EXERCISE 13.4

Flexibility

Flex Time

Purpose

To begin the process of increasing flexibility by committing to do at least one flexibility enhancing activity.

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30 to 35 minutes

Participants or individuals discuss the negative impacts of not being flexible. They brainstorm to create a list of things they can do to increase flexibility. Each person selects one or two activities to do in the next week. If they are meeting in an ongoing forum, they report back to the group at the next meeting and share their experiences.

Outcomes

• List of activities to develop flexibility
• Commitment to use at least one tool to increase flexibility and report back to group or coach

Audience

• Intact team
• Unaffiliated group
• Individual working with a coach

Facilitator Competencies

Easy

Materials

• Flip chart and markers
• 3 x 5 cards
• Pens

Time Matrix

Activity	Estimated Time
Discuss impacts of lack of flexibility	10 minutes
Develop list of activities	10 minutes
Create pocket card	10–15 minutes
Total Time	30 to 35 minutes

Instructions

1. Ask the participants to think of recent situations in which they believe they should have been more flexible.

2. Ask the group to share negative impacts of not being more flexible, and capture the responses on a flip chart.

3. Say to the group, “What could you have done to be more flexible? One of the biggest obstacles to increasing our flexibility is that we don’t want to!” Have the group list three reasons that people don’t want to be more flexible; discuss why and what we can do about it. Capture the information on a flip chart.

4. Next, ask participants to develop a list of things they can do differently that would require them to be more flexible. Record the list on a flip chart. If the group has trouble getting started, use items from the following list to jumpstart the process:

• Eat a kind of food you’ve never eaten before
• Drive a different route to work
• Listen to a different type of music
• Read something outside of your usual area—biography, mystery, history, art, science

5. Tell participants to select at least one or two of these specific changes to incorporate into their lives and to make a written commitment to do so—including when and how.

6. Distribute the 3 x 5 cards and pens. Tell participants that they will be creating pocket cards.

• On one side, they are to list the specific behavior to change.
• On the reverse side, they should write why it is important to be more flexible and list the specific times of day and the number of days they will refer to the card to reinforce the commitment.

7. (Optional) In the next meeting or coaching session, share experiences and select another activity to increase flexibility.