minded approach and encourage involvement.
• Debriefing Discussion: After the activity, facilitate a discussion on how seemingly “dumb” ideas can inspire innovative solutions and stimulate fresh thinking.

This activity encourages out-of-the-box thinking and creative problem-solving. It allows teams to explore unconventional ideas that may lead to unexpected, yet effective, solutions.

#10: Legoman

Helps With: Foster teamwork, communication, and creativity through a collaborative Lego-building activity.

Estimated Time: 20-30 minutes

• Lego bricks
• Lego instruction manuals

Procedure :

• Divide participants into small teams of 3-5 members.
• Provide each team with an equal set of Lego bricks and a Lego instruction manual.
• Explain that the goal is for teams to work together to construct the Lego model shown in the manual.
• Set a time limit for the building activity based on model complexity.
• Allow teams to self-organize, build, and collaborate to complete the model within the time limit.
• Evaluate each team’s final model compared to the manual’s original design.
• Enhanced Communication: Participants must communicate clearly and listen actively to collaborate effectively.
• Strengthened Teamwork: Combining efforts toward a shared goal promotes camaraderie and team cohesion.
• Creative Problem-Solving: Teams must creatively problem-solve if pieces are missing or instructions unclear.
• Planning and Resource Allocation: Following instructions fosters planning skills and efficient use of resources.
• Sense of Achievement: Completing a challenging build provides a sense of collective accomplishment.
• Encourage Participation: Urge quieter members to contribute ideas and take an active role.
• Highlight Teamwork: Emphasize how cooperation and task coordination are key to success.
• Ensure Equal Engagement: Monitor group dynamics to ensure all members are engaged.
• Allow Creativity: Permit modifications if teams lack exact pieces or wish to get creative.
• Focus on Enjoyment: Create a lively atmosphere so the activity remains energizing and fun.

#11: Minefield

Helps With: Trust, Communication, Patience

Materials Needed: Open space, blindfolds

• Mark a “minefield” on the ground using ropes, cones, or tape. Add toy mines or paper cups.
• Pair up participants and blindfold one partner.
• Position blindfolded partners at the start of the minefield. Direct seeing partners to verbally guide them through to the other side without hitting “mines.”
• Partners switch roles once finished and repeat.
• Time partnerships and provide prizes for the fastest safe crossing.
• Trust Building: Blindfolded partners must trust their partner’s instructions.
• Effective Communication: Giving clear, specific directions is essential for navigating the minefield.
• Active Listening: Partners must listen closely and follow directions precisely.
• Patience & Support: The exercise requires patience and encouraging guidance between partners.
• Team Coordination: Partners must work in sync, coordinating movements and communication.
• Test Boundaries: Ensure the minefield’s size accommodates safe movement and communication.
• Monitor Interactions: Watch for dominant guidance and ensure both partners participate fully.
• Time Strategically: Adjust time limits based on the minefield size and difficulty.
• Add Obstacles: Introduce additional non-mine objects to increase challenge and communication needs.
• Foster Discussion: Debrief afterward to discuss communication approaches and trust-building takeaways.

#12: Reverse Pyramid

Helps With: Teamwork, Communication, Creativity

Materials Needed: 36 cups per group, tables

• Form small groups of 5-7 participants.
• Provide each group with a stack of 36 cups and a designated building area.
• Explain the objective: Build the tallest pyramid starting with just one cup on top.
• Place the first cup on the table, and anyone in the group can add two cups beneath it to form the second row.
• From this point, only the bottom row can be lifted to add the next row underneath.
• Cups in the pyramid can only be touched or supported by index fingers.
• If the structure falls, start over from one cup.
• Offer more cups if a group uses all provided.
• Allow 15 minutes for building.

Teamwork: Collaborate to construct the pyramid.

Communication: Discuss and execute the building strategy.

Creativity: Find innovative ways to build a tall, stable pyramid.

Clarify Expectations: Emphasize the definition of a pyramid with each row having one less cup.

Encourage Perseverance: Motivate groups to continue despite challenges.

Promote Consensus: Encourage groups to work together and help each other.

Reflect on Failure: Use collapses as a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and improving.

Consider Competitions: Modify the activity for competitive teams and scoring.

#13: Stranded

Helps With: Decision-making, Prioritization, Teamwork

Materials Needed: List of salvaged items, paper, pens

• Present a scenario where teams are stranded and must prioritize items salvaged from a plane crash.
• Provide teams with the same list of ~15 salvaged items.
• Instruct teams to agree on an item ranking with #1 being the most important for survival.
• Teams share and compare their prioritized lists. Identify differences in approach.
• Discuss what factors influenced decisions and how teams worked together to agree on priorities.
• Critical Thinking: Weighing item importance requires analytical thinking and discussion.
• Team Decision-Making: Coming to a consensus fosters team decision-making capabilities.
• Prioritization Skills: Ranking items strengthen prioritization and justification abilities.
• Perspective-Taking: Understanding different prioritizations builds perspective-taking skills.
• Team Cohesion: Collaborating toward a shared goal brings teams closer together.
• Encourage Discussion: Urge teams to discuss all ideas rather than allow single members to dominate.
• Be Engaged: Circulate to listen in on team discussions and pose thought-provoking questions.
• Add Complexity: Introduce scenarios with additional constraints to expand critical thinking.
• Highlight Disagreements: When priorities differ, facilitate constructive discussions on influencing factors.
• Recognize Collaboration: Acknowledge teams that demonstrate exceptional teamwork and communication.

Now let’s look at some common types of problem-solving activities.

Types of Problem-Solving Activities

The most common types of problem-solving activities/exercises are:

• Creative problem-solving activities
• Group problem-solving activities
• Individual problem-solving activities
• Fun problem-solving activities, etc.

In the next segments, we’ll be discussing these types of problem-solving activities in detail. So, keep reading!

Creative Problem-Solving Activities

Creative problem solving (CPS) means using creativity to find new solutions. It involves thinking creatively at first and then evaluating ideas later. For example, think of it like brainstorming fun game ideas, discussing them, and then picking the best one to play.

Some of the most common creative problem-solving activities include:

• Legoman: Building creative structures with LEGO.
• Escape: Solving puzzles to escape a room.
• Frostbite: Finding solutions in challenging situations.
• Minefield: Navigating a field of obstacles.

Group Problem-Solving Activities

Group problem-solving activities are challenges that make teams work together to solve puzzles or overcome obstacles. They enhance teamwork and critical thinking.

For instance, think of a puzzle-solving game where a group must find hidden clues to escape a locked room.

Here are the most common group problem-solving activities you can try in groups:

• A Shrinking Vessel
• Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower
• Cardboard Boat Building Challenge
• Clue Murder Mystery
• Escape Room: Jewel Heist
• Escape Room: Virtual Team Building
• Scavenger Hunt
• Dumbest Idea First

Individual Problem-Solving Activities

As the name suggests, individual problem-solving activities are the tasks that you need to play alone to boost your critical thinking ability. They help you solve problems and stay calm while facing challenges in real life. Like puzzles, they make your brain sharper. Imagine it’s like training your brain muscles to handle tricky situations.

Here are some of the most common individual problem-solving activities:

• Puzzles (jigsaw, crossword, sudoku, etc.)
• Brain teasers
• Logic problems
• Optical illusions
• “Escape room” style games

Fun Problem-Solving Activities

Fun problem-solving activities are enjoyable games that sharpen your critical thinking skills while having a blast. Think of activities like the Legoman challenge, escape rooms, or rolling dice games – they make problem-solving exciting and engaging!

And to be frank, all of the mentioned problem-solving activities are fun if you know how to play and enjoy them as all of them are game-like activities.

Team Problems You Can Address Through Problem Solving Activities

Fun problem-solving activities serve as dynamic tools to address a range of challenges that teams often encounter. These engaging activities foster an environment of collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, enabling teams to tackle various problems head-on. Here are some common team problems that can be effectively addressed through these activities:

• Communication Breakdowns:  

Activities like “Escape,” “A Shrinking Vessel,” and “Human Knots” emphasize the importance of clear and effective communication. They require teams to work together, exchange ideas, and devise strategies to accomplish a shared goal. By engaging in these activities, team members learn to communicate more efficiently, enhancing overall team communication in real-world situations.

• Lack of Trust and Cohesion:  

Problem-solving activities promote trust and cohesiveness within teams. For instance, “Frostbite” and “Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower” require teams to collaborate closely, trust each other’s ideas, and rely on each member’s strengths. These activities build a sense of unity and trust, which can translate into improved teamwork and collaboration.

• Innovative Thinking:  

“Dumbest Idea First” and “Egg Drop” encourage teams to think outside the box and explore unconventional solutions. These activities challenge teams to be creative and innovative in their problem-solving approaches, fostering a culture of thinking beyond traditional boundaries when faced with complex issues.

• Decision-Making Challenges:  

Activities like “Onethread” facilitate group decision-making by providing a platform for open discussions and collaborative choices. Problem-solving activities require teams to make decisions collectively, teaching them to weigh options, consider different viewpoints, and arrive at informed conclusions—a skill that is transferable to real-world decision-making scenarios.

• Leadership and Role Clarification:  

Activities such as “Frostbite” and “Egg Drop” designate team leaders and roles within groups. This provides an opportunity for team members to practice leadership, delegation, and role-specific tasks. By experiencing leadership dynamics in a controlled setting, teams can improve their leadership skills and better understand their roles in actual projects.

• Problem-Solving Strategies:  

All of the problem-solving activities involve the application of different strategies. Teams learn to analyze problems, break them down into manageable components, and develop systematic approaches for resolution. These strategies can be adapted to real-world challenges, enabling teams to approach complex issues with confidence.

• Team Morale and Engagement:  

Participating in engaging and enjoyable activities boosts team morale and engagement. These activities provide a break from routine tasks, energize team members, and create a positive and fun atmosphere. Elevated team morale can lead to increased motivation and productivity.

The incentives of event prizes can further stimulate the enthusiasm and participation of team members. The choice of prizes is crucial, as it can directly affect the attractiveness and participation of the event. Among them, Medals are essential prizes.

Medals are symbols of honor awarded to winners and represent the value and achievement of an event.

Medals also have a motivational effect, they encourage team members to pursue higher achievements and progress.

Medals are artistic and aesthetic. They are usually designed by designers according to different occasions and themes and have high collection value.

By incorporating these fun problem-solving activities, teams can address a variety of challenges, foster skill development, and build a more cohesive and effective working environment. As teams learn to collaborate, communicate, innovate, and make decisions collectively, they are better equipped to overcome obstacles and achieve shared goals.

The Benefits of Problem Solving Activities for Your Team

#1 Better Thinking

Problem-solving activities bring out the best in team members by encouraging them to contribute their unique ideas. This stimulates better thinking as team managers evaluate different solutions and choose the most suitable ones.

For example, a remote team struggling with communication benefited from quick thinking and the sharing of ideas, leading to the adoption of various communication modes for improved collaboration.

#2 Better Risk Handling

Team building problem solving activities condition individuals to handle risks more effectively. By engaging in challenging situations and finding solutions, team members develop the ability to respond better to stressful circumstances.

#3 Better Communication

Regular communication among team members is crucial for efficient problem-solving. Engaging in problem-solving activities fosters cooperation and communication within the team, resulting in better understanding and collaboration. Using tools like OneThread can further enhance team communication and accountability.

#4 Improved Productivity Output

When teams work cohesively, overall productivity improves, leading to enhanced profit margins for the company or organization. Involving managers and team members in problem-solving activities can positively impact the company’s growth and profitability.

How Onethread Enhances the Effect of Problem Solving Activities

Problem-solving activities within teams thrive on collaborative efforts and shared perspectives. Onethread emerges as a potent facilitator, enabling teams to collectively tackle challenges and harness diverse viewpoints with precision. Here’s a comprehensive view of how Onethread amplifies team collaboration in problem-solving initiatives:

Open Channels for Discussion:

Onethread’s real-time messaging feature serves as a dedicated hub for open and seamless discussions. Teams can engage in brainstorming sessions, share insightful observations, and propose innovative solutions within a flexible environment. Asynchronous communication empowers members to contribute their insights at their convenience, fostering comprehensive problem analysis with ample deliberation.

Centralized Sharing of Resources:

Effective problem-solving often hinges on access to pertinent resources. Onethread’s document sharing functionality ensures that critical information, references, and research findings are centralized and readily accessible. This eradicates the need for cumbersome email attachments and enables team members to collaborate with precise and up-to-date data.

Efficient Task Allocation and Monitoring:

Problem-solving journeys comprise a series of tasks and actions. Onethread’s task management capability streamlines the delegation of specific responsibilities to team members. Assign tasks related to research, data analysis, or solution implementation and monitor progress in real time. This cultivates a sense of accountability and guarantees comprehensive coverage of every facet of the problem-solving process.

Facilitated Collaborative Decision-Making: Navigating intricate problems often demands collective decision-making. Onethread’s collaborative ecosystem empowers teams to deliberate over potential solutions, assess pros and cons, and make well-informed choices. Transparent discussions ensure that decisions are comprehensively comprehended and supported by the entire team.

Seamless Documentation and Insights Sharing:

As the problem-solving journey unfolds, the accumulation of insights and conclusions becomes pivotal. Onethread’s collaborative document editing feature empowers teams to document their discoveries, chronicle the steps undertaken, and showcase successful solutions. This shared repository of documentation serves as a valuable resource for future reference and continuous learning.

With Onethread orchestrating the backdrop, team collaboration during problem-solving activities transforms into a harmonious fusion of insights, ideas, and actionable steps.

What are the 5 problem-solving skills?

The top 5 problem-solving skills in 2023 are critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and data literacy. Most employers seek these skills in their workforce.

What are the steps of problem-solving?

Problem-solving steps are as follows: 1. Define the problem clearly. 2. Analyze the issue in detail. 3. Generate potential solutions. 4. Evaluate these options. 5. Choose the best solution. 6. Put the chosen solution into action. 7. Measure the outcomes to assess effectiveness and improvements made. These sequential steps assist in efficient and effective problem resolution.

How do you teach problem-solving skills?

Teaching problem-solving involves modelling effective methods within a context, helping students grasp the problem, dedicating ample time, asking guiding questions, and giving suggestions. Connect errors to misconceptions to enhance understanding, fostering a straightforward approach to building problem-solving skills.

So here is all about “activities for problem solving”.No matter which activity you choose, engaging in problem-solving activities not only provides entertainment but also helps enhance cognitive abilities such as critical thinking, decision making, and creativity. So why not make problem solving a regular part of your routine?

Take some time each day or week to engage in these activities and watch as your problem-solving skills grow stronger. Plus, it’s an enjoyable way to pass the time and challenge yourself mentally.

So go ahead, grab a puzzle or gather some friends for a game night – get ready to have fun while sharpening your problem-solving skills!

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