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The power tree

Important: this is an exercise which may raise

strong feelings, so plenty of time should be

allowed for debriefing

Purpose: To recognise how power is

seen and used in a team

Time: Exercise: 15 minutes

Debriefing: 1 hour

Materials: A copy of the Power Tree (next page) for each person. A large version

of the Power Tree drawn on flip chart

Paper. Flip chart, pens and marker pens.

Preparation: Photocopy enough copies of the

Power Tree (next page) for each person.

Draw a large version of the Power Tree on a

piece of flip chart paper.

NB: Using the individual sheets makes it more private for people. Using the large piece of paper afterwards has the virtue that everyone is able to see the pattern which emerges.

Exercise

1. Explain to the team that power is a complicated concept and the people who are the designated leaders are not always the most powerful. For example: there is power in being the boss, but there is also power in being a man rather than a woman, able-bodied rather than disabled.

2. Ask team members to think about the way they feel in relation to others.

3a. Ask each person in turn to draw themselves somewhere on the Power Tree to show how they feel in relation to other people in the team and put their initials next to the drawing. Explain that the top part of the tree is the most powerful.

3b. Now ask each person in turn to draw the others in the team where they feel they are in relation to themselves and each other.

4. Ask each person in turn to comment on either the team picture which has emerged, or their individual tree, which they may wish to place in the middle of the circle for inspection

5. Discuss the different views and perceptions which emerge.

Now debrief the exercise using the notes overleaf as a guide.

Reproduced with permission from Once upon a team exercises

E-mail: four.m.publications@btinternet.com

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