Whether you are just forming a new team, looking to form new bonds with an existing team, or get to know some friends a bit better at a party. An exercise called, “Tribes,” is a very simple way for people to connect and get to know each other. This works great with anywhere from 5 to 20 people. You will want a space to make a circle with however many people participate.

I usually get the team/group to form in a circle first (see the graphic below).

Then explain the exercise as outlined below. Be sure to let the group know that participation is voluntary and they can opt out. If you are the facilitator or coach (of a sports team or Agile Coach) then you can opt to not participate. If you are a Scrum Master then I would encourage participating.

How to run Tribes

Usually I make a statement along these lines. “We are going to run a fun exercise to get to know about each other. We will find that we have similar likes but also see that we have differences. It is worth recognizing and celebrating our similarities and differences.”

1. Form circle, if not already formed
2. Someone moves to the center and will make a statement (i.e. “I love to camp, anyone else?”, “Loves camping”).
3. You could provide some more examples from the list below
4. Other members move in if that statement is true for them. Greet your tribe members. Also recognize those that didn’t form the tribe and appreciate where we are different
5. Return to the circle
6. Next person go. Repeat until the time allocated is done

Examples of tribes

• Loves pizza, oreos, sushi, mac and cheese, etc…
• Likes the outdoors, traveling, running, cycling, stand up paddle boarding, video games, etc…
• Passionate about movies, scary movies, bing watching a <insert title of new series>, etc…
• Fond of knitting, board games, reading, cooking, etc…
• Can’t get enough of dogs, cats, birds, snakes, etc…
• Nothing better than beaches, mountains, lakes, etc…

Tribes is a very simple exercise that takes very little effort to set up and has great value when helping teams or groups form bonds. Forming these bonds is but one ingredient in getting teams or even groups into a high performing state. I’d love to hear about your experience running this exercise in the comments below.

Good luck and don’t forget to have fun.

Credit

I wish I knew who to give credit for this exercise. I was first introduced to it during the Coaching Agile Teams workshop that I was in years ago.