Team Identity Exercise

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Define your team identity to support decision-making and collaboration

Looking to strengthen your team alignment and effectiveness? This exercise helps teams define shared values and apply those principles to decision-making and collaboration.

 

Time Needed: ~60 minutes
Ideal Group Size: 6–12 participants

Materials:
  • Pre-selected core values list (provided in pre-work)
  • Sticky notes or a digital collaboration tool (Miro, MURAL, or a shared document)
  • Flip chart or whiteboard for capturing key themes
  • Timer to keep discussions focused

Step 1: Pre-work – Identifying team values

  1. Provide team members 20–30 potential values (e.g., integrity, excellence, flexibility, innovation, collaboration). Use this simple card-sorting tool to make pre-work easy and enjoyable!
  2. Ask each person to select the five values that best represent the team’s identity and how they hope to work together.
  3. Collect responses and look for shared values. Group similar values into nested themes (e.g., Honesty could nest under integrity, decisiveness could nest under leadership, etc.).

Step 2: Opening the session (10 min)

  1. Set the stage: Explain that this session is about defining the team’s identity and ensuring that values drive decision-making and collaboration.
  2. Present the top values/themes collected from pre-work. Display them visually.
Ask the group:
  • “Do these themes resonate with how we see ourselves as a team?”
  • “Are there any missing elements that should be considered?”

Step 3: How values show up in work (15 min)

Ask the group:
  • “Where do you see these values showing up in our work?”
  • “Can you share an example of a time when we embodied these values?”
  • “What challenges do we face in consistently living these values?”

💡 Facilitator Tip: Encourage participants to provide real-world examples to ground the discussion in practical experiences.

Step 4: Connecting values to decision-making (15 min)

This part helps teams align values with how they make decisions and collaborate effectively.

Ask the group:
  • “How should these values guide our decision-making as a team?”
  • “How should our values guide collaboration with others?”

Step 5: List strategies (10 min)

Use sticky notes or a collaboration tool. Label each note or section with one of the top shared values. Participants list strategies supporting decision-making and collaboration according to each shared value.

Ask the group:
  • “What strategies or practices can we adopt to ensure our values are reflected in how we work together and with others?”
  • Prioritize: Quickly vote or rank the top 1–2 strategies to implement. Everyone circles or stars their top choices.

Step 6: Personal commitments and next steps (10 min)

Each participant commits to one action that aligns with the values and strategies discussed.

Ask the group:
  • “What’s one thing you will do differently after this discussion?”
  • “How can we hold each other accountable for our values in action?”
💡 Facilitator Tip: Write these commitments down and revisit them in a future check-in meeting.

Why this works
This exercise gives teams a structured yet flexible way to define and apply their identity to everyday decisions. By linking values to real-world scenarios, teams clarify how they work together—and what needs to change.