problem solving teams

How to ace collaborative problem solving

April 30, 2023 They say two heads are better than one, but is that true when it comes to solving problems in the workplace? To solve any problem—whether personal (eg, deciding where to live), business-related (eg, raising product prices), or societal (eg, reversing the obesity epidemic)—it’s crucial to first define the problem. In a team setting, that translates to establishing a collective understanding of the problem, awareness of context, and alignment of stakeholders. “Both good strategy and good problem solving involve getting clarity about the problem at hand, being able to disaggregate it in some way, and setting priorities,” Rob McLean, McKinsey director emeritus, told McKinsey senior partner Chris Bradley in an Inside the Strategy Room podcast episode . Check out these insights to uncover how your team can come up with the best solutions for the most complex challenges by adopting a methodical and collaborative approach.

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Take a step Forward

Problem Solving in Teams and Groups - 2

(7 reviews)

Cameron W. Piercy

Publisher: University of Kansas Libraries

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Steve Custer, Professor, Oakland City University on 9/13/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The Problem Solving in Teams and Group text is an exceptionally handy resource to consult, particularly as communication skills can always be improved for individuals, teams, and organizations. The text is packed full of solid information, from issues ranging on how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of meetings to areas about resolving conflicts in groups and how to foster a positive work culture. I plan to utilize this material in several of my HR classes next term.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Upon inspection, no errors were found by this reviewer.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The issues addressed in this resource are timeless, from professional writing guidance to performance evaluation methods. Again, these concerns are always relevant to build key competencies for success in business and organizational management.

Clarity rating: 5

This text was presented in a logical manner and it was extremely easy to read and comprehend.

Consistency rating: 5

There was a consistent flow of information in each section to guide readers through a thorough investigation of the contents covered.

Modularity rating: 5

The content was well assembled for quick reference to support multiple course learning objectives.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The table of contents was logically constructed and subdivided into three main sections: groups and teams overview, groups and teams in action, and group and team theory. The content was available in both PDF and online formats. There was a delay in downloading the PDF version, but that could be attributed to the WiFi connection at the time.

Interface rating: 5

No interface issues were experienced by this reviewer.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The reviewer did not observe any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This reviewer did not notice any offensive or insensitive material upon inspection.

Overall, this reviewer was very pleased with this resource and plans to incorporate it into future courses.

Reviewed by Brad Palmertree, Lecturer, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 6/18/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

For the most part, this textbook is a great guide for understanding group dynamics and managing relationships in group settings. I appreciate the learning activities (e.g. quizzes, reflection & discussion questions) throughout several chapters. A few chapters seem out of place without relevant context or additional adaptation to demonstrate relevance.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book seems accurate enough. I do question the accuracy of Wikipedia articles, however, which the text relies upon several times. I would supplement that material with other OER and/or journal articles.

The book is mostly up-to-date. The content on "Teaming with Machines" is well-placed. This could be updated to include the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI).

The writing is clear and accessible. Most chapters have clickable text which brings up pop-up boxes with definitions of key terms.

Consistency rating: 4

Most pages have consistent layout and flow. Since they come from different sources, though, some chapters are lacking learning objectives and learning activities.

Chapters can easily be used on their own. Depending on the content, I probably wouldn't use more than one chapter at a time given the different source material.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Several sections are presented in a logical, clear fashion. I would appreciate covering group theories earlier in the text (this text places group theory last). The two writing chapters, for example, seem better suited for a writing course. The chapter on "Intercultural and Plane Crashes" offers necessary insight but the audience is clearly meant for those in aviation. With a few chapters seemingly out-of-place, I found the difference in content to be confusing. Some additional context and/or learning objectives at the beginning of those chapters would be helpful.

Interface rating: 4

Most images and links work properly. However, several images are missing, particularly in the Leadership chapter.

The text is well-written with very few errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is mostly culturally-relevant. A variety of perspectives are provided; however, there is always room to grow in this area.

I would use some of this book for a graduate level course on leadership in groups & teams. I might consider other parts for an undergraduate course on leadership.

Reviewed by Eric Kaufman, Professor, Virginia Tech on 5/19/21

The book is written in accessible language, with practical learning activities and related resources interspersed. It was helpful to see the sample course syllabus and schedule, because it allowed me to consider similarities and differences with existing courses that may benefit from adopting this textbook. Although the conceptual frameworks provided in the textbook are relevant for graduate students, they are sometimes presented in a way that seems more appropriate for undergraduate students. If the book was used for a graduate-level course, I believe it may need to be supplemented with scholarly publications that highlight the related research.

The content is generally accurate and unbiased. Some of the hyperlinked embedded within the text are broken.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The concepts are relevant for present-day application, including descriptions of many classical psychological experiments. However, in several chapters, I was somewhat disappointed the references were not more current and reflective of recent research.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is written in accessible prose, and many of the chapters contain appropriate attention to terminology. While many images and textboxes are visually appealing, some of the figures are not as crisp as I would like them to be.

Consistency rating: 1

There is much more variance between chapters than I had anticipated, making the book seem a little more like a coursepack (i.e., collection of resources) than a textbook. The difference in structure and approach are extreme enough that I believe students would find it frustrating. The variation may also be difficult for instructors to manage, as they consider different approaches to learning objectives, vocabulary, discussion questions, application activities, concept checks, outside resources, etc.

Modularity rating: 4

The text is composed of many smaller reading sections, including Wikipedia entries. Accordingly, it could be reorganized and realigned without losses from the shifts. However, because most chapters are freely available elsewhere, I would be inclined to go back to those original sources (e.g., OpenStax, NOBA, and other Pressbooks), rather than relying upon this book, which may not reflect the most current version.

I appreciate the organization in three macro sections. However, I remain unclear why some chapters/sections are included and/or positioned where they are. For example, the chapter on “Intercultural and Plane Crashes” seems random. It would be helpful if each of the macro sections began with an overview of the contents, describing the mental model that explains the organization.

Interface rating: 3

The interface is generally sufficient, but it varies from one chapter to another, which can leave readers confused about what to expect with different hyperlinks or font effects. Also, while many of the font effects are carried into the PDF version, some functionality is lost, which may cause some confusion for readers using the PDF version.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The text contains few grammatical errors.

The book contains cultural variety and sensitivity to the same level I would expect in similar textbooks. Like most textbooks, though, there are opportunities for underrepresented populations to be better reflected in the examples and images provided. While this varies from one chapter to another, I was pleased to see some demographic diversity in photographs included in the book.

Because the book comes across more as a coursepack than a textbook, I may be inclined to create my own course rather than adopt this book. However, it did highlight related resources that could be used for such a coursepack or adopted as an alternate option for an open textbook.

Reviewed by Renee Owen, Assistant Professor, Southern Oregon University on 1/12/21

I would be using the book for a graduate-level course in Adult Learning/Education, with a focus on leadership, particularly leading nonprofit organizations. The content is appropriate for the workplace. The content has a good broad overview of different approaches to group dynamics and could be useful at the graduate level, although probably more appropriate for undergraduate. That is to say it is comprehensive and broad, more so than drilling more in-depth into particular areas. There is no glossary or index.

The book seemed accurate and up to date.

The content is definitely up to date, with many theories that have longevity. Workplace topics are, of course, changing rapidly in today's world, so there will be a need for updates, something the author cannot control.

I liked the writing style. This text is easy to understand. It has a nice flow.

The book is organized with consistency that is followed throughout the book, making it easy to navigate.

I would not personally use the whole text, so the modularity of the book is important. It is organized and presented in a manner where chapters can be single, or even sections within chapters.

The organization is presented in a clear fashion, making it easy to navigate and to read.

The book is mostly in APA style, but there seemed to be a mixture of citation styles in some places. The images were important. I would prefer more images (but that is personal preference). Graphics, such as charts, are clear.

I am not a good proofing editor. I did not notice errors.

There was some attention paid to cultural responsiveness but did not extend the issue as much as today's world demands. More research on racial bias and the neuroscience of racial bias could be helpful. I appreciate the multi-racial photos, but there could be more.

Reviewed by Karishma Chatterjee, Assistant Professor of Instruction, University of Texas at Arlington on 3/6/20

The content covers a range of topics that are useful for a junior/upper level class about working in groups and teams. The content can be used for potentially two different courses- one a class about working in groups and the other one about... read more

The book starts out by drawing a distinction between groups and teams, which is a useful way to start a class about problem solving in teams and groups. Certain chapters such as Chapter 18 had descriptions and images of empirical studies on conformity and obedience that would enhance student understanding of the content.

However, there were some chapters that needed additional content. For example, chapter 2 focuses on cooperation and chapter 3 is about social comparison. A section on competition, particularly the role of communication, and its effect on teams and groups is needed. If this book is being used in Communication courses, it would be beneficial to include how group processes such as competition and cooperation are communicative in nature. Gibbs (1961) communication patterns would be helpful in identifying how communication can create defensive or supportive communication climates in teams and groups. Similarly, the role of culture is alluded without mentioning Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.

Most of the claims seemed accurate. The content was error-free and unbiased. On page 308, a claim needs a citation.

As a whole, there was literature presented that covered the history of how we study groups and what group dynamics look like in existing businesses. The text is arranged in a way that updates will be straightforward to implement.

The chapters were easy to read. However, the title of chapter Chapter 21 “Intercultural and Plane Crashes” is incomplete.

The text seems to be internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

The text is readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within a course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

It is useful to start the book differentiating teams from groups given that people often use the two terms interchangeably. Students will appreciate the examples of different types of teams the author provides along with the organizational charts. References were provided at the end of each chapter, which is easier to look up as compared to textbooks that have all references listed at the end.

It would be helpful for the readers if there is a justification for the layout of the book. For example, chapter 5 Shared Information Bias would fit well with Chapter 15 Judgment and Decision Making. There is no rationale for why Chapter 5 is part of section 1 (An overview section ) and not section 3 (Group and team theory).

The book chapters have different citation styles. Some of the chapters seemed to be written in American Psychological Association’s (APA) style that uses in-text author citations and others are written in a different style with end notes . In section 1 most of the chapters are written in APA, while in section 2 and 3, there seems to be a mix of citations for the different chapters. The reader would have to adjust given that one can become used to reading in APA because of the first section.

The book seems to be largely error free. There are two floating “I” on page 293

The book is not culturally insensitive. There was some variation in pictorial representations. Study results also included women and people of different countries.

Reviewed by Melvina Goodman, Adjunct Faculty, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College on 1/7/20

Thank you for developing this textbook. I teach a group dynamics course at a community college, and was looking for a new text for my course, as well as I want to help students reduce the cost of purchasing textbooks. With that said, I would like to offer some constructive feedback about the textbook. Overall, the book is comprehensive as evidence that it provides good information about group work, stages of group and other things about the pros and cons of group. It would have been helpful if the author had included more information in the introduction section including the purpose, how the book is organized, and maybe a personal note as to the reason he decided to write the book. That would be beneficial, because readers could decide whether or not they want to click the links of the table of contents to determine the content.

The text appears to be accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

The content is relevant and it addresses current trends as it relates to working with teams and groups. The information was somewhat generic, meaning, the information seemed tailored to the workplace, not necessarily for group counseling, although some of the activities are useful for teaching group counseling and group dynamics.

The text is written simply and clearly. The language and terms are user-friendly.

The psychology of groups section provided relevant information in terms of gaining an understanding of the rationale for groups and the overall role groups play in personal and professional development. It also provided good information on management and leadership styles.

The sections can be easily divided for class assignments. This text provides ample activities to promote student learning and engagement. Group dynamics is a skills-based course. Since the classroom has various types of learners, it is significant to utilize various teaching methods to convey information. In addition to lecture and PowerPoint presentation, including icebreakers and other fun activities in the syllabus enhances the learning experience for students.

The text is organized well. I appreciate that the author included references within each chapter, instead of at the end of the text. Some of the chapters have a list vocabulary words, however for the sake of having information at your fingertips, it would be helpful if the author included a glossary, a name index, and a subject index.

There were no navigation issues, and all images and charts were clear.

There weren't any noticeable grammatical errors.

It was good to see that the author included images of various ethnic and cultural groups. Our world is becoming increasingly diverse, and it is imperative that publications and media outlets reflect today's world regardless of personal opinions and biases. Of course, there could be more images included throughout the book, since an image speaks volumes.

Reviewed by Tammy Hall, Instructor, ULL on 11/5/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The textbook opened with a table of contents. The beginning chapter started with the difference between group (informal/formal) and team. A key distinction for students to know. The content included the five stages of group development. The book did not give enough detail group diversity, benefits of diversity in groups, and group decision making--missing some key decision making processes (Delphi and nominal group techniques). The book did not contain a glossary or index. I was unable to find information on contemporary organizations and new types of teams--virtual teams.

The information is accurate. I did find that some information could have been fleshed out more and additional information added for example the punctuated equilibrium model for group formation was not discussed.

The information is broad enough to allow for additions.

Excellent key terms. The terms were easy to understand.

Consistency rating: 3

Some inconsistencies were evident in the book. The reader activities in the book were not evident throughout the different chapters. Some chapters had activities, key takeaways, and/or discussions but not all chapters.

Modularity rating: 3

There were many areas of the text which were large areas of texts.

Perhaps the Groups Theory section should have proceeded the Groups & Teams in Action

The images were good.

The book did not have any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

No--I only noticed one set of children of color (picture depicting empathy) and African American male in the section discussing conformity. As an African American woman I could not relate to many of the images in the book.

Some of the paragraphs were long and perhaps should be broken up with graphics or other images.

I. Groups & Teams Overview

1. Defining Teams and Groups
2. Cooperation
3. Social Comparison
4. The Psychology of Groups
5. Shared Information Bias
6. Inattentional Blindness
7. Teams as Systems

II. Groups & Teams (In)Action

8. Professional Writing
9. Supplemental Writing Advice
10. Persuasive Presentations
11. Groups and meetings
12. Gantt Charts
13. Organizational culture
14. Performance Evaluation

III. Group & Team Theory

15. Power in Teams and Groups
16. Judgment and Decision Making
17. Cultivating a Supportive Group Climate
18. Structuration Theory
19. Teaming with Machines
20. Leadership
21. Conformity and Obedience
22. Working in Diverse Teams
23. Intercultural and Plane Crashes
24. Conflict and Negotiation

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This textbook covers content relevant to COMS342 Problem Solving in Teams and Groups at the University of Kansas.

About the Contributors

Cameron W. Piercy , Ph.D

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Turn your team into skilled problem sol ...

Turn your team into skilled problem solvers with these problem-solving strategies

Picture this, you're handling your daily tasks at work and your boss calls you in and says, "We have a problem."

Unfortunately, we don't live in a world in which problems are instantly resolved with the snap of our fingers. Knowing how to effectively solve problems is an important professional skill to hone. If you have a problem that needs to be solved, what is the right process to use to ensure you get the most effective solution?

In this article we'll break down the problem-solving process and how you can find the most effective solutions for complex problems.

What is problem solving?

Problem solving is the process of finding a resolution for a specific issue or conflict. There are many possible solutions for solving a problem, which is why it's important to go through a problem-solving process to find the best solution. You could use a flathead screwdriver to unscrew a Phillips head screw, but there is a better tool for the situation. Utilizing common problem-solving techniques helps you find the best solution to fit the needs of the specific situation, much like using the right tools.

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In this ebook, learn how to equip employees to make better decisions—so your business can pivot, adapt, and tackle challenges more effectively than your competition.

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4 steps to better problem solving

While it might be tempting to dive into a problem head first, take the time to move step by step. Here’s how you can effectively break down the problem-solving process with your team:

1. Identify the problem that needs to be solved

One of the easiest ways to identify a problem is to ask questions. A good place to start is to ask journalistic questions, like:

Who : Who is involved with this problem? Who caused the problem? Who is most affected by this issue?

What: What is happening? What is the extent of the issue? What does this problem prevent from moving forward?

Where: Where did this problem take place? Does this problem affect anything else in the immediate area?

When: When did this problem happen? When does this problem take effect? Is this an urgent issue that needs to be solved within a certain timeframe?

Why: Why is it happening? Why does it impact workflows?

How: How did this problem occur? How is it affecting workflows and team members from being productive?

Asking journalistic questions can help you define a strong problem statement so you can highlight the current situation objectively, and create a plan around that situation.

Here’s an example of how a design team uses journalistic questions to identify their problem:

Overarching problem: Design requests are being missed

Who: Design team, digital marketing team, web development team

What: Design requests are forgotten, lost, or being created ad hoc.

Where: Email requests, design request spreadsheet

When: Missed requests on January 20th, January 31st, February 4th, February 6th

How : Email request was lost in inbox and the intake spreadsheet was not updated correctly. The digital marketing team had to delay launching ads for a few days while design requests were bottlenecked. Designers had to work extra hours to ensure all requests were completed.

In this example, there are many different aspects of this problem that can be solved. Using journalistic questions can help you identify different issues and who you should involve in the process.

2. Brainstorm multiple solutions

If at all possible, bring in a facilitator who doesn't have a major stake in the solution. Bringing an individual who has little-to-no stake in the matter can help keep your team on track and encourage good problem-solving skills.

Here are a few brainstorming techniques to encourage creative thinking:

Brainstorm alone before hand: Before you come together as a group, provide some context to your team on what exactly the issue is that you're brainstorming. This will give time for you and your teammates to have some ideas ready by the time you meet.

Say yes to everything (at first): When you first start brainstorming, don't say no to any ideas just yet—try to get as many ideas down as possible. Having as many ideas as possible ensures that you’ll get a variety of solutions. Save the trimming for the next step of the strategy.

Talk to team members one-on-one: Some people may be less comfortable sharing their ideas in a group setting. Discuss the issue with team members individually and encourage them to share their opinions without restrictions—you might find some more detailed insights than originally anticipated.

Break out of your routine: If you're used to brainstorming in a conference room or over Zoom calls, do something a little different! Take your brainstorming meeting to a coffee shop or have your Zoom call while you're taking a walk. Getting out of your routine can force your brain out of its usual rut and increase critical thinking.

3. Define the solution

After you brainstorm with team members to get their unique perspectives on a scenario, it's time to look at the different strategies and decide which option is the best solution for the problem at hand. When defining the solution, consider these main two questions: What is the desired outcome of this solution and who stands to benefit from this solution?

Set a deadline for when this decision needs to be made and update stakeholders accordingly. Sometimes there's too many people who need to make a decision. Use your best judgement based on the limitations provided to do great things fast.

4. Implement the solution

To implement your solution, start by working with the individuals who are as closest to the problem. This can help those most affected by the problem get unblocked. Then move farther out to those who are less affected, and so on and so forth. Some solutions are simple enough that you don’t need to work through multiple teams.

After you prioritize implementation with the right teams, assign out the ongoing work that needs to be completed by the rest of the team. This can prevent people from becoming overburdened during the implementation plan . Once your solution is in place, schedule check-ins to see how the solution is working and course-correct if necessary.

Implement common problem-solving strategies

There are a few ways to go about identifying problems (and solutions). Here are some strategies you can try, as well as common ways to apply them:

Trial and error

Trial and error problem solving doesn't usually require a whole team of people to solve. To use trial and error problem solving, identify the cause of the problem, and then rapidly test possible solutions to see if anything changes.

This problem-solving method is often used in tech support teams through troubleshooting.

The 5 whys problem-solving method helps get to the root cause of an issue. You start by asking once, “Why did this issue happen?” After answering the first why, ask again, “Why did that happen?” You'll do this five times until you can attribute the problem to a root cause.

This technique can help you dig in and find the human error that caused something to go wrong. More importantly, it also helps you and your team develop an actionable plan so that you can prevent the issue from happening again.

Here’s an example:

Problem: The email marketing campaign was accidentally sent to the wrong audience.

“Why did this happen?” Because the audience name was not updated in our email platform.

“Why were the audience names not changed?” Because the audience segment was not renamed after editing.

“Why was the audience segment not renamed?” Because everybody has an individual way of creating an audience segment.

“Why does everybody have an individual way of creating an audience segment?” Because there is no standardized process for creating audience segments.

“Why is there no standardized process for creating audience segments?” Because the team hasn't decided on a way to standardize the process as the team introduced new members.

In this example, we can see a few areas that could be optimized to prevent this mistake from happening again. When working through these questions, make sure that everyone who was involved in the situation is present so that you can co-create next steps to avoid the same problem.

A SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis can help you highlight the strengths and weaknesses of a specific solution. SWOT stands for:

Strength: Why is this specific solution a good fit for this problem?

Weaknesses: What are the weak points of this solution? Is there anything that you can do to strengthen those weaknesses?

Opportunities: What other benefits could arise from implementing this solution?

Threats: Is there anything about this decision that can detrimentally impact your team?

As you identify specific solutions, you can highlight the different strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each solution.

This particular problem-solving strategy is good to use when you're narrowing down the answers and need to compare and contrast the differences between different solutions.

Even more successful problem solving

After you’ve worked through a tough problem, don't forget to celebrate how far you've come. Not only is this important for your team of problem solvers to see their work in action, but this can also help you become a more efficient, effective , and flexible team. The more problems you tackle together, the more you’ll achieve.

Looking for a tool to help solve problems on your team? Track project implementation with a work management tool like Asana .

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></center></p><h2>13 Problem-Solving Activities & Exercises for Your Team</h2><ul><li>May 22, 2024</li><li>Project Management</li><li>22 min read</li></ul><p><center><img style=

Are you looking to enhance your or your team’s problem-solving abilities? Engaging in activities specifically designed to stimulate your and your team’s critical thinking skills can be an excellent way to sharpen your problem-solving prowess. Whether you enjoy puzzles, brain teasers, or interactive challenges, these activities provide an opportunity to overcome obstacles and think creatively.

By immersing yourself in problem-solving activities, you can develop valuable strategies, improve your decision-making abilities, and boost your overall problem-solving IQ.

One key aspect of successful problem-solving is ensuring clear and effective communication, such as when teams use critical tools available online. For example, testing emails for deliverability and using an email spam checker to avoid spam filters can improve team efficiency. Try Maileroo’s free mail tester to validate your email campaigns effectively. Get ready to unlock your full potential and tackle any challenge that comes your way with these exciting activities for problem-solving.

In this article, we will explore activities for problem-solving that can help enhance your team’s problem-solving skills, allowing you to approach challenges with confidence and creativity.

What Are Problem Solving Activities?

Problem-solving activities or problem-solving exercises are interactive games requiring critical thinking to solve puzzles. They enhance teamwork & critical thinking. Examples include building towers, navigating simulated challenges, and fostering creativity and communication.

For instance, imagine a team working together to construct the tallest tower using limited materials. They strategize, communicate ideas, and problem-solve to create the best structure, promoting collaboration and inventive thinking among team members.

Some widely practiced problem-solving activities include:

A Shrinking Vessel: Teams must fit into a shrinking space, testing their cooperation and adaptability.
Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower: Participants build a tower using marshmallows and spaghetti, promoting creative engineering.
Egg Drop: Protecting an egg from a fall challenges problem-solving skills.
Desert Island Survival: Teams simulate survival scenarios, encouraging creative solutions.
Rolling Dice: A simple yet effective game involving chance and decision-making.
Build a Tower: Constructing a stable tower with limited resources fosters teamwork and innovation, etc.

13 Easy Activities For Problem-Solving Ideas to Enhance Team Collaboration

Team building activities offer a great opportunity to test problem-solving abilities and promote effective collaboration within a group to problem solving group activities. By engaging in these activities, teams can break the monotony of the workplace and create a more inclusive and welcoming environment.

Here are nine easy-to-implement activities that can bring substantial change to your team culture and overall workplace dynamics.

#1. Crossword Puzzles

Objective: To enhance problem-solving skills, vocabulary, and cognitive abilities through engaging crossword puzzles.

Estimated Time: 15-20 Minutes

Materials Needed:

Crossword puzzle sheets
Pens or pencils
Distribute crossword puzzle sheets and pens/pencils to each participant.
Explain the rules of crossword puzzles and the goal of completing as many clues as possible within the given time.
Participants individually or in pairs work on solving the crossword puzzle by filling in the correct words.
Encourage critical thinking, word association, and collaborative discussions for solving challenging clues.
At the end of the time limit, review the answers and discuss any interesting or challenging clues as a group.
Enhanced Problem-Solving: Participants engage in critical thinking while deciphering clues, promoting effective problem-solving skills.
Vocabulary Expansion: Exposure to new words and phrases within the crossword improves vocabulary and comprehension.
Cognitive Stimulation: The mental exercise of solving the puzzle stimulates the brain, enhancing cognitive abilities.
Team Collaboration: If done in pairs, participants practice collaboration and communication to solve clues together.
Achievement and Motivation: Successfully completing the crossword brings a sense of accomplishment and motivates individuals to explore more puzzles.

Tips for Facilitators:

Provide varying levels of crossword puzzles to accommodate different skill levels.
Encourage participants to share strategies for solving challenging clues.
Emphasize the fun and educational aspects of the activity to keep participants engaged.

#2. A Shrinking Vessel

Estimated Time: 10-15 Minutes

Materials Needed: A rope and a ball of yarn
Prepare the Setting: Lay a rope on the floor in a shape that allows all team members to stand comfortably inside it. For larger teams, multiple ropes can be used, dividing them into smaller groups.
Enter the Circle: Have all team members stand inside the rope, ensuring that nobody steps outside its boundaries.
Shrinking the Circle: Begin gradually shrinking the rope’s size, reducing the available space inside the circle.
Adapt and Maintain Balance: As the circle shrinks, team members must make subtle adjustments to maintain their positions and balance within the shrinking area.
The Challenge: The objective for the team is to collectively brainstorm and find innovative ways to keep every team member inside the circle without anyone stepping outside.
Collaboration and Communication: The activity promotes teamwork and open communication as participants strategize to stay within the shrinking circle.
Adaptability: Team members learn to adapt swiftly to changing circumstances, fostering agility and flexibility.
Creative Problem-Solving: The challenge encourages inventive thinking and brainstorming to find unique solutions.
Trust Building: By relying on each other’s actions, participants build trust and cohesion among team members.
Time-Efficient: The short duration makes it an ideal icebreaker or energizer during meetings or workshops.
Observe and Facilitate: Monitor the team’s dynamics and offer guidance to encourage equal participation and effective problem-solving.
Encourage Verbalization: Prompt participants to voice their ideas and collaborate vocally, aiding in real-time adjustments.
Debrief Thoughtfully: Engage the team in a discussion afterward, reflecting on strategies employed and lessons learned.
Emphasize Adaptability: Highlight the transferable skill of adaptability and its significance in both professional and personal contexts.

#3. Human Knots

Objective: Improving Collaboration & enhancing Communication Skills

Estimated Time: 15-20 minutes

Materials: None required

Procedure:

Organize your team into a compact circle. For more sizable teams, subdivide them into smaller clusters, with each cluster forming its own circle.
Direct each individual to grasp the hands of two other people in the circle, with the exception of those positioned directly adjacent to them. This action will result in the formation of a complex “human knot” within the circle.
Present the challenge to the group: to unravel themselves from this entanglement while maintaining their hold on each other’s hands. If preferred, you can establish a specific time limit.
Observe the team members collaborating to unravel the knot, witnessing their collective effort to devise solutions and free themselves from the intricate puzzle.
Team Cohesion: The activity encourages team members to interact closely, promoting bonding and understanding among participants.
Effective Communication: Participants practice clear and concise communication as they coordinate movements to untangle the knot.
Problem-Solving: The challenge stimulates creative thinking and problem-solving skills as individuals work collectively to find the optimal path for untangling.
Adaptability: Participants learn to adapt their actions based on the evolving dynamics of the human knot, fostering adaptability.
Trust Building: As individuals rely on each other to navigate the intricate knot, trust and cooperation naturally develop.
Set a Positive Tone: Create an inclusive and supportive atmosphere, emphasizing that the focus is on collaboration rather than competition.
Encourage Verbalization: Urge participants to articulate their intentions and listen to others’ suggestions, promoting effective teamwork.
Observe Group Dynamics: Monitor interactions and step in if needed to ensure everyone is actively engaged and included.
Reflect and Share: Conclude the activity with a debriefing session, allowing participants to share their experiences, strategies, and key takeaways.
Vary Grouping: Change group compositions for subsequent rounds to enhance interactions among different team members.

#4. Egg Drop

Helps With: Decision Making, Collaboration

A carton of eggs
Construction materials (balloons, rubber bands, straws, tape, plastic wrap, etc.)
A suitable location for the activity
Assign each team a single egg and random construction materials.
Teams must create a carrier to protect the egg from breaking.
Drop the carriers one by one and increase the height if necessary to determine the most durable carrier.
The winning team is the one with the carrier that survives the highest drop.
Decision Making: Participants engage in critical decision-making processes as they select construction materials and determine carrier designs.
Collaboration: The activity necessitates collaboration and coordination among team members to construct an effective carrier.
Problem-Solving: Teams apply creative problem-solving skills to devise innovative methods for safeguarding the egg.
Risk Management: Participants learn to assess potential risks and consequences while making design choices to prevent egg breakage.
Celebrating Success: The victorious team experiences a sense of accomplishment, boosting morale and promoting a positive team spirit.
Provide Diverse Materials: Offer a wide range of construction materials to stimulate creativity and allow teams to explore various design options.
Set Safety Guidelines: Prioritize safety by specifying a safe drop height and ensuring participants follow safety protocols during construction.
Encourage Brainstorming: Prompt teams to brainstorm multiple carrier ideas before finalizing their designs, fostering diverse perspectives.
Facilitate Reflection: After the activity, lead a discussion where teams share their design strategies, challenges faced, and lessons learned.
Highlight Collaboration: Emphasize the significance of teamwork in achieving success, acknowledging effective communication and cooperation.

As a teamwork activity, Egg Drop can help team members solve problems through collaboration and communication.

Each team can design and customize their own balloons and can display their team logo, slogan, or elements related to team culture through custom balloons . Awards can also be set up, such as the most creative balloon design, the strongest frangipani structure, etc., to increase the motivation for competition and participation.

After the activity, team sharing and feedback can be conducted to allow everyone to share their learning experience and feelings about teamwork.

This combination allows team members to experience the importance of teamwork in creativity and practice, and strengthen team cohesion by completing challenges and sharing experiences.

#5. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower

Helps With: Collaboration

Estimated Time: 20-30 Minutes

Materials Needed (per team):

Raw spaghetti: 20 sticks
Marshmallow: 1
String: 1 yard
Masking tape: 1 roll
Tower Construction: Instruct teams to collaborate and utilize the provided materials to construct the tallest tower possible within a designated time frame.
Marshmallow Support: Emphasize that the tower must be capable of standing independently and supporting a marshmallow at its highest point.
Prototype and Iterate: Encourage teams to engage in prototyping and iteration, testing different design approaches and refining their tower structures.
T eamwork and Communication: Promote effective teamwork and communication as team members coordinate their efforts to build a stable and tall tower.
Evaluation Criteria: Evaluate each tower based on its height, stability, and the successful placement of the marshmallow at the top.
Collaboration: Participants collaborate closely, sharing ideas and working together to design and construct the tower.
Innovative Thinking: The activity encourages innovative thinking as teams experiment with different strategies to build a stable tower.
Time Management: Teams practice time management skills as they work within a specified time limit to complete the task.
Problem-Solving: Participants engage in creative problem-solving to address challenges such as balancing the marshmallow and constructing a sturdy tower.
Adaptability: Teams adapt their approaches based on trial and error, learning from each iteration to improve their tower designs.
Set Clear Guidelines: Clearly explain the materials, objectives, and evaluation criteria to ensure teams understand the task.
Foster Creativity: Encourage teams to think outside the box and explore unconventional methods for constructing their towers.
Emphasize Collaboration: Highlight the importance of effective communication and teamwork to accomplish the task successfully.
Time Management: Remind teams of the time limit and encourage them to allocate their time wisely between planning and construction.
Reflect and Share: Facilitate a discussion after the activity, allowing teams to share their design choices, challenges faced, and lessons learned.

Objective: To engage participants in the strategic and analytical world of Sudoku, enhancing logical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Estimated Time: 20-25 Minutes

Sudoku puzzle sheets
Pencils with erasers
Distribute Sudoku puzzle sheets and pencils to each participant.
Familiarize participants with the rules and mechanics of Sudoku puzzles.
Explain the goal: to fill in the empty cells with numbers from 1 to 9 while adhering to the rules of no repetition in rows, columns, or subgrids.
Encourage participants to analyze the puzzle’s layout, identify potential numbers, and strategically fill in cells.
Emphasize the importance of logical deduction and step-by-step approach in solving the puzzle.
Provide hints or guidance if needed, ensuring participants remain engaged and challenged.
Logical Thinking: Sudoku challenges participants’ logical and deductive reasoning, fostering analytical skills.
Problem-Solving: The intricate interplay of numbers and constraints hones problem-solving abilities.
Focus and Patience: Participants practice patience and attention to detail while gradually unveiling the solution.
Pattern Recognition: Identifying number patterns and possibilities contributes to enhanced pattern recognition skills.
Personal Achievement: Successfully completing a Sudoku puzzle provides a sense of accomplishment and boosts confidence.
Offer varying levels of Sudoku puzzles to cater to different skill levels.
Encourage participants to share strategies and techniques for solving specific challenges.
Highlight the mental workout Sudoku provides and its transferable skills to real-life problem-solving.

Helps With: Communication, Problem-solving, & Management

A lockable room
5-10 puzzles or clues
Hide the key and a set of clues around the room.
Lock the room and provide team members with a specific time limit to find the key and escape.
Instruct the team to work together, solving the puzzles and deciphering the clues to locate the key.
Encourage efficient communication and effective problem-solving under time pressure.
Communication Skills: Participants enhance their communication abilities by sharing observations, ideas, and findings to collectively solve puzzles.
Problem-solving Proficiency: The activity challenges teams to think critically, apply logical reasoning, and collaboratively tackle intricate challenges.
Team Management: The experience promotes effective team management as members assign tasks, prioritize efforts, and coordinate actions.
Time Management: The imposed time limit sharpens time management skills as teams strategize and allocate time wisely.
Adaptability: Teams learn to adapt and adjust strategies based on progress, evolving clues, and time constraints.
Clear Introduction: Provide a concise overview of the activity, emphasizing the importance of communication, problem-solving, and time management.
Diverse Challenges: Offer a mix of puzzles and clues to engage various problem-solving skills, catering to different team strengths.
Supportive Role: Act as a facilitator, offering subtle guidance if needed while allowing teams to independently explore and solve challenges.
Debriefing Session: Organize a debriefing session afterward to discuss the experience, highlight successful strategies, and identify areas for improvement.
Encourage Reflection: Encourage participants to reflect on their teamwork, communication effectiveness, and problem-solving approach.

#8. Frostbite for Group Problem Solving Activities

Helps With: Decision Making, Trust, Leadership

An electric fan
Construction materials (toothpicks, cardstock, rubber bands, sticky notes, etc.)
Divide the team into groups of 4-5 people, each with a designated leader.
Blindfold team members and prohibit leaders from using their hands.
Provide teams with construction materials and challenge them to build a tent within 30 minutes.
Test the tents using the fan to see which can withstand high winds.
Decision-Making Proficiency: Participants are exposed to critical decision-making situations under constraints, allowing them to practice effective and efficient decision-making.
Trust Development: Blindfolding team members and relying on the designated leaders fosters trust and collaboration among team members.
Leadership Skills: Designated leaders navigate the challenge without hands-on involvement, enhancing their leadership and communication skills.
Creative Problem Solving: Teams employ creative thinking and resourcefulness to construct stable tents with limited sensory input.
Team Cohesion: The shared task and unique constraints promote team cohesion and mutual understanding.
Role of the Facilitator: Act as an observer, allowing teams to navigate the challenge with minimal intervention. Offer assistance only when necessary.
Clarity in Instructions: Provide clear instructions regarding blindfolding, leader restrictions, and time limits to ensure a consistent experience.
Debriefing Session: After the activity, conduct a debriefing session to discuss team dynamics, leadership approaches, and decision-making strategies.
Encourage Communication: Emphasize the importance of effective communication within teams to ensure smooth coordination and successful tent construction.
Acknowledge Creativity: Celebrate creative solutions and innovative approaches exhibited by teams during the tent-building process.

#9. Dumbest Idea First

Helps With: Critical Thinking & Creative Problem Solving Activity

Estimated Time: 15-20 Minutes

Materials Needed: A piece of paper, pen, and pencil

Problem Presentation: Introduce a specific problem to the team, either a real-world challenge or a hypothetical scenario that requires a solution.
Brainstorming Dumb Ideas: Instruct team members to quickly generate and jot down the most unconventional and seemingly “dumb” ideas they can think of to address the problem.
Idea Sharing: Encourage each participant to share their generated ideas with the group, fostering a relaxed and open atmosphere for creative expression.
Viability Assessment: As a team, review and evaluate each idea, considering potential benefits and drawbacks. Emphasize the goal of identifying unconventional approaches.
Selecting Promising Solutions: Identify which seemingly “dumb” ideas could hold hidden potential or innovative insights. Discuss how these ideas could be adapted into workable solutions.
Divergent Thinking: Participants engage in divergent thinking, pushing beyond conventional boundaries to explore unconventional solutions.
Creative Exploration: The activity sparks creative exploration by encouraging participants to let go of inhibitions and embrace imaginative thinking.
Critical Analysis: Through evaluating each idea, participants practice critical analysis and learn to identify unique angles and aspects of potential solutions.
Open Communication: The lighthearted approach of sharing “dumb” ideas fosters open communication, reducing fear of judgment and promoting active participation.
Solution Adaptation: Identifying elements of seemingly “dumb” ideas that have merit encourages participants to adapt and refine their approaches creatively.
Safe Environment: Foster a safe and non-judgmental environment where participants feel comfortable sharing unconventional ideas.
Time Management: Set clear time limits for idea generation and sharing to maintain the activity’s energetic pace.
Encourage Wild Ideas: Emphasize that the goal is to explore the unconventional, urging participants to push the boundaries of creativity.
Facilitator Participation: Participate in idea generation to demonstrate an open-minded approach and encourage involvement.
Debriefing Discussion: After the activity, facilitate a discussion on how seemingly “dumb” ideas can inspire innovative solutions and stimulate fresh thinking.

This activity encourages out-of-the-box thinking and creative problem-solving. It allows teams to explore unconventional ideas that may lead to unexpected, yet effective, solutions.

#10: Legoman

Helps With: Foster teamwork, communication, and creativity through a collaborative Lego-building activity.

Estimated Time: 20-30 minutes

Lego bricks
Lego instruction manuals

Procedure :

Divide participants into small teams of 3-5 members.
Provide each team with an equal set of Lego bricks and a Lego instruction manual.
Explain that the goal is for teams to work together to construct the Lego model shown in the manual.
Set a time limit for the building activity based on model complexity.
Allow teams to self-organize, build, and collaborate to complete the model within the time limit.
Evaluate each team’s final model compared to the manual’s original design.
Enhanced Communication: Participants must communicate clearly and listen actively to collaborate effectively.
Strengthened Teamwork: Combining efforts toward a shared goal promotes camaraderie and team cohesion.
Creative Problem-Solving: Teams must creatively problem-solve if pieces are missing or instructions unclear.
Planning and Resource Allocation: Following instructions fosters planning skills and efficient use of resources.
Sense of Achievement: Completing a challenging build provides a sense of collective accomplishment.
Encourage Participation: Urge quieter members to contribute ideas and take an active role.
Highlight Teamwork: Emphasize how cooperation and task coordination are key to success.
Ensure Equal Engagement: Monitor group dynamics to ensure all members are engaged.
Allow Creativity: Permit modifications if teams lack exact pieces or wish to get creative.
Focus on Enjoyment: Create a lively atmosphere so the activity remains energizing and fun.

#11: Minefield

Helps With: Trust, Communication, Patience

Materials Needed: Open space, blindfolds

Mark a “minefield” on the ground using ropes, cones, or tape. Add toy mines or paper cups.
Pair up participants and blindfold one partner.
Position blindfolded partners at the start of the minefield. Direct seeing partners to verbally guide them through to the other side without hitting “mines.”
Partners switch roles once finished and repeat.
Time partnerships and provide prizes for the fastest safe crossing.
Trust Building: Blindfolded partners must trust their partner’s instructions.
Effective Communication: Giving clear, specific directions is essential for navigating the minefield.
Active Listening: Partners must listen closely and follow directions precisely.
Patience & Support: The exercise requires patience and encouraging guidance between partners.
Team Coordination: Partners must work in sync, coordinating movements and communication.
Test Boundaries: Ensure the minefield’s size accommodates safe movement and communication.
Monitor Interactions: Watch for dominant guidance and ensure both partners participate fully.
Time Strategically: Adjust time limits based on the minefield size and difficulty.
Add Obstacles: Introduce additional non-mine objects to increase challenge and communication needs.
Foster Discussion: Debrief afterward to discuss communication approaches and trust-building takeaways.

#12: Reverse Pyramid

Helps With: Teamwork, Communication, Creativity

Materials Needed: 36 cups per group, tables

Form small groups of 5-7 participants.
Provide each group with a stack of 36 cups and a designated building area.
Explain the objective: Build the tallest pyramid starting with just one cup on top.
Place the first cup on the table, and anyone in the group can add two cups beneath it to form the second row.
From this point, only the bottom row can be lifted to add the next row underneath.
Cups in the pyramid can only be touched or supported by index fingers.
If the structure falls, start over from one cup.
Offer more cups if a group uses all provided.
Allow 15 minutes for building.

Teamwork: Collaborate to construct the pyramid.

Communication: Discuss and execute the building strategy.

Creativity: Find innovative ways to build a tall, stable pyramid.

Clarify Expectations: Emphasize the definition of a pyramid with each row having one less cup.

Encourage Perseverance: Motivate groups to continue despite challenges.

Promote Consensus: Encourage groups to work together and help each other.

Reflect on Failure: Use collapses as a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and improving.

Consider Competitions: Modify the activity for competitive teams and scoring.

#13: Stranded

Helps With: Decision-making, Prioritization, Teamwork

Materials Needed: List of salvaged items, paper, pens

Present a scenario where teams are stranded and must prioritize items salvaged from a plane crash.
Provide teams with the same list of ~15 salvaged items.
Instruct teams to agree on an item ranking with #1 being the most important for survival.
Teams share and compare their prioritized lists. Identify differences in approach.
Discuss what factors influenced decisions and how teams worked together to agree on priorities.
Critical Thinking: Weighing item importance requires analytical thinking and discussion.
Team Decision-Making: Coming to a consensus fosters team decision-making capabilities.
Prioritization Skills: Ranking items strengthen prioritization and justification abilities.
Perspective-Taking: Understanding different prioritizations builds perspective-taking skills.
Team Cohesion: Collaborating toward a shared goal brings teams closer together.
Encourage Discussion: Urge teams to discuss all ideas rather than allow single members to dominate.
Be Engaged: Circulate to listen in on team discussions and pose thought-provoking questions.
Add Complexity: Introduce scenarios with additional constraints to expand critical thinking.
Highlight Disagreements: When priorities differ, facilitate constructive discussions on influencing factors.
Recognize Collaboration: Acknowledge teams that demonstrate exceptional teamwork and communication.

Now let’s look at some common types of problem-solving activities.

Types of Problem-Solving Activities

The most common types of problem-solving activities/exercises are:

Creative problem-solving activities
Group problem-solving activities
Individual problem-solving activities
Fun problem-solving activities, etc.

In the next segments, we’ll be discussing these types of problem-solving activities in detail. So, keep reading!

Creative Problem-Solving Activities

Creative problem solving (CPS) means using creativity to find new solutions. It involves thinking creatively at first and then evaluating ideas later. For example, think of it like brainstorming fun game ideas, discussing them, and then picking the best one to play.

Some of the most common creative problem-solving activities include:

Legoman: Building creative structures with LEGO.
Escape: Solving puzzles to escape a room.
Frostbite: Finding solutions in challenging situations.
Minefield: Navigating a field of obstacles.

Group Problem-Solving Activities

Group problem-solving activities are challenges that make teams work together to solve puzzles or overcome obstacles. They enhance teamwork and critical thinking.

For instance, think of a puzzle-solving game where a group must find hidden clues to escape a locked room.

Here are the most common group problem-solving activities you can try in groups:

A Shrinking Vessel
Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower
Cardboard Boat Building Challenge
Clue Murder Mystery
Escape Room: Jewel Heist
Escape Room: Virtual Team Building
Scavenger Hunt
Dumbest Idea First

Individual Problem-Solving Activities

As the name suggests, individual problem-solving activities are the tasks that you need to play alone to boost your critical thinking ability. They help you solve problems and stay calm while facing challenges in real life. Like puzzles, they make your brain sharper. Imagine it’s like training your brain muscles to handle tricky situations.

Here are some of the most common individual problem-solving activities:

Puzzles (jigsaw, crossword, sudoku, etc.)
Brain teasers
Logic problems
Optical illusions
“Escape room” style games

Fun Problem-Solving Activities

Fun problem-solving activities are enjoyable games that sharpen your critical thinking skills while having a blast. Think of activities like the Legoman challenge, escape rooms, or rolling dice games – they make problem-solving exciting and engaging!

And to be frank, all of the mentioned problem-solving activities are fun if you know how to play and enjoy them as all of them are game-like activities.

Team Problems You Can Address Through Problem Solving Activities

Fun problem-solving activities serve as dynamic tools to address a range of challenges that teams often encounter. These engaging activities foster an environment of collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, enabling teams to tackle various problems head-on. Here are some common team problems that can be effectively addressed through these activities:

Communication Breakdowns:

Activities like “Escape,” “A Shrinking Vessel,” and “Human Knots” emphasize the importance of clear and effective communication. They require teams to work together, exchange ideas, and devise strategies to accomplish a shared goal. By engaging in these activities, team members learn to communicate more efficiently, enhancing overall team communication in real-world situations.

Lack of Trust and Cohesion:

Problem-solving activities promote trust and cohesiveness within teams. For instance, “Frostbite” and “Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower” require teams to collaborate closely, trust each other’s ideas, and rely on each member’s strengths. These activities build a sense of unity and trust, which can translate into improved teamwork and collaboration.

Innovative Thinking:

“Dumbest Idea First” and “Egg Drop” encourage teams to think outside the box and explore unconventional solutions. These activities challenge teams to be creative and innovative in their problem-solving approaches, fostering a culture of thinking beyond traditional boundaries when faced with complex issues.

Decision-Making Challenges:

Activities like “Onethread” facilitate group decision-making by providing a platform for open discussions and collaborative choices. Problem-solving activities require teams to make decisions collectively, teaching them to weigh options, consider different viewpoints, and arrive at informed conclusions—a skill that is transferable to real-world decision-making scenarios.

Leadership and Role Clarification:

Activities such as “Frostbite” and “Egg Drop” designate team leaders and roles within groups. This provides an opportunity for team members to practice leadership, delegation, and role-specific tasks. By experiencing leadership dynamics in a controlled setting, teams can improve their leadership skills and better understand their roles in actual projects.

Problem-Solving Strategies:

All of the problem-solving activities involve the application of different strategies. Teams learn to analyze problems, break them down into manageable components, and develop systematic approaches for resolution. These strategies can be adapted to real-world challenges, enabling teams to approach complex issues with confidence.

Team Morale and Engagement:

Participating in engaging and enjoyable activities boosts team morale and engagement. These activities provide a break from routine tasks, energize team members, and create a positive and fun atmosphere. Elevated team morale can lead to increased motivation and productivity.

The incentives of event prizes can further stimulate the enthusiasm and participation of team members. The choice of prizes is crucial, as it can directly affect the attractiveness and participation of the event. Among them, Medals are essential prizes.

Medals are symbols of honor awarded to winners and represent the value and achievement of an event.

Medals also have a motivational effect, they encourage team members to pursue higher achievements and progress.

Medals are artistic and aesthetic. They are usually designed by designers according to different occasions and themes and have high collection value.

By incorporating these fun problem-solving activities, teams can address a variety of challenges, foster skill development, and build a more cohesive and effective working environment. As teams learn to collaborate, communicate, innovate, and make decisions collectively, they are better equipped to overcome obstacles and achieve shared goals.

The Benefits of Problem Solving Activities for Your Team

#1 Better Thinking

Problem-solving activities bring out the best in team members by encouraging them to contribute their unique ideas. This stimulates better thinking as team managers evaluate different solutions and choose the most suitable ones.

For example, a remote team struggling with communication benefited from quick thinking and the sharing of ideas, leading to the adoption of various communication modes for improved collaboration.

#2 Better Risk Handling

Team building problem solving activities condition individuals to handle risks more effectively. By engaging in challenging situations and finding solutions, team members develop the ability to respond better to stressful circumstances.

#3 Better Communication

Regular communication among team members is crucial for efficient problem-solving. Engaging in problem-solving activities fosters cooperation and communication within the team, resulting in better understanding and collaboration. Using tools like OneThread can further enhance team communication and accountability.

#4 Improved Productivity Output

When teams work cohesively, overall productivity improves, leading to enhanced profit margins for the company or organization. Involving managers and team members in problem-solving activities can positively impact the company’s growth and profitability.

How Onethread Enhances the Effect of Problem Solving Activities

Problem-solving activities within teams thrive on collaborative efforts and shared perspectives. Onethread emerges as a potent facilitator, enabling teams to collectively tackle challenges and harness diverse viewpoints with precision. Here’s a comprehensive view of how Onethread amplifies team collaboration in problem-solving initiatives:

Open Channels for Discussion:

Onethread’s real-time messaging feature serves as a dedicated hub for open and seamless discussions. Teams can engage in brainstorming sessions, share insightful observations, and propose innovative solutions within a flexible environment. Asynchronous communication empowers members to contribute their insights at their convenience, fostering comprehensive problem analysis with ample deliberation.

Centralized Sharing of Resources:

Effective problem-solving often hinges on access to pertinent resources. Onethread’s document sharing functionality ensures that critical information, references, and research findings are centralized and readily accessible. This eradicates the need for cumbersome email attachments and enables team members to collaborate with precise and up-to-date data.

Efficient Task Allocation and Monitoring:

Problem-solving journeys comprise a series of tasks and actions. Onethread’s task management capability streamlines the delegation of specific responsibilities to team members. Assign tasks related to research, data analysis, or solution implementation and monitor progress in real time. This cultivates a sense of accountability and guarantees comprehensive coverage of every facet of the problem-solving process.

Facilitated Collaborative Decision-Making: Navigating intricate problems often demands collective decision-making. Onethread’s collaborative ecosystem empowers teams to deliberate over potential solutions, assess pros and cons, and make well-informed choices. Transparent discussions ensure that decisions are comprehensively comprehended and supported by the entire team.

Seamless Documentation and Insights Sharing:

As the problem-solving journey unfolds, the accumulation of insights and conclusions becomes pivotal. Onethread’s collaborative document editing feature empowers teams to document their discoveries, chronicle the steps undertaken, and showcase successful solutions. This shared repository of documentation serves as a valuable resource for future reference and continuous learning.

With Onethread orchestrating the backdrop, team collaboration during problem-solving activities transforms into a harmonious fusion of insights, ideas, and actionable steps.

What are the 5 problem-solving skills?

The top 5 problem-solving skills in 2023 are critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and data literacy. Most employers seek these skills in their workforce.

What are the steps of problem-solving?

Problem-solving steps are as follows: 1. Define the problem clearly. 2. Analyze the issue in detail. 3. Generate potential solutions. 4. Evaluate these options. 5. Choose the best solution. 6. Put the chosen solution into action. 7. Measure the outcomes to assess effectiveness and improvements made. These sequential steps assist in efficient and effective problem resolution.

How do you teach problem-solving skills?

Teaching problem-solving involves modelling effective methods within a context, helping students grasp the problem, dedicating ample time, asking guiding questions, and giving suggestions. Connect errors to misconceptions to enhance understanding, fostering a straightforward approach to building problem-solving skills.

So here is all about “activities for problem solving”.No matter which activity you choose, engaging in problem-solving activities not only provides entertainment but also helps enhance cognitive abilities such as critical thinking, decision making, and creativity. So why not make problem solving a regular part of your routine?

Take some time each day or week to engage in these activities and watch as your problem-solving skills grow stronger. Plus, it’s an enjoyable way to pass the time and challenge yourself mentally.

So go ahead, grab a puzzle or gather some friends for a game night – get ready to have fun while sharpening your problem-solving skills!

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One reason many of us came to the field of software engineering or software development is because we enjoy solving problems. It exercises out mental muscles, and gives us a feeling of satisfaction to know we can add value to our organizations and customers by solving tough problems. However, as the organizations we work for get bigger, and the scope of work gets bigger, so too do the problems we need to solve. There comes a point where we can’t solve them alone, or even with the immediate team we work with. Some problems require a cross-organization, multi-function approach. When our goal is to be a more agile, lean-thinking organization, we need to develop approaches to solving these types of problems.

This is where Problem Solving Teams come into play. Problem Solving Teams are temporary structures that bring together leaders and team members from across the organization to focus on solving a specific problem. The benefits are many, including not just a solved problem, but also a more resilient organization, a stronger social network and a growing cohort of problem solvers with increased skills and abilities.

This approach draws from many influences, including complexity science, social network theory, military doctrine, flight crews, and emergency responders. We have been experimenting with this approach across several areas that involve multiple geographies and multiple functions.

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How to Use Problem-Solving Examples to Improve Team Performance

Effective problem-solving is an indispensable skill for high-performing teams, whether they’re overcoming complex challenges, streamlining processes, or fostering innovation. But there’s a difference between recognizing a problem and knowing how to address it. Teams need practical guidance and real-world problem-solving examples to help them get started.

Learn more about the importance of problem-solving, what this looks like in practice, and how Whole Brain® Thinking can help.

Why Problem-Solving Is Important in Every Organization

Successful organizations are good at implementing new ideas, and they’re also adept at recognizing and responding to problems efficiently. They see problems as opportunities, even when they are thorny or complicated. Instead of problems causing division, they unite teams as they work together to diagnose the issues, collaborate on potential solutions, and move forward.

To embed a culture of problem-solving into your organizations, it’s important to:

Acknowledge and name the problem : Problem-solving starts with problem definition . Team members must understand that a problem exists and how it impacts the team and the business.
Find the root cause : The goal of problem-solving is to create lasting solutions to causes, not just address symptoms.
Work together to find solutions and test them : With the root cause in mind, teams can come together and test potential solutions. This step can be repeated as necessary, depending on the findings.
Incorporate the new solution into your processes: If you can’t avoid the problem, you can often avoid a recurrence by applying the solution to your processes and habits.

Rarely are problems solved by one person; you need collaborative brainstorming to identify and resolve root causes. Problem-solving should be a structured process that instills organizational discipline while inviting employees to contribute their questions, experience, and ingenuity in a collaborative environment.

Common Skills for Effective Problem-Solving

There are countless types of workplace problems, and each might require a different set of skills, steps, and philosophies to address. That said, there are core skills that all leaders can develop in their teams to make the problem-solving process more structured and consistent.

Here are a few common skills that facilitate ‌effective problem-solving in the workplace.

Active Listening

Active listening involves intentionally focusing on what the other person is saying without interruption or judgment. Engaging in active listening isn’t just about paying attention but also attempting to understand the meaning and intent of the speaker.

In the context of problem-solving, active listening helps you understand the other person’s intent as they describe a problem, its circumstances, and possible solutions. Active listening can help at every stage of problem-solving because it facilitates shared understanding and reduces miscommunication. When people listen deeply and with intent, they better understand the problem, what might be causing it, what action has been taken, and what might be tried next.

Put this skill into practice by asking open-ended questions, repeating or paraphrasing the speaker’s words back to ensure understanding, and being patient. This technique can feel time-consuming, but you ultimately save time by gaining clarity, avoiding confusion, and building rapport and trust.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to assess a situation objectively and logically, ultimately making decisions based on facts and evidence. It involves developing and evaluating hypotheses and analyzing data to draw conclusions to make informed decisions. It also involves considering the long-term implications of the decisions that result from this thinking process.

Critical thinking for problem-solving presents itself when teams are working to understand the problem and identify the most logical steps forward to resolve the challenge. This type of thinking typically involves good communication with team members, insightful questions, and tapping into analytical thinking.

Time Management

Time management helps teams break down problems into smaller steps and account for how long each step will take. This is especially helpful for problems that must be solved on a deadline or for project-based work, where progress depends on many contingencies across individuals, teams, or even departments.

Effective time management enables teams to prioritize tasks, allocate resources, and create accountability around deadlines. This approach also creates clear expectations for employees.

Information Processing

Information processing is a framework that involves recognizing patterns in data and using critical thinking to interpret and draw conclusions.

In the workplace, one way information processing can be used is to identify root causes by analyzing data such as customer feedback, financial records, or performance metrics.

How Whole Brain® Thinking Supports Problem-Solving

When teams understand how each person responds to challenging situations, they're better equipped to work together on mutually beneficial solutions. This is where Herrmann’s Whole Brain® Thinking framework and Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI®) assessment can be especially helpful.

The HBDI® assessment helps people discover their thinking preferences, and the Whole Brain® Thinking framework helps teams understand those thinking preferences in themselves and others. Whole Brain® Thinking categorizes thinking preferences into four quadrants: Analytical (Blue), Structural (Green), Relational (Red), and Experimental (Yellow).

People typically prefer one or two quadrants, but people use all four quadrants daily. No quadrant or combination of quadrants is superior to another.

Whole Brain® Thinking can help teams improve their problem-solving skills by asking these questions for problem-solving:

What? Look at the relevant facts about the problem.
How? Identify what processes, procedures, etc., could be causing the obstacle or situation.
Who? Determine the people who are implementing those processes and procedures.
Why? Look at why the problem is happening and whether there is another way to view the challenge or situation.

These problem-solving questions can help teams cut out ‌unnecessary steps and find effective solutions quickly.

3 Creative Approaches to Problem-Solving at Work

While there are many ways to solve problems, you can access many proven approaches to help your team get started. These methods often push participants to think differently and Whole Brain® Thinking to get outside the box when confronting complex or difficult problems.

Here are three creative problem-solving examples of problem-solving at work.

Design Thinking

Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that centers on deeply understanding users and their needs. It is an iterative process that involves five distinct stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This process helps teams to approach problems from a user-centric perspective and develop creative solutions.

Whole Brain® Thinking in design takes the four quadrants and asks foundational questions with design in mind. Modifying these questions for a problem-solving exercise might look like this:

What is the end goal? (Blue)
How are we getting there? (Green)
Who’s helping solve the problem, and who could be affected by the solution? (Red)
Why are you solving the problem (and in this way)? (Yellow)

Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering is the process of taking an existing product, system, or object and deconstructing it to understand its functionality, components, and construction. This approach can be beneficial when solving problems because it breaks the challenge down into smaller parts.

Many problems can seem overwhelming at first glance — too big for any person or team to solve. The bigness of the problem can obscure ‌possible causes, adding to the frustration and even creating feelings of helplessness. Reverse engineering is a way in, helping your team take apart the problem and examine it, one piece at a time.

The Whole Brain® Thinking framework complements reverse engineering by tapping into people’s skills and thinking preferences across the quadrants. As teams break down complex problems and collaborate on solutions, they access different types of thinking, some of which will feel more natural.

For example, analytical thinkers embrace logical, fact-based approaches. They can buy into identifying the elements of the problem and what they mean. The organization of reverse engineering is welcoming for structural thinkers. Taking this new perspective to the problem helps interpersonal thinkers overcome the emotions potentially triggered by the big, overwhelming original problem.

Finally, experimental thinkers are skilled at integrating and synthesizing information. Reverse engineering is a prime opportunity for them to assess the components and reconstruct them in a way that advances new ideas and potential solutions.

Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a creative and visual way of organizing ideas and information. It’s often represented by a diagram that uses words and visuals to illustrate relationships between different concepts or ideas. Mind mapping can be an effective tool for group problem-solving because it helps people to brainstorm without losing track of ideas or strains of thought that might later prove useful.

Mind mapping is a powerful tool for Whole Brain® Thinking teams because it encourages open dialogue, close collaboration, and embracing different perspectives, experiences, and thinking styles.

Embrace Thinking to Make Problem-Solving More Effective

Every organization has to solve problems, but you don’t have to dread them. When you build a team of Whole Brain® Thinkers and adopt successful problem-solving techniques, you can turn problems into opportunities that impact the business and your customers.

Try these problem-solving examples in your team to see how people respond — and keep experimenting. Just like solving organizational problems can require multiple attempts, finding the best problem-solving strategies for your unique team can take time to perfect.

Explore more ways to help your team solve problems effectively .

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The four-color, four-quadrant graphic, HBDI® and Whole Brain® are trademarks of Herrmann Global, LLC.

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5 steps to effective problem solving within teams

A “single-question format” should be used when evaluating workplace issues. This method can help employees avoid letting emotions influence their problem-solving skills.

Published

Jason Weber

Working in teams can be enjoyable, but it can also be frustrating when problems emerge. Balancing the personal vs. professional line can stymie problem solving efforts and for many, environmental considerations such as team politics or employee tenure can cause us to ignore issues. Overcoming this can be difficult and like any experience, negative experiences can dramatically impact the outcomes a team produces.

Frank LaFasto and Carl Larson provide a framework that applies to both work-related problems and conflicts that occur within teams. LaFasto and Larson have coined this framework “The Single-Question Format.” While there is no one right framework for solving every problem, the Single-Question Format is applicable to professional and team problems.

The Single-Question Format

Identify the problem.

If asked to drill down the problem in front of you to one key problem , what would that be? Once the problem has been identified, how could you phrase it into a question?

For example, if my problem was narrowed down to timeliness, a question I could ask would be, “How can our workflow be improved so we can meet our deadlines?”

By turning the problem into an open-ended question, we can remove some of the defensiveness that may emerge if the problem was addressed by saying something such as, “We missed another deadline. Why can’t anyone get their job done on time!?”

Create a collaborative setting.

When working through a problem, whether it be task related or team related, ensure there is agreement to consider the following:

Invite and listen to all points of view
Remain fact-based in judgement
Be tough on the issue, not each other
Put aside any personal agenda

When setting expectations around how problems will be addressed and resolved, it is important to discuss any assumptions or biases. For example, using the problem of timeliness, we can ask questions such as:

What assumptions are we making on this problem?
What barriers do we have that could prevent us from solving this problem?
What experiences are informing our perceptions of this problem?

Asking questions around assumptions and biases helps bring to light the barriers that may not be visible to others on the team.

Identify and analyze the issue.

Before responding to the single issue, discuss what additional issues are connected to the problem. Using timeliness, we can ask:

What do we think is causing these timeliness issues?
What processes do we need to look at?
What knowledge or training are we lacking around being timelier?

When we identify the additional issues around the one problem, we invite perceptions from all those involved which opens more considerations around what is causing the problem.

Identify possible solutions.

When teams and employees are constantly faced with work-related issues, complaining and frustration can become common, thus making it difficult to identify solutions.

For any problem that has been identified, consider two to three solutions for that problem. The solutions don’t need to be perfect, so brainstorm away. The goal is to shift our mindset to becoming solution focused.

With the timeliness issue, what are some possible solutions?

Make sure everyone knows all deadlines and what they are supposed to be doing.
Build in a buffer so there are a few extra days before the actual deadline.

Be open to hearing what others are offering as solutions. There may be an idea you can use to help solve the problem in front of you.

Resolve the single question.

Now that you have done the work to identify the problem, considered any assumptions, focused on the facts, and identified solutions, you can determine potential solutions.

It can be easy to fall back on the saying, “We have tried that before and it didn’t work.” Be careful about letting that stop the brainstorming. More than likely, the situation may be different, employees may be different, the expectations may be different. Challenge yourself to commit to thinking through each available solution.

Finally, if you are really struggling, ask others who may not be on your team or even in your line of work. The additional insight might inspire new thinking around how to address the problem.

In today’s workplace, we are constantly moving from one problem to the next. Having a framework like the One Single-Question Format can help us slow down, think through the real issue, identify solutions, and make informed decisions that will hopefully provide a solution effective enough that the problem does not re-emerge.

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40 problem-solving techniques and processes

All teams and organizations encounter challenges. Approaching those challenges without a structured problem solving process can end up making things worse.

Proven problem solving techniques such as those outlined below can guide your group through a process of identifying problems and challenges , ideating on possible solutions , and then evaluating and implementing the most suitable .

In this post, you'll find problem-solving tools you can use to develop effective solutions. You'll also find some tips for facilitating the problem solving process and solving complex problems.

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What is problem solving?

Problem solving is a process of finding and implementing a solution to a challenge or obstacle. In most contexts, this means going through a problem solving process that begins with identifying the issue, exploring its root causes, ideating and refining possible solutions before implementing and measuring the impact of that solution.

For simple or small problems, it can be tempting to skip straight to implementing what you believe is the right solution. The danger with this approach is that without exploring the true causes of the issue, it might just occur again or your chosen solution may cause other issues.

Particularly in the world of work, good problem solving means using data to back up each step of the process, bringing in new perspectives and effectively measuring the impact of your solution.

Effective problem solving can help ensure that your team or organization is well positioned to overcome challenges, be resilient to change and create innovation. In my experience, problem solving is a combination of skillset, mindset and process, and it’s especially vital for leaders to cultivate this skill.

A group of people looking at a poster with notes on it

What is the seven step problem solving process?

A problem solving process is a step-by-step framework from going from discovering a problem all the way through to implementing a solution.

With practice, this framework can become intuitive, and innovative companies tend to have a consistent and ongoing ability to discover and tackle challenges when they come up.

You might see everything from a four step problem solving process through to seven steps. While all these processes cover roughly the same ground, I’ve found a seven step problem solving process is helpful for making all key steps legible.

We’ll outline that process here and then follow with techniques you can use to explore and work on that step of the problem solving process with a group.

The seven-step problem solving process is:

1. Problem identification

The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem(s) you need to solve. This often looks like using group discussions and activities to help a group surface and effectively articulate the challenges they’re facing and wish to resolve.

Be sure to align with your team on the exact definition and nature of the problem you’re solving. An effective process is one where everyone is pulling in the same direction – ensure clarity and alignment now to help avoid misunderstandings later.

2. Problem analysis and refinement

The process of problem analysis means ensuring that the problem you are seeking to solve is the right problem . Choosing the right problem to solve means you are on the right path to creating the right solution.

At this stage, you may look deeper at the problem you identified to try and discover the root cause at the level of people or process. You may also spend some time sourcing data, consulting relevant parties and creating and refining a problem statement.

Problem refinement means adjusting scope or focus of the problem you will be aiming to solve based on what comes up during your analysis. As you analyze data sources, you might discover that the root cause means you need to adjust your problem statement. Alternatively, you might find that your original problem statement is too big to be meaningful approached within your current project.

Remember that the goal of any problem refinement is to help set the stage for effective solution development and deployment. Set the right focus and get buy-in from your team here and you’ll be well positioned to move forward with confidence.

3. Solution generation

Once your group has nailed down the particulars of the problem you wish to solve, you want to encourage a free flow of ideas connecting to solving that problem. This can take the form of problem solving games that encourage creative thinking or techniquess designed to produce working prototypes of possible solutions.

The key to ensuring the success of this stage of the problem solving process is to encourage quick, creative thinking and create an open space where all ideas are considered. The best solutions can often come from unlikely places and by using problem solving techniques that celebrate invention, you might come up with solution gold.

4. Solution development

No solution is perfect right out of the gate. It’s important to discuss and develop the solutions your group has come up with over the course of following the previous problem solving steps in order to arrive at the best possible solution. Problem solving games used in this stage involve lots of critical thinking, measuring potential effort and impact, and looking at possible solutions analytically.

During this stage, you will often ask your team to iterate and improve upon your front-running solutions and develop them further. Remember that problem solving strategies always benefit from a multitude of voices and opinions, and not to let ego get involved when it comes to choosing which solutions to develop and take further.

Finding the best solution is the goal of all problem solving workshops and here is the place to ensure that your solution is well thought out, sufficiently robust and fit for purpose.

5. Decision making and planning

Nearly there! Once you’ve got a set of possible, you’ll need to make a decision on which to implement. This can be a consensus-based group decision or it might be for a leader or major stakeholder to decide. You’ll find a set of effective decision making methods below.

Once your group has reached consensus and selected a solution, there are some additional actions that also need to be decided upon. You’ll want to work on allocating ownership of the project, figure out who will do what, how the success of the solution will be measured and decide the next course of action.

Set clear accountabilities, actions, timeframes, and follow-ups for your chosen solution. Make these decisions and set clear next-steps in the problem solving workshop so that everyone is aligned and you can move forward effectively as a group.

Ensuring that you plan for the roll-out of a solution is one of the most important problem solving steps. Without adequate planning or oversight, it can prove impossible to measure success or iterate further if the problem was not solved.

6. Solution implementation

This is what we were waiting for! All problem solving processes have the end goal of implementing an effective and impactful solution that your group has confidence in.

Project management and communication skills are key here – your solution may need to adjust when out in the wild or you might discover new challenges along the way. For some solutions, you might also implement a test with a small group and monitor results before rolling it out to an entire company.

You should have a clear owner for your solution who will oversee the plans you made together and help ensure they’re put into place. This person will often coordinate the implementation team and set-up processes to measure the efficacy of your solution too.

7. Solution evaluation

So you and your team developed a great solution to a problem and have a gut feeling it’s been solved. Work done, right? Wrong. All problem solving strategies benefit from evaluation, consideration, and feedback.

You might find that the solution does not work for everyone, might create new problems, or is potentially so successful that you will want to roll it out to larger teams or as part of other initiatives.

None of that is possible without taking the time to evaluate the success of the solution you developed in your problem solving model and adjust if necessary.

Remember that the problem solving process is often iterative and it can be common to not solve complex issues on the first try. Even when this is the case, you and your team will have generated learning that will be important for future problem solving workshops or in other parts of the organization.

It’s also worth underlining how important record keeping is throughout the problem solving process. If a solution didn’t work, you need to have the data and records to see why that was the case. If you go back to the drawing board, notes from the previous workshop can help save time.

What does an effective problem solving process look like?

Every effective problem solving process begins with an agenda . In our experience, a well-structured problem solving workshop is one of the best methods for successfully guiding a group from exploring a problem to implementing a solution.

The format of a workshop ensures that you can get buy-in from your group, encourage free-thinking and solution exploration before making a decision on what to implement following the session.

This Design Sprint 2.0 template is an effective problem solving process from top agency AJ&Smart. It’s a great format for the entire problem solving process, with four-days of workshops designed to surface issues, explore solutions and even test a solution.

Check it for an example of how you might structure and run a problem solving process and feel free to copy and adjust it your needs!

For a shorter process you can run in a single afternoon, this remote problem solving agenda will guide you effectively in just a couple of hours.

Whatever the length of your workshop, by using SessionLab, it’s easy to go from an idea to a complete agenda . Start by dragging and dropping your core problem solving activities into place . Add timings, breaks and necessary materials before sharing your agenda with your colleagues.

The resulting agenda will be your guide to an effective and productive problem solving session that will also help you stay organized on the day!

Complete problem-solving methods

In this section, we’ll look at in-depth problem-solving methods that provide a complete end-to-end process for developing effective solutions. These will help guide your team from the discovery and definition of a problem through to delivering the right solution.

If you’re looking for an all-encompassing method or problem-solving model, these processes are a great place to start. They’ll ask your team to challenge preconceived ideas and adopt a mindset for solving problems more effectively.

Six Thinking Hats

Individual approaches to solving a problem can be very different based on what team or role an individual holds. It can be easy for existing biases or perspectives to find their way into the mix, or for internal politics to direct a conversation.

Six Thinking Hats is a classic method for identifying the problems that need to be solved and enables your team to consider them from different angles, whether that is by focusing on facts and data, creative solutions, or by considering why a particular solution might not work.

Like all problem-solving frameworks, Six Thinking Hats is effective at helping teams remove roadblocks from a conversation or discussion and come to terms with all the aspects necessary to solve complex problems.

The Six Thinking Hats #creative thinking #meeting facilitation #problem solving #issue resolution #idea generation #conflict resolution The Six Thinking Hats are used by individuals and groups to separate out conflicting styles of thinking. They enable and encourage a group of people to think constructively together in exploring and implementing change, rather than using argument to fight over who is right and who is wrong.

Lightning Decision Jam

Featured courtesy of Jonathan Courtney of AJ&Smart Berlin, Lightning Decision Jam is one of those strategies that should be in every facilitation toolbox. Exploring problems and finding solutions is often creative in nature, though as with any creative process, there is the potential to lose focus and get lost.

Unstructured discussions might get you there in the end, but it’s much more effective to use a method that creates a clear process and team focus.

In Lightning Decision Jam, participants are invited to begin by writing challenges, concerns, or mistakes on post-its without discussing them before then being invited by the moderator to present them to the group.

From there, the team vote on which problems to solve and are guided through steps that will allow them to reframe those problems, create solutions and then decide what to execute on.

By deciding the problems that need to be solved as a team before moving on, this group process is great for ensuring the whole team is aligned and can take ownership over the next stages.

Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ) #action #decision making #problem solving #issue analysis #innovation #design #remote-friendly It doesn’t matter where you work and what your job role is, if you work with other people together as a team, you will always encounter the same challenges: Unclear goals and miscommunication that cause busy work and overtime Unstructured meetings that leave attendants tired, confused and without clear outcomes. Frustration builds up because internal challenges to productivity are not addressed Sudden changes in priorities lead to a loss of focus and momentum Muddled compromise takes the place of clear decision- making, leaving everybody to come up with their own interpretation. In short, a lack of structure leads to a waste of time and effort, projects that drag on for too long and frustrated, burnt out teams. AJ&Smart has worked with some of the most innovative, productive companies in the world. What sets their teams apart from others is not better tools, bigger talent or more beautiful offices. The secret sauce to becoming a more productive, more creative and happier team is simple: Replace all open discussion or brainstorming with a structured process that leads to more ideas, clearer decisions and better outcomes. When a good process provides guardrails and a clear path to follow, it becomes easier to come up with ideas, make decisions and solve problems. This is why AJ&Smart created Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ). It’s a simple and short, but powerful group exercise that can be run either in-person, in the same room, or remotely with distributed teams.

Problem Definition Process

While problems can be complex, the problem-solving methods you use to identify and solve those problems can often be simple in design.

By taking the time to truly identify and define a problem before asking the group to reframe the challenge as an opportunity, this method is a great way to enable change.

Begin by identifying a focus question and exploring the ways in which it manifests before splitting into five teams who will each consider the problem using a different method: escape, reversal, exaggeration, distortion or wishful. Teams develop a problem objective and create ideas in line with their method before then feeding them back to the group.

This method is great for enabling in-depth discussions while also creating space for finding creative solutions too!

Problem Definition #problem solving #idea generation #creativity #online #remote-friendly A problem solving technique to define a problem, challenge or opportunity and to generate ideas.

The 5 Whys

Sometimes, a group needs to go further with their strategies and analyze the root cause at the heart of organizational issues. An RCA or root cause analysis is the process of identifying what is at the heart of business problems or recurring challenges.

The 5 Whys is a simple and effective method of helping a group go find the root cause of any problem or challenge and conduct analysis that will deliver results.

By beginning with the creation of a problem statement and going through five stages to refine it, The 5 Whys provides everything you need to truly discover the cause of an issue.

The 5 Whys #hyperisland #innovation This simple and powerful method is useful for getting to the core of a problem or challenge. As the title suggests, the group defines a problems, then asks the question “why” five times, often using the resulting explanation as a starting point for creative problem solving.

World Cafe is a simple but powerful facilitation technique to help bigger groups to focus their energy and attention on solving complex problems.

World Cafe enables this approach by creating a relaxed atmosphere where participants are able to self-organize and explore topics relevant and important to them which are themed around a central problem-solving purpose. Create the right atmosphere by modeling your space after a cafe and after guiding the group through the method, let them take the lead!

Making problem-solving a part of your organization’s culture in the long term can be a difficult undertaking. More approachable formats like World Cafe can be especially effective in bringing people unfamiliar with workshops into the fold.

World Cafe #hyperisland #innovation #issue analysis World Café is a simple yet powerful method, originated by Juanita Brown, for enabling meaningful conversations driven completely by participants and the topics that are relevant and important to them. Facilitators create a cafe-style space and provide simple guidelines. Participants then self-organize and explore a set of relevant topics or questions for conversation.

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)

One of the best approaches is to create a safe space for a group to share and discover practices and behaviors that can help them find their own solutions.

With DAD, you can help a group choose which problems they wish to solve and which approaches they will take to do so. It’s great at helping remove resistance to change and can help get buy-in at every level too!

This process of enabling frontline ownership is great in ensuring follow-through and is one of the methods you will want in your toolbox as a facilitator.

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD) #idea generation #liberating structures #action #issue analysis #remote-friendly DADs make it easy for a group or community to discover practices and behaviors that enable some individuals (without access to special resources and facing the same constraints) to find better solutions than their peers to common problems. These are called positive deviant (PD) behaviors and practices. DADs make it possible for people in the group, unit, or community to discover by themselves these PD practices. DADs also create favorable conditions for stimulating participants’ creativity in spaces where they can feel safe to invent new and more effective practices. Resistance to change evaporates as participants are unleashed to choose freely which practices they will adopt or try and which problems they will tackle. DADs make it possible to achieve frontline ownership of solutions.

Design Sprint 2.0

Want to see how a team can solve big problems and move forward with prototyping and testing solutions in a few days? The Design Sprint 2.0 template from Jake Knapp, author of Sprint, is a complete agenda for a with proven results.

Developing the right agenda can involve difficult but necessary planning. Ensuring all the correct steps are followed can also be stressful or time-consuming depending on your level of experience.

Use this complete 4-day workshop template if you are finding there is no obvious solution to your challenge and want to focus your team around a specific problem that might require a shortcut to launching a minimum viable product or waiting for the organization-wide implementation of a solution.

Open space technology

Open space technology- developed by Harrison Owen – creates a space where large groups are invited to take ownership of their problem solving and lead individual sessions. Open space technology is a great format when you have a great deal of expertise and insight in the room and want to allow for different takes and approaches on a particular theme or problem you need to be solved.

Start by bringing your participants together to align around a central theme and focus their efforts. Explain the ground rules to help guide the problem-solving process and then invite members to identify any issue connecting to the central theme that they are interested in and are prepared to take responsibility for.

Once participants have decided on their approach to the core theme, they write their issue on a piece of paper, announce it to the group, pick a session time and place, and post the paper on the wall. As the wall fills up with sessions, the group is then invited to join the sessions that interest them the most and which they can contribute to, then you’re ready to begin!

Everyone joins the problem-solving group they’ve signed up to, record the discussion and if appropriate, findings can then be shared with the rest of the group afterward.

Open Space Technology #action plan #idea generation #problem solving #issue analysis #large group #online #remote-friendly Open Space is a methodology for large groups to create their agenda discerning important topics for discussion, suitable for conferences, community gatherings and whole system facilitation

Techniques to identify and analyze problems

Using a problem-solving method to help a team identify and analyze a problem can be a quick and effective addition to any workshop or meeting.

