Ubuntu Cards are a great activity for making connections at team-building workshops. They help foster understanding, connection, and unity among team members.
The principles of Ubuntu represent our shared humanity – that we need each other to exist and thrive.
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This memory test activity brings teams together by sharing stories and finding common ground.
Alternative team-building activities include virtual team-building bingo and guess who team building exercises.
Instructions for the Activity
Materials Needed:
- Ubuntu Card deck – one for each participant. This consists of 54 cards with words related to universal human values and experiences.
Time Required:
- 1-2 hours
Number of Participants:
- 5-15 people
Best Suited For:
- All team members at any level. Works for established teams, as well as new teams.
Facilitator’s Role:
- Pass out card decks to each person. Have them go through the deck and choose 2 cards that represent values important to them. Give 5-10 minutes for card selection.
- In rounds, have each person share why they picked those cards and what they mean to them. The facilitator should model vulnerability by going first.
- After each person shares, others can chime in on if they also picked those cards and why. Look for themes and commonalities.
Participant’s Role:
- Review all the Ubuntu cards. Choose 2 that resonate with your values.
- Take turns sharing your 2 cards, why you picked them, and what they mean to you.
- Actively listen to others’ shares. Find common ground in values.
Reflection and Debrief
- What common themes did you notice in the values we chose?
- How did this help you understand your team members better?
- How can we apply what we learned to strengthen our team?
Use open-ended debrief questions to have the team reflect on the activity and discuss takeaways. We hear this from customers that regularly download our training course materials.
Conclusion
Ubuntu Cards create an engaging team building activity that brings people together.
The sharing of values and finding common ground leads to greater understanding, connection and unity across team members. It also is a great team building activity for reducing stress at work.
This activity can be done regularly with different card selections to continue strengthening relationships.
With 30+ years of training experience, I founded Oak Innovation (oakinnovation.com) in 1995. I help busy training professionals and business managers deliver better training courses in less time by giving them instant access to editable training course material. I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from University College Cork. I hold qualifications in Professional Development And Training from University College Galway. Clients include Apple, Time Warner, and Harvard University.
