I’m like a bird

The wisdom of animals runs like a thread through human history. Since Classical Antiquity, poets have been writing odes. The philosopher Hegel once spoke of the Owl of Minerva, who spreads her wings at dusk. Hegel meant that true wisdom only flies up at the end of the day. After the events of the day have taken place. You need to get a new perspective in order to see, fathom and solve any problem.

In these Online Energizer, we use the role of birds and other animals to come up with new insights. Imagine that you are a bird, and brainstorm from an entirely different perspective. Indeed, take a bird’s perspective (or a frog’s perspective!) You’ll find  out that when you employ a different mindset, and tap into your creative imagination, you’ll come up with new ideas. Fly along on our metamorphosis!

Steps:

• • • The game leader picks a large or small problem, which the participants outhgt to fantasize about in their new guises. As a try-out round, it’s best to start small, with something simple such as: what would you change in the company canteen? It works best if the problem can be described in a single sentence.
    • When your team enjoys this brainstorm game, you can later use this creative work form for more important projects.
    • Ask participants to imagine that they are their favorite animal. (If you want to make it more challenging, ask all participants to choose a specific bird species.)
    • Of course, participants should know a little about their chosen animal – from books, poems, and stories, most likely!
    • Participants create a sign with their animal on it. If you want to add a visual component, have them draw the animal. It will add to the fun!
    • Make sure there are no duplications. Each participant will choose a different animal. We’re looking for as many different solutions as possible!
    • Now ask participants to imagine what their bird (or any other animal) would do in the situation. How would the the animal move through this particular problem?
    • Each participant writes down x-number of solutions that the animal would come up with.
    • Then the participant thinks of a possible translation to the workplace.
    • At the end of the Online Energizer, everyone reads out the ‘animal solutions’. You’ll notice that enthusiastic participants will act out their animal voices and make similar noises.
    • The person who posed the problem gives feedback to the entire ‘animal collective’ about which solutions seem workable!
    • Variation: this energizer can also be done playing other roles: think of celebrities, historical figures, superheroes, cartoon characters, or – and this is perhaps quite daring – by imagining that you are a specific colleague. What would your teammate come up with? That way you’ll immediately strengthen team cohesion!
    • Bonus idea: when the participants write down their solutions, you can play the following songs about birds as a game facilitator!

  Songs: