The clothing line

One of my favourite icebreakers in leadership workshops is the clothing line.

Participants stand in two lines facing each other and observe the person in front of them. Then they turn around and change five things about their appearance. When they turn back, they try to identify the changes in the other person.

We repeat the exercise and ask them to change another five things.

This is usually the moment when the grumbling starts. “Another five things?” Energy drops and most participants struggle to get to ten.

During the reflection, I ask them to share what they experienced. Almost everyone talks about the difficulty of finding those ten changes.

What I consistently observe is that most changes involve removing something: glasses off, watch off, belt loosened. Rarely does someone add anything.

That’s where I draw the connection to organisational change, where people often feel they are losing something. And during the reflection, participants put everything back on again: their glasses, their watch, their belt.

Finally, I point out: “Look at what remains of the change.”

Have a great day.

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