Pressure-cooker Team-building Workshop

Is your team feeling the pressure? Is your work environment made more stressful because of poor communication due to cultural confusion? Welcome to MMM’s newest workshop, where we help you solve that problem, have some fun, and get a reward for our efforts—a great lunch!

This workshop is designed to bring your team together while increasing cultural awareness and knowledge.
We begin with a one-hour presentation and discussion of team-building concepts and cultural communication. What does your team do right? What do they do wrong? How can you turn your team into one where the pressure-cooker is OFF because good communication is ON?

While many workshops practice the skills learned through invented exercises, the practical exercise in Pressure-cooker Team-building combines communication skills and a practical cultural exercise that culminates in a reward. The reward is not just there for fun—it emphasises that there is always a reward for good communication.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

We divide the class into teams and draw for what to cook and for who leads each team. The team leader can be anyone because, in high-performing teams, everyone has to listen as well as talk; listening is half of communication. The recipes are chosen from culturally diverse dishes to encourage awareness and appreciation of the variety that exists in different cultures.

The leader is the only one who can see the recipe, so he or she has to communicate clearly—and the team has to listen—so the team can cook the right thing. (You don’t want to sauté the ice cream instead of the chicken!) To emphasise being mindful in communication, no one is allowed to say aloud the names of any of the ingredients—even the leader has to refer to salt as “that stuff you sprinkle on your eggs” or “the thing that’s always next to the pepper.”

And because there is always a crisis that requires a change in course, just you think you’ve got it down, we introduce a surprise crisis: Maybe we’ll take away an ingredient or turn off the heat or tell the leader he or she can’t speak any longer. Your team has to find a way around the problem and keep cooking.

When time is up, your trainer names the winner based on presentation, a taste test, and teamwork. Then we all discuss what went wrong, what went right, and how you can use what you experienced to keep things cooking in your real work environment as well.

The winner will be presented with the coveted "Golden Fork" award, but we’ll all enjoy a great lunch as we dine on the fruits (or Hainanese chicken) of your labours!

We currently have one Pressure-cooker Team-building Workshop scheduled for individuals or teams, but you can also call us to schedule a private workshop. The currently scheduled workshop is:

Time: 3.5 hours

Please call us or fill out the enquiry form to enquire.