While further actions are always necessary, you can generate momentum and alignment easily, and these activities are a great place to get started.

We’ve put together this list of techniques to help you and your team with problem identification, analysis, and discussion that sets the foundation for developing effective solutions.

Let’s take a look!

Fishbone Analysis

Organizational or team challenges are rarely simple, and it’s important to remember that one problem can be an indication of something that goes deeper and may require further consideration to be solved.

Fishbone Analysis helps groups to dig deeper and understand the origins of a problem. It’s a great example of a root cause analysis method that is simple for everyone on a team to get their head around.

Participants in this activity are asked to annotate a diagram of a fish, first adding the problem or issue to be worked on at the head of a fish before then brainstorming the root causes of the problem and adding them as bones on the fish.

Using abstractions such as a diagram of a fish can really help a team break out of their regular thinking and develop a creative approach.

Fishbone Analysis #problem solving ##root cause analysis #decision making #online facilitation A process to help identify and understand the origins of problems, issues or observations.

Problem Tree

Encouraging visual thinking can be an essential part of many strategies. By simply reframing and clarifying problems, a group can move towards developing a problem solving model that works for them.

In Problem Tree, groups are asked to first brainstorm a list of problems – these can be design problems, team problems or larger business problems – and then organize them into a hierarchy. The hierarchy could be from most important to least important or abstract to practical, though the key thing with problem solving games that involve this aspect is that your group has some way of managing and sorting all the issues that are raised.

Once you have a list of problems that need to be solved and have organized them accordingly, you’re then well-positioned for the next problem solving steps.

Problem tree #define intentions #create #design #issue analysis A problem tree is a tool to clarify the hierarchy of problems addressed by the team within a design project; it represents high level problems or related sublevel problems.

SWOT Analysis

Chances are you’ve heard of the SWOT Analysis before. This problem-solving method focuses on identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is a tried and tested method for both individuals and teams.

Start by creating a desired end state or outcome and bare this in mind – any process solving model is made more effective by knowing what you are moving towards. Create a quadrant made up of the four categories of a SWOT analysis and ask participants to generate ideas based on each of those quadrants.

Once you have those ideas assembled in their quadrants, cluster them together based on their affinity with other ideas. These clusters are then used to facilitate group conversations and move things forward.

SWOT analysis #gamestorming #problem solving #action #meeting facilitation The SWOT Analysis is a long-standing technique of looking at what we have, with respect to the desired end state, as well as what we could improve on. It gives us an opportunity to gauge approaching opportunities and dangers, and assess the seriousness of the conditions that affect our future. When we understand those conditions, we can influence what comes next.

Agreement-Certainty Matrix

Not every problem-solving approach is right for every challenge, and deciding on the right method for the challenge at hand is a key part of being an effective team.

The Agreement Certainty matrix helps teams align on the nature of the challenges facing them. By sorting problems from simple to chaotic, your team can understand what methods are suitable for each problem and what they can do to ensure effective results.

If you are already using Liberating Structures techniques as part of your problem-solving strategy, the Agreement-Certainty Matrix can be an invaluable addition to your process. We’ve found it particularly if you are having issues with recurring problems in your organization and want to go deeper in understanding the root cause.

Agreement-Certainty Matrix #issue analysis #liberating structures #problem solving You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex , and chaotic . A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate. It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably. A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail. Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward. A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Organizing and charting a team’s progress can be important in ensuring its success. SQUID (Sequential Question and Insight Diagram) is a great model that allows a team to effectively switch between giving questions and answers and develop the skills they need to stay on track throughout the process.

Begin with two different colored sticky notes – one for questions and one for answers – and with your central topic (the head of the squid) on the board. Ask the group to first come up with a series of questions connected to their best guess of how to approach the topic. Ask the group to come up with answers to those questions, fix them to the board and connect them with a line. After some discussion, go back to question mode by responding to the generated answers or other points on the board.

It’s rewarding to see a diagram grow throughout the exercise, and a completed SQUID can provide a visual resource for future effort and as an example for other teams.

SQUID #gamestorming #project planning #issue analysis #problem solving When exploring an information space, it’s important for a group to know where they are at any given time. By using SQUID, a group charts out the territory as they go and can navigate accordingly. SQUID stands for Sequential Question and Insight Diagram.

To continue with our nautical theme, Speed Boat is a short and sweet activity that can help a team quickly identify what employees, clients or service users might have a problem with and analyze what might be standing in the way of achieving a solution.

Methods that allow for a group to make observations, have insights and obtain those eureka moments quickly are invaluable when trying to solve complex problems.

In Speed Boat, the approach is to first consider what anchors and challenges might be holding an organization (or boat) back. Bonus points if you are able to identify any sharks in the water and develop ideas that can also deal with competitors!

Speed Boat #gamestorming #problem solving #action Speedboat is a short and sweet way to identify what your employees or clients don’t like about your product/service or what’s standing in the way of a desired goal.

The Journalistic Six

Some of the most effective ways of solving problems is by encouraging teams to be more inclusive and diverse in their thinking.

Based on the six key questions journalism students are taught to answer in articles and news stories, The Journalistic Six helps create teams to see the whole picture. By using who, what, when, where, why, and how to facilitate the conversation and encourage creative thinking, your team can make sure that the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the are covered exhaustively and thoughtfully. Reporter’s notebook and dictaphone optional.

The Journalistic Six – Who What When Where Why How #idea generation #issue analysis #problem solving #online #creative thinking #remote-friendly A questioning method for generating, explaining, investigating ideas.

Individual and group perspectives are incredibly important, but what happens if people are set in their minds and need a change of perspective in order to approach a problem more effectively?

Flip It is a method we love because it is both simple to understand and run, and allows groups to understand how their perspectives and biases are formed.

Participants in Flip It are first invited to consider concerns, issues, or problems from a perspective of fear and write them on a flip chart. Then, the group is asked to consider those same issues from a perspective of hope and flip their understanding.

No problem and solution is free from existing bias and by changing perspectives with Flip It, you can then develop a problem solving model quickly and effectively.

Flip It! #gamestorming #problem solving #action Often, a change in a problem or situation comes simply from a change in our perspectives. Flip It! is a quick game designed to show players that perspectives are made, not born.

LEGO Challenge

Now for an activity that is a little out of the (toy) box. LEGO Serious Play is a facilitation methodology that can be used to improve creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

The LEGO Challenge includes giving each member of the team an assignment that is hidden from the rest of the group while they create a structure without speaking.

What the LEGO challenge brings to the table is a fun working example of working with stakeholders who might not be on the same page to solve problems. Also, it’s LEGO! Who doesn’t love LEGO!

LEGO Challenge #hyperisland #team A team-building activity in which groups must work together to build a structure out of LEGO, but each individual has a secret “assignment” which makes the collaborative process more challenging. It emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, conflict, cooperation, patience and problem solving strategy.

What, So What, Now What?

If not carefully managed, the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the problem-solving process can actually create more problems and misunderstandings.

The What, So What, Now What? problem-solving activity is designed to help collect insights and move forward while also eliminating the possibility of disagreement when it comes to identifying, clarifying, and analyzing organizational or work problems.

Facilitation is all about bringing groups together so that might work on a shared goal and the best problem-solving strategies ensure that teams are aligned in purpose, if not initially in opinion or insight.

Throughout the three steps of this game, you give everyone on a team to reflect on a problem by asking what happened, why it is important, and what actions should then be taken.

This can be a great activity for bringing our individual perceptions about a problem or challenge and contextualizing it in a larger group setting. This is one of the most important problem-solving skills you can bring to your organization.

W³ – What, So What, Now What? #issue analysis #innovation #liberating structures You can help groups reflect on a shared experience in a way that builds understanding and spurs coordinated action while avoiding unproductive conflict. It is possible for every voice to be heard while simultaneously sifting for insights and shaping new direction. Progressing in stages makes this practical—from collecting facts about What Happened to making sense of these facts with So What and finally to what actions logically follow with Now What . The shared progression eliminates most of the misunderstandings that otherwise fuel disagreements about what to do. Voila!

Journalists

Problem analysis can be one of the most important and decisive stages of all problem-solving tools. Sometimes, a team can become bogged down in the details and are unable to move forward.

Journalists is an activity that can avoid a group from getting stuck in the problem identification or problem analysis stages of the process.

In Journalists, the group is invited to draft the front page of a fictional newspaper and figure out what stories deserve to be on the cover and what headlines those stories will have. By reframing how your problems and challenges are approached, you can help a team move productively through the process and be better prepared for the steps to follow.

Journalists #vision #big picture #issue analysis #remote-friendly This is an exercise to use when the group gets stuck in details and struggles to see the big picture. Also good for defining a vision.

Problem-solving techniques for brainstorming solutions

Now you have the context and background of the problem you are trying to solving, now comes the time to start ideating and thinking about how you’ll solve the issue.

Here, you’ll want to encourage creative, free thinking and speed. Get as many ideas out as possible and explore different perspectives so you have the raw material for the next step.

Looking at a problem from a new angle can be one of the most effective ways of creating an effective solution. TRIZ is a problem-solving tool that asks the group to consider what they must not do in order to solve a challenge.

By reversing the discussion, new topics and taboo subjects often emerge, allowing the group to think more deeply and create ideas that confront the status quo in a safe and meaningful way. If you’re working on a problem that you’ve tried to solve before, TRIZ is a great problem-solving method to help your team get unblocked.

Making Space with TRIZ #issue analysis #liberating structures #issue resolution You can clear space for innovation by helping a group let go of what it knows (but rarely admits) limits its success and by inviting creative destruction. TRIZ makes it possible to challenge sacred cows safely and encourages heretical thinking. The question “What must we stop doing to make progress on our deepest purpose?” induces seriously fun yet very courageous conversations. Since laughter often erupts, issues that are otherwise taboo get a chance to be aired and confronted. With creative destruction come opportunities for renewal as local action and innovation rush in to fill the vacuum. Whoosh!

Mindspin

Brainstorming is part of the bread and butter of the problem-solving process and all problem-solving strategies benefit from getting ideas out and challenging a team to generate solutions quickly.

With Mindspin, participants are encouraged not only to generate ideas but to do so under time constraints and by slamming down cards and passing them on. By doing multiple rounds, your team can begin with a free generation of possible solutions before moving on to developing those solutions and encouraging further ideation.

This is one of our favorite problem-solving activities and can be great for keeping the energy up throughout the workshop. Remember the importance of helping people become engaged in the process – energizing problem-solving techniques like Mindspin can help ensure your team stays engaged and happy, even when the problems they’re coming together to solve are complex.

MindSpin #teampedia #idea generation #problem solving #action A fast and loud method to enhance brainstorming within a team. Since this activity has more than round ideas that are repetitive can be ruled out leaving more creative and innovative answers to the challenge.

The Creativity Dice

One of the most useful problem solving skills you can teach your team is of approaching challenges with creativity, flexibility, and openness. Games like The Creativity Dice allow teams to overcome the potential hurdle of too much linear thinking and approach the process with a sense of fun and speed.

In The Creativity Dice, participants are organized around a topic and roll a dice to determine what they will work on for a period of 3 minutes at a time. They might roll a 3 and work on investigating factual information on the chosen topic. They might roll a 1 and work on identifying the specific goals, standards, or criteria for the session.

Encouraging rapid work and iteration while asking participants to be flexible are great skills to cultivate. Having a stage for idea incubation in this game is also important. Moments of pause can help ensure the ideas that are put forward are the most suitable.

The Creativity Dice #creativity #problem solving #thiagi #issue analysis Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.

Idea and Concept Development

Brainstorming without structure can quickly become chaotic or frustrating. In a problem-solving context, having an ideation framework to follow can help ensure your team is both creative and disciplined.

In this method, you’ll find an idea generation process that encourages your group to brainstorm effectively before developing their ideas and begin clustering them together. By using concepts such as Yes and…, more is more and postponing judgement, you can create the ideal conditions for brainstorming with ease.

Idea & Concept Development #hyperisland #innovation #idea generation Ideation and Concept Development is a process for groups to work creatively and collaboratively to generate creative ideas. It’s a general approach that can be adapted and customized to suit many different scenarios. It includes basic principles for idea generation and several steps for groups to work with. It also includes steps for idea selection and development.

Problem-solving techniques for developing and refining solutions

The success of any problem-solving process can be measured by the solutions it produces. After you’ve defined the issue, explored existing ideas, and ideated, it’s time to develop and refine your ideas in order to bring them closer to a solution that actually solves the problem.

Use these problem-solving techniques when you want to help your team think through their ideas and refine them as part of your problem solving process.

Improved Solutions

After a team has successfully identified a problem and come up with a few solutions, it can be tempting to call the work of the problem-solving process complete. That said, the first solution is not necessarily the best, and by including a further review and reflection activity into your problem-solving model, you can ensure your group reaches the best possible result.

One of a number of problem-solving games from Thiagi Group, Improved Solutions helps you go the extra mile and develop suggested solutions with close consideration and peer review. By supporting the discussion of several problems at once and by shifting team roles throughout, this problem-solving technique is a dynamic way of finding the best solution.

Improved Solutions #creativity #thiagi #problem solving #action #team You can improve any solution by objectively reviewing its strengths and weaknesses and making suitable adjustments. In this creativity framegame, you improve the solutions to several problems. To maintain objective detachment, you deal with a different problem during each of six rounds and assume different roles (problem owner, consultant, basher, booster, enhancer, and evaluator) during each round. At the conclusion of the activity, each player ends up with two solutions to her problem.

Four Step Sketch

Creative thinking and visual ideation does not need to be confined to the opening stages of your problem-solving strategies. Exercises that include sketching and prototyping on paper can be effective at the solution finding and development stage of the process, and can be great for keeping a team engaged.

By going from simple notes to a crazy 8s round that involves rapidly sketching 8 variations on their ideas before then producing a final solution sketch, the group is able to iterate quickly and visually. Problem-solving techniques like Four-Step Sketch are great if you have a group of different thinkers and want to change things up from a more textual or discussion-based approach.

Four-Step Sketch #design sprint #innovation #idea generation #remote-friendly The four-step sketch is an exercise that helps people to create well-formed concepts through a structured process that includes: Review key information Start design work on paper, Consider multiple variations , Create a detailed solution . This exercise is preceded by a set of other activities allowing the group to clarify the challenge they want to solve. See how the Four Step Sketch exercise fits into a Design Sprint

Ensuring that everyone in a group is able to contribute to a discussion is vital during any problem solving process. Not only does this ensure all bases are covered, but its then easier to get buy-in and accountability when people have been able to contribute to the process.

1-2-4-All is a tried and tested facilitation technique where participants are asked to first brainstorm on a topic on their own. Next, they discuss and share ideas in a pair before moving into a small group. Those groups are then asked to present the best idea from their discussion to the rest of the team.

This method can be used in many different contexts effectively, though I find it particularly shines in the idea development stage of the process. Giving each participant time to concretize their ideas and develop them in progressively larger groups can create a great space for both innovation and psychological safety.

1-2-4-All #idea generation #liberating structures #issue analysis With this facilitation technique you can immediately include everyone regardless of how large the group is. You can generate better ideas and more of them faster than ever before. You can tap the know-how and imagination that is distributed widely in places not known in advance. Open, generative conversation unfolds. Ideas and solutions are sifted in rapid fashion. Most importantly, participants own the ideas, so follow-up and implementation is simplified. No buy-in strategies needed! Simple and elegant!

15% Solutions

Some problems are simpler than others and with the right problem-solving activities, you can empower people to take immediate actions that can help create organizational change.

Part of the liberating structures toolkit, 15% solutions is a problem-solving technique that focuses on finding and implementing solutions quickly. A process of iterating and making small changes quickly can help generate momentum and an appetite for solving complex problems.

Problem-solving strategies can live and die on whether people are onboard. Getting some quick wins is a great way of getting people behind the process.

It can be extremely empowering for a team to realize that problem-solving techniques can be deployed quickly and easily and delineate between things they can positively impact and those things they cannot change.

15% Solutions #action #liberating structures #remote-friendly You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference. 15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change. With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

Problem-solving techniques for making decisions and planning

After your group is happy with the possible solutions you’ve developed, now comes the time to choose which to implement. There’s more than one way to make a decision and the best option is often dependant on the needs and set-up of your group.

Sometimes, it’s the case that you’ll want to vote as a group on what is likely to be the most impactful solution. Other times, it might be down to a decision maker or major stakeholder to make the final decision. Whatever your process, here’s some techniques you can use to help you make a decision during your problem solving process.

How-Now-Wow Matrix

The problem-solving process is often creative, as complex problems usually require a change of thinking and creative response in order to find the best solutions. While it’s common for the first stages to encourage creative thinking, groups can often gravitate to familiar solutions when it comes to the end of the process.

When selecting solutions, you don’t want to lose your creative energy! The How-Now-Wow Matrix from Gamestorming is a great problem-solving activity that enables a group to stay creative and think out of the box when it comes to selecting the right solution for a given problem.

Problem-solving techniques that encourage creative thinking and the ideation and selection of new solutions can be the most effective in organisational change. Give the How-Now-Wow Matrix a go, and not just for how pleasant it is to say out loud.

How-Now-Wow Matrix #gamestorming #idea generation #remote-friendly When people want to develop new ideas, they most often think out of the box in the brainstorming or divergent phase. However, when it comes to convergence, people often end up picking ideas that are most familiar to them. This is called a ‘creative paradox’ or a ‘creadox’. The How-Now-Wow matrix is an idea selection tool that breaks the creadox by forcing people to weigh each idea on 2 parameters.

Impact and Effort Matrix

All problem-solving techniques hope to not only find solutions to a given problem or challenge but to find the best solution. When it comes to finding a solution, groups are invited to put on their decision-making hats and really think about how a proposed idea would work in practice.

The Impact and Effort Matrix is one of the problem-solving techniques that fall into this camp, empowering participants to first generate ideas and then categorize them into a 2×2 matrix based on impact and effort.

Activities that invite critical thinking while remaining simple are invaluable. Use the Impact and Effort Matrix to move from ideation and towards evaluating potential solutions before then committing to them.

Impact and Effort Matrix #gamestorming #decision making #action #remote-friendly In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

If you’ve followed each of the problem-solving steps with your group successfully, you should move towards the end of your process with heaps of possible solutions developed with a specific problem in mind. But how do you help a group go from ideation to putting a solution into action?

Dotmocracy – or Dot Voting -is a tried and tested method of helping a team in the problem-solving process make decisions and put actions in place with a degree of oversight and consensus.

One of the problem-solving techniques that should be in every facilitator’s toolbox, Dot Voting is fast and effective and can help identify the most popular and best solutions and help bring a group to a decision effectively.

Dotmocracy #action #decision making #group prioritization #hyperisland #remote-friendly Dotmocracy is a simple method for group prioritization or decision-making. It is not an activity on its own, but a method to use in processes where prioritization or decision-making is the aim. The method supports a group to quickly see which options are most popular or relevant. The options or ideas are written on post-its and stuck up on a wall for the whole group to see. Each person votes for the options they think are the strongest, and that information is used to inform a decision.

Straddling the gap between decision making and planning, MoSCoW is a simple and effective method that allows a group team to easily prioritize a set of possible options.

Use this method in a problem solving process by collecting and summarizing all your possible solutions and then categorize them into 4 sections: “Must have”, “Should have”, “Could have”, or “Would like but won‘t get”.

This method is particularly useful when its less about choosing one possible solution and more about prioritorizing which to do first and which may not fit in the scope of your project. In my experience, complex challenges often require multiple small fixes, and this method can be a great way to move from a pile of things you’d all like to do to a structured plan.

MoSCoW #define intentions #create #design #action #remote-friendly MoSCoW is a method that allows the team to prioritize the different features that they will work on. Features are then categorized into “Must have”, “Should have”, “Could have”, or “Would like but won‘t get”. To be used at the beginning of a timeslot (for example during Sprint planning) and when planning is needed.

When it comes to managing the rollout of a solution, clarity and accountability are key factors in ensuring the success of the project. The RAACI chart is a simple but effective model for setting roles and responsibilities as part of a planning session.

Start by listing each person involved in the project and put them into the following groups in order to make it clear who is responsible for what during the rollout of your solution.

Responsibility (Which person and/or team will be taking action?)
Authority (At what “point” must the responsible person check in before going further?)
Accountability (Who must the responsible person check in with?)
Consultation (Who must be consulted by the responsible person before decisions are made?)
Information (Who must be informed of decisions, once made?)

Ensure this information is easily accessible and use it to inform who does what and who is looped into discussions and kept up to date.

RAACI #roles and responsibility #teamwork #project management Clarifying roles and responsibilities, levels of autonomy/latitude in decision making, and levels of engagement among diverse stakeholders.

Problem-solving warm-up activities

All facilitators know that warm-ups and icebreakers are useful for any workshop or group process. Problem-solving workshops are no different.

Use these problem-solving techniques to warm up a group and prepare them for the rest of the process. Activating your group by tapping into some of the top problem-solving skills can be one of the best ways to see great outcomes from your session.

Check-in / Check-out

Solid processes are planned from beginning to end, and the best facilitators know that setting the tone and establishing a safe, open environment can be integral to a successful problem-solving process. Check-in / Check-out is a great way to begin and/or bookend a problem-solving workshop. Checking in to a session emphasizes that everyone will be seen, heard, and expected to contribute.

If you are running a series of meetings, setting a consistent pattern of checking in and checking out can really help your team get into a groove. We recommend this opening-closing activity for small to medium-sized groups though it can work with large groups if they’re disciplined!

Check-in / Check-out #team #opening #closing #hyperisland #remote-friendly Either checking-in or checking-out is a simple way for a team to open or close a process, symbolically and in a collaborative way. Checking-in/out invites each member in a group to be present, seen and heard, and to express a reflection or a feeling. Checking-in emphasizes presence, focus and group commitment; checking-out emphasizes reflection and symbolic closure.

Doodling Together

Thinking creatively and not being afraid to make suggestions are important problem-solving skills for any group or team, and warming up by encouraging these behaviors is a great way to start.

Doodling Together is one of our favorite creative ice breaker games – it’s quick, effective, and fun and can make all following problem-solving steps easier by encouraging a group to collaborate visually. By passing cards and adding additional items as they go, the workshop group gets into a groove of co-creation and idea development that is crucial to finding solutions to problems.

Doodling Together #collaboration #creativity #teamwork #fun #team #visual methods #energiser #icebreaker #remote-friendly Create wild, weird and often funny postcards together & establish a group’s creative confidence.

Show and Tell

You might remember some version of Show and Tell from being a kid in school and it’s a great problem-solving activity to kick off a session.

Asking participants to prepare a little something before a workshop by bringing an object for show and tell can help them warm up before the session has even begun! Games that include a physical object can also help encourage early engagement before moving onto more big-picture thinking.

By asking your participants to tell stories about why they chose to bring a particular item to the group, you can help teams see things from new perspectives and see both differences and similarities in the way they approach a topic. Great groundwork for approaching a problem-solving process as a team!

Show and Tell #gamestorming #action #opening #meeting facilitation Show and Tell taps into the power of metaphors to reveal players’ underlying assumptions and associations around a topic The aim of the game is to get a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ perspectives on anything—a new project, an organizational restructuring, a shift in the company’s vision or team dynamic.

Constellations

Who doesn’t love stars? Constellations is a great warm-up activity for any workshop as it gets people up off their feet, energized, and ready to engage in new ways with established topics. It’s also great for showing existing beliefs, biases, and patterns that can come into play as part of your session.

Using warm-up games that help build trust and connection while also allowing for non-verbal responses can be great for easing people into the problem-solving process and encouraging engagement from everyone in the group. Constellations is great in large spaces that allow for movement and is definitely a practical exercise to allow the group to see patterns that are otherwise invisible.

Constellations #trust #connection #opening #coaching #patterns #system Individuals express their response to a statement or idea by standing closer or further from a central object. Used with teams to reveal system, hidden patterns, perspectives.

Draw a Tree

Problem-solving games that help raise group awareness through a central, unifying metaphor can be effective ways to warm-up a group in any problem-solving model.

Draw a Tree is a simple warm-up activity you can use in any group and which can provide a quick jolt of energy. Start by asking your participants to draw a tree in just 45 seconds – they can choose whether it will be abstract or realistic.

Once the timer is up, ask the group how many people included the roots of the tree and use this as a means to discuss how we can ignore important parts of any system simply because they are not visible.

All problem-solving strategies are made more effective by thinking of problems critically and by exposing things that may not normally come to light. Warm-up games like Draw a Tree are great in that they quickly demonstrate some key problem-solving skills in an accessible and effective way.

Draw a Tree #thiagi #opening #perspectives #remote-friendly With this game you can raise awarness about being more mindful, and aware of the environment we live in.

Closing activities for a problem-solving process

Each step of the problem-solving workshop benefits from an intelligent deployment of activities, games, and techniques. Bringing your session to an effective close helps ensure that solutions are followed through on and that you also celebrate what has been achieved.

Here are some problem-solving activities you can use to effectively close a workshop or meeting and ensure the great work you’ve done can continue afterward.

One Breath Feedback

Maintaining attention and focus during the closing stages of a problem-solving workshop can be tricky and so being concise when giving feedback can be important. It’s easy to incur “death by feedback” should some team members go on for too long sharing their perspectives in a quick feedback round.

One Breath Feedback is a great closing activity for workshops. You give everyone an opportunity to provide feedback on what they’ve done but only in the space of a single breath. This keeps feedback short and to the point and means that everyone is encouraged to provide the most important piece of feedback to them.

One breath feedback #closing #feedback #action This is a feedback round in just one breath that excels in maintaining attention: each participants is able to speak during just one breath … for most people that’s around 20 to 25 seconds … unless of course you’ve been a deep sea diver in which case you’ll be able to do it for longer.

Who What When Matrix

Matrices feature as part of many effective problem-solving strategies and with good reason. They are easily recognizable, simple to use, and generate results.

The Who What When Matrix is a great tool to use when closing your problem-solving session by attributing a who, what and when to the actions and solutions you have decided upon. The resulting matrix is a simple, easy-to-follow way of ensuring your team can move forward.

Great solutions can’t be enacted without action and ownership. Your problem-solving process should include a stage for allocating tasks to individuals or teams and creating a realistic timeframe for those solutions to be implemented or checked out. Use this method to keep the solution implementation process clear and simple for all involved.

Who/What/When Matrix #gamestorming #action #project planning With Who/What/When matrix, you can connect people with clear actions they have defined and have committed to.

Response cards

Group discussion can comprise the bulk of most problem-solving activities and by the end of the process, you might find that your team is talked out!

Providing a means for your team to give feedback with short written notes can ensure everyone is head and can contribute without the need to stand up and talk. Depending on the needs of the group, giving an alternative can help ensure everyone can contribute to your problem-solving model in the way that makes the most sense for them.

Response Cards is a great way to close a workshop if you are looking for a gentle warm-down and want to get some swift discussion around some of the feedback that is raised.

Response Cards #debriefing #closing #structured sharing #questions and answers #thiagi #action It can be hard to involve everyone during a closing of a session. Some might stay in the background or get unheard because of louder participants. However, with the use of Response Cards, everyone will be involved in providing feedback or clarify questions at the end of a session.

Tips for effective problem solving

Problem-solving activities are only one part of the puzzle. While a great method can help unlock your team’s ability to solve problems, without a thoughtful approach and strong facilitation the solutions may not be fit for purpose.

Let’s take a look at some problem-solving tips you can apply to any process to help it be a success!

Clearly define the problem

Jumping straight to solutions can be tempting, though without first clearly articulating a problem, the solution might not be the right one. Many of the problem-solving activities below include sections where the problem is explored and clearly defined before moving on.

This is a vital part of the problem-solving process and taking the time to fully define an issue can save time and effort later. A clear definition helps identify irrelevant information and it also ensures that your team sets off on the right track.

Don’t jump to conclusions

It’s easy for groups to exhibit cognitive bias or have preconceived ideas about both problems and potential solutions. Be sure to back up any problem statements or potential solutions with facts, research, and adequate forethought.

The best techniques ask participants to be methodical and challenge preconceived notions. Make sure you give the group enough time and space to collect relevant information and consider the problem in a new way. By approaching the process with a clear, rational mindset, you’ll often find that better solutions are more forthcoming.

Try different approaches

Problems come in all shapes and sizes and so too should the methods you use to solve them. If you find that one approach isn’t yielding results and your team isn’t finding different solutions, try mixing it up. You’ll be surprised at how using a new creative activity can unblock your team and generate great solutions.

Don’t take it personally

Depending on the nature of your team or organizational problems, it’s easy for conversations to get heated. While it’s good for participants to be engaged in the discussions, ensure that emotions don’t run too high and that blame isn’t thrown around while finding solutions.

You’re all in it together, and even if your team or area is seeing problems, that isn’t necessarily a disparagement of you personally. Using facilitation skills to manage group dynamics is one effective method of helping conversations be more constructive.

Get the right people in the room

Your problem-solving method is often only as effective as the group using it. Getting the right people on the job and managing the number of people present is important too!

If the group is too small, you may not get enough different perspectives to effectively solve a problem. If the group is too large, you can go round and round during the ideation stages.

Creating the right group makeup is also important in ensuring you have the necessary expertise and skillset to both identify and follow up on potential solutions. Carefully consider who to include at each stage to help ensure your problem-solving method is followed and positioned for success.

Create psychologically safe spaces for discussion

Identifying a problem accurately also requires that all members of a group are able to contribute their views in an open and safe manner.

It can be tough for people to stand up and contribute if the problems or challenges are emotive or personal in nature. Try and create a psychologically safe space for these kinds of discussions and where possible, create regular opportunities for challenges to be brought up organically.

Document everything

The best solutions can take refinement, iteration, and reflection to come out. Get into a habit of documenting your process in order to keep all the learnings from the session and to allow ideas to mature and develop. Many of the methods below involve the creation of documents or shared resources. Be sure to keep and share these so everyone can benefit from the work done!

Bring a facilitator

Facilitation is all about making group processes easier. With a subject as potentially emotive and important as problem-solving, having an impartial third party in the form of a facilitator can make all the difference in finding great solutions and keeping the process moving. Consider bringing a facilitator to your problem-solving session to get better results and generate meaningful solutions!

Develop your problem-solving skills

It takes time and practice to be an effective problem solver. While some roles or participants might more naturally gravitate towards problem-solving, it can take development and planning to help everyone create better solutions.

You might develop a training program, run a problem-solving workshop or simply ask your team to practice using the techniques below. Check out our post on problem-solving skills to see how you and your group can develop the right mental process and be more resilient to issues too!

Design a great agenda

Workshops are a great format for solving problems. With the right approach, you can focus a group and help them find the solutions to their own problems. But designing a process can be time-consuming and finding the right activities can be difficult.

Check out our workshop planning guide to level-up your agenda design and start running more effective workshops. Need inspiration? Check out templates designed by expert facilitators to help you kickstart your process!

Save time and effort creating an effective problem solving process

A structured problem solving process is a surefire way of solving tough problems, discovering creative solutions and driving organizational change. But how can you design for successful outcomes?

With SessionLab, it’s easy to design engaging workshops that deliver results. Drag, drop and reorder blocks to build your agenda. When you make changes or update your agenda, your session timing adjusts automatically , saving you time on manual adjustments.

Collaborating with stakeholders or clients? Share your agenda with a single click and collaborate in real-time. No more sending documents back and forth over email.

Explore how to use SessionLab to design effective problem solving workshops or watch this five minute video to see the planner in action!

Over to you

The problem-solving process can often be as complicated and multifaceted as the problems they are set-up to solve. With the right problem-solving techniques and a mix of exercises designed to guide discussion and generate purposeful ideas, we hope we’ve given you the tools to find the best solutions as simply and easily as possible.

Is there a problem-solving technique that you are missing here? Do you have a favorite activity or method you use when facilitating? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you!

