The Go Game shows how difficult it can be to unlearn something that you've made a habit... It'll demonstrate how uncomfortable people can initially feel in a new environment, but also how in time they can find their flow and relearn something they had previously believed was deeply embed into their subconscious mind.

Method

1. Ask groups of around 5-8 to stand in a circle.
2. Explain that there are a small number of rules to play the game.
3. One person starts (let's call them Jack) and they have to point at someone else in the circle.
4. The person who has been pointed at (let's call them Jill) has to then say "GO".
5. Once Jill says "GO", Jack can begin to move across the circle to take Jill's place.
6. Once Jack has reached Jill's position, Jill must then take a turn and point at someone else in the circle.
7. Some things to remember:
8. There should only ever be one person pointing, and one person saying "GO" at any one time.
9. There should only be one person walking across the circle at any one time. The only time two people move at once is when the swapping of places happens.
11. Remember, the person pointing is never the one to say "GO".
13. If you're currently the person walking across the circle, you can't take someone else's place until they have started moving.

Challenging Questions

"How did you feel, physically and mentally, at first?"You will likely hear people say things like 'I'm stressed!'Ask them what happened in their bodies when they began to feel this way. You will start to hear a conversation about heart rate rising, feeling hot, feeling flushed etc. These are signs to watch out for every day within your team, and usually your body shows signal of stress before your conscious mind realises that you are stressed."Who felt uncomfortable, what made you feel that way?""How did this change over time?""Did your team find a rhythm?"Every team has a rhythm, and you may not always be able to make it faster. Every team has an maximum capacity, and once this is reached - pushing to be quicker can just cause the team to collapse.When you have more than one group, as an observer, you may notice that one team may move quicker than another. That’s ok! It can really demonstrate that not all teams go at the same pace.

Takeaways

This game is very simple way to demonstrate how difficult it can be to re-train the unconscious mind.We have spent our lives either giving or receiving instructions, like when we're pointing or moving. This game flips this on it's head and forces you to think before you act.For people new to a team, getting into the rhythm of a team can be tough and may mean relearning things that they previously 'could do in their sleep'.

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to Mark Summers from Beliminal who first introduced me to this brilliant exercise.You can check out Beliminal's website here: www.beliminal.com