James Smart is Head of Content at SessionLab. He’s also a creative facilitator who has run workshops and designed courses for establishments like the National Centre for Writing, UK. He especially enjoys working with young people and empowering others in their creative practice.

thank you very much for these excellent techniques

Certainly wonderful article, very detailed. Shared!

Your list of techniques for problem solving can be helpfully extended by adding TRIZ to the list of techniques. TRIZ has 40 problem solving techniques derived from methods inventros and patent holders used to get new patents. About 10-12 are general approaches. many organization sponsor classes in TRIZ that are used to solve business problems or general organiztational problems. You can take a look at TRIZ and dwonload a free internet booklet to see if you feel it shound be included per your selection process.

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14 Best Team Building Problem Solving Group Activities For 2024

The best teams see solutions where others see problems. A great company culture is built around a collaborative spirit and the type of unity it takes to find answers to the big business questions.

So how can you get team members working together?

How can you develop a mentality that will help them overcome obstacles they have yet to encounter?

One of the best ways to improve your teams’ problem solving skills is through team building problem solving activities .

“86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures.” — Bit.AI

These activities can simulate true-to-life scenarios they’ll find themselves in, or the scenarios can call on your employees or coworkers to dig deep and get creative in a more general sense.

The truth is, on a day-to-day basis, you have to prepare for the unexpected. It just happens that team building activities help with that, but are so fun that they don’t have to feel like work ( consider how you don’t even feel like you’re working out when you’re playing your favorite sport or doing an exercise you actually enjoy! )

Team Building Problem Solving Group Activities

What are the benefits of group problem-solving activities?

The benefits of group problem-solving activities for team building include:

Better communication
Improved collaboration and teamwork
More flexible thinking
Faster problem-solving
Better proactivity and decision making

Without further ado, check out this list of the 14 best team-building problem-solving group activities for 2024!

Page Contents (Click To Jump)

2. Problem-Solving Templates

Problem-Solving Templates are popular problem-solving activities that involve a group of people working together to solve an issue. The challenge generally involves members of the team utilizing pre-made templates and creating solutions for a given problem with the help of visual aids.

This activity is great for teams that need assistance in getting started on their problem-solving journey.

Why this is a fun problem-solving activity: Problem-Solving Templates offer teams an easy and stress-free way to get the creative juices flowing. The visual aids that come with the templates help team members better understand the issue at hand and easily come up with solutions together.

	🧊 Start your meeting with icebreaker questions!
	🪐 Use the force to collect valuable feedback
	🦈 Pitch your million dollar idea
	🌮 Sync with your team on Tuesday!
	🗣 Ignite engaging conversations to kick off your next meeting

This activity is great for teams that need assistance in getting started on their problem-solving journey, as it provides an easy and stress-free way to get the creative juices flowing.

Problem Solving Group Activities & Games For Team Building

3. coworker feud, “it’s all fun and games”.

Coworker Feud is a twist on the classic Family Feud game show! This multiple rapid round game keeps the action flowing and the questions going. You can choose from a variety of customizations, including picking the teams yourself, randomized teams, custom themes, and custom rounds.

Best for: Hybrid teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Coworker Feud comes with digital game materials, a digital buzzer, an expert host, and a zoom link to get the participants ready for action! Teams compete with each other to correctly answer the survey questions. At the end of the game, the team with the most competitive answers is declared the winner of the Feud.

How to get started:

Sign up for Coworker Feud
Break into teams of 4 to 10 people
Get the competitive juices flowing and let the games begin!

Learn more here: Coworker Feud

4. Crack The Case

“who’s a bad mamma jamma”.

Crack The Case is a classic WhoDoneIt game that forces employees to depend on their collective wit to stop a deadly murderer dead in his tracks! Remote employees and office commuters can join forces to end this crime spree.

Best for: Remote teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: The Virtual Clue Murder Mystery is an online problem solving activity that uses a proprietary videoconferencing platform to offer the chance for employees and coworkers to study case files, analyze clues, and race to find the motive, the method, and the individual behind the murder of Neil Davidson.

Get a custom quote here
Download the app
Let the mystery-solving collaboration begin!

Learn more here: Crack The Case

5. Catch Meme If You Can

“can’t touch this”.

Purposefully created to enhance leadership skills and team bonding , Catch Meme If You Can is a hybrid between a scavenger hunt and an escape room . Teammates join together to search for clues, solve riddles, and get out — just in time!

Best for: Small teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Catch Meme If You Can is an adventure with a backstory. Each team has to submit their answer to the puzzle in order to continue to the next part of the sequence. May the best team escape!

The teams will be given instructions and the full storyline
Teams will be split into a handful of people each
The moderator will kick off the action!

Learn more here: Catch Meme If You Can

6. Puzzle Games

“just something to puzzle over”.

Puzzle Games is the fresh trivia game to test your employees and blow their minds with puzzles, jokes , and fun facts!

Best for: In-person teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Eight mini brain teaser and trivia style games include word puzzles, name that nonsense, name that tune, and much more. Plus, the points each team earns will go towards planting trees in the precious ecosystems and forests of Uganda

Get a free consultation for your team
Get a custom designed invitation for your members
Use the game link
Dedicated support will help your team enjoy Puzzle Games to the fullest!

Learn more here: Puzzle Games

7. Virtual Code Break

“for virtual teams”.

Virtual Code Break is a virtual team building activity designed for remote participants around the globe. Using a smart video conferencing solution, virtual teams compete against each other to complete challenges, answer trivia questions, and solve brain-busters!

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Virtual Code Break can be played by groups as small as 4 people all the way up to more than 1,000 people at once. However, every team will improve their communication and problem-solving skills as they race against the clock and depend on each other’s strengths to win!

Reach out for a free consultation to align the needs of your team
An event facilitator will be assigned to handle all of the set-up and logistics
They will also provide you with logins and a play-by-play of what to expect
Sign into the Outback video conferencing platform and join your pre-assigned team
Lastly, let the games begin!

Learn more here: Virtual Code Break

8. Stranded

“survivor: office edition”.

Stranded is the perfect scenario-based problem solving group activity. The doors of the office are locked and obviously your team can’t just knock them down or break the windows.

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Your team has less than half an hour to choose 10 items around the office that will help them survive. They then rank the items in order of importance. It’s a bit like the classic game of being lost at sea without a lifeboat.

Get everyone together in the office
Lock the doors
Let them start working together to plan their survival

Learn more here: Stranded

9. Letting Go Game

“for conscious healing”.

The Letting Go Game is a game of meditation and mindfulness training for helping teammates thrive under pressure and reduce stress in the process. The tasks of the Letting Go Game boost resiliency, attentiveness, and collaboration.

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Expert-guided activities and awareness exercises encourage team members to think altruistically and demonstrate acts of kindness. Between yoga, face painting, and fun photography, your employees or coworkers will have more than enough to keep them laughing and growing together with this mindfulness activity!

Reach out for a free consultation
A guide will then help lead the exercises
Let the funny videos, pictures, and playing begin!

Learn more here: Letting Go Game

10. Wild Goose Chase

“city time”.

Wild Goose Chase is the creative problem solving activity that will take teams all around your city and bring them together as a group! This scavenger hunt works for teams as small as 10 up to groups of over 5000 people.

Best for: Large teams

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: As employees and group members are coming back to the office, there are going to be times that they’re itching to get outside. Wild Goose Chase is the perfect excuse to satisfy the desire to go out-of-office every now and then. Plus, having things to look at and see around the city will get employees talking in ways they never have before.

Download the Outback app to access the Wild Goose Chase
Take photos and videos from around the city
The most successful team at completing challenges on time is the champ!

Learn more here: Wild Goose Chase

11. Human Knot

“for a knotty good time”.

The Human Knot is one of the best icebreaker team building activities! In fact, there’s a decent chance you played it in grade school. It’s fun, silly, and best of all — free!

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: Participants start in a circle and connect hands with two other people in the group to form a human knot. The team then has to work together and focus on clear communication to unravel the human knot by maneuvering their way out of this hands-on conundrum. But there’s a catch — they can’t let go of each other’s hands in this team building exercise.

Form a circle
Tell each person to grab a random hand until all hands are holding another
They can’t hold anyone’s hand who is directly next to them
Now they have to get to untangling
If the chain breaks before everyone is untangled, they have to start over again

Learn more here: Human Knot

12. What Would You Do?

“because it’s fun to imagine”.

What Would You Do? Is the hypothetical question game that gets your team talking and brainstorming about what they’d do in a variety of fun, intriguing, and sometimes, whacky scenarios.

Best for: Distributed teams

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: After employees or coworkers start talking about their What Would You Do? responses, they won’t be able to stop. That’s what makes this such an incredible team building activity . For example, you could ask questions like “If you could live forever, what would you do with your time?” or “If you never had to sleep, what would you do?”

In addition to hypothetical questions, you could also give teammates some optional answers to get them started
After that, let them do the talking — then they’ll be laughing and thinking and dreaming, too!

13. Crossing The River

“quite the conundrum”.

Crossing The River is a river-crossing challenge with one correct answer. Your team gets five essential elements — a chicken, a fox, a rowboat, a woman, and a bag of corn. You see, the woman has a bit of a problem, you tell them. She has to get the fox, the bag of corn, and the chicken to the other side of the river as efficiently as possible.

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: She has a rowboat, but it can only carry her and one other item at a time. She cannot leave the chicken and the fox alone — for obvious reasons. And she can’t leave the chicken with the corn because it will gobble it right up. So the question for your team is how does the woman get all five elements to the other side of the river safely in this fun activity?

Form teams of 2 to 5 people
Each team has to solve the imaginary riddle
Just make sure that each group understands that the rowboat can only carry one animal and one item at a time; the fox and chicken can’t be alone; and the bag of corn and the chicken cannot be left alone
Give the verbal instructions for getting everything over to the other side

14. End-Hunger Games

“philanthropic fun”.

Does anything bond people quite like acts of kindness and compassion? The End-Hunger Games will get your team to rally around solving the serious problem of hunger.

Best for: Medium-sized teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Teams join forces to complete challenges based around non-perishable food items in the End-Hunger Games. Groups can range in size from 25 to more than 2000 people, who will all work together to collect food for the local food bank.

Split into teams and compete to earn boxes and cans of non-perishable food
Each team attempts to build the most impressive food item construction
Donate all of the non-perishable foods to a local food bank

Learn more here: End-Hunger Games

Q: What kind of skills do group problem solving activities & games improve?

A: Group problem solving activities and games improve collaboration, leadership, and communication skills.

Q: What are problem solving based team building activities & games?

A: Problem solving based team building activities and games are activities that challenge teams to work together in order to complete them.

Q: What are some fun free problem solving games for groups?

A: Some fun free problem solving games for groups are kinesthetic puzzles like the human knot game, which you can read more about in this article. You can also use all sorts of random items like whiteboards, straws, building blocks, sticky notes, blindfolds, rubber bands, and legos to invent a game that will get the whole team involved.

Q: How do I choose the most effective problem solving exercise for my team?

A: The most effective problem solving exercise for your team is one that will challenge them to be their best selves and expand their creative thinking.

Q: How do I know if my group problem solving activity was successful?

A: In the short-term, you’ll know if your group problem solving activity was successful because your team will bond over it; however, that should also translate to more productivity in the mid to long-term.

About SnackNation

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome. We provide a monthly, curated selection of healthy snacks from the hottest, most innovative natural food brands in the industry, giving our members a hassle-free experience and delivering joy to their offices.

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Who benefits from virtual collaboration? The interplay of team member expertness and Big Five personality traits

Mengxiao Zhu ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3596-5585 1 , 2 ,
Chunke Su ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7841-9042 3 ,
Jiangang Hao 4 ,
Lei Liu 4 ,
Patrick Kyllonen 4 &
Alina von Davier 5

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume 11 , Article number: 1212 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Science, technology and society

This research applies and integrates transactive memory systems (TMS) theory and the Big Five personality traits model to investigate the performance dynamics of dyadic teams engaged in virtual collaborative problem-solving (CPS). Specifically, this study examines how the personal attributes of team members, including their expertness and Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism), as well as the resultant diversity in expertness and Big Five personality traits within teams, influence both team-level and individual-level performance gain from virtual collaboration. Studying 377 dyadic teams composed of 754 individuals working on an online collaborative intellective task, this research found that dyads with high expertness diversity had greater performance gain from virtual collaboration than dyads with low expertness diversity. Further, dyads, where both members scored low on agreeableness, showed the most significant improvement in team performance. At the individual level, a team member who had a low expertness level but was paired with a high-expertness teammate demonstrated the greatest performance gain from virtual collaboration. The integration of TMS theory and the Big Five personality traits model provides a richer and more nuanced understanding of how individual attributes and team dynamics contribute to successful virtual CPS outcomes.

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Who benefits from virtual collaboration, the interplay of team member expertness and big five personality traits.

Collaborative problem-solving (CPS) is widely recognized as a critical 21st-century skill and is essential for team success in today’s workplace (Fiore et al., 2017 ). CPS teams can collaborate in person (Xu et al., 2023 ), virtually (Yang et al., 2022 ), or in hybrid formats (Pramila-Savukoski et al., 2023 ). Notably, the prominence of virtual and hybrid CPS modes has surged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (Karl et al., 2022 ). Compared to face-to-face communication and collaboration, virtual CPS generally entails decreased levels of information richness (Aritz et al., 2018 ) and social presence (Fonner and Roloff, 2012 ), which may affect how knowledge can be accurately recognized (Su, 2012 ), effectively coordinated (Kanawattanachai and Yoo, 2007 ), and efficiently retrieved (Yuan, Carboni, et al., 2010 ) within the team. Although there has been a growing research emphasis on virtual collaboration and team dynamics, much of the focus has been on virtual communication processes such as verbal communication patterns (O’Bryan et al., 2022 ), nonverbal exchange of expertise cues (Yoon and Hollingshead, 2010 ), task-oriented communication and knowledge coordination (Kanawattanachai and Yoo, 2007 ), and modes of computer-mediated communication (Tang et al., 2014 ). Therefore, there remains a pressing need for further investigation into how personal attributes and the resultant diversity of these attributes impact virtual collaboration outcomes in CPS teams.

A personal attribute pivotal to CPS outcomes is individual expertise, which refers to the type and level of knowledge a person possesses (Di Gangi et al., 2012 ). In order to achieve optimal CPS outcomes, today’s work teams are typically assembled to include individual members who possess different types of expertise across multiple knowledge domains (conceptualized as expertise diversity ) and who hold different levels of expertise within the same knowledge domain (conceptualized as expertness diversity ) (Lee et al., 2022 ; Martins et al., 2013 ; Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ). While the effects of expertise diversity (i.e., inter-domain expertise difference) on team performance are well-documented (Lee et al., 2022 ; Zheng et al., 2016 ), especially through the lens of Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) theory (Lewis and Herndon, 2011 ; Wegner, 1986 , 1995 ), the impact of expertness diversity (i.e., intra-domain expertise difference) on team performance remains largely understudied.

In a comprehensive review of 64 TMS-related empirical studies, Yan et al .( 2021 ) asserted that existing research on TMS overly emphasizes expertise-related factors while neglecting other individual attributes that also play a critical role in affecting TMS development and team collaboration. Among these attributes, individuals’ personality traits stand out as crucial factors that significantly influence team performance and collaboration outcomes (Stadler et al., 2019 ; Zhong et al., 2019 ). Despite extensive research on personality traits across various contexts (see Huang et al., 2014 ), little attention has been given to investigating their impact on team performance through the operation of TMS development (Pearsall and Ellis, 2006 ). To address this gap, this study proposes an integrated theoretical framework that leverages both TMS theory and the Big Five personality traits model to explore the performance dynamics of virtual CPS teams. Specifically, the goal of this research is to conceptually analyze and empirically test how team members’ expertness and Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism), as well as the resultant diversity in expertness and Big Five personality traits within teams, could influence CPS performance changes through their impact on TMS mechanisms. The integration of TMS theory and the Big Five personality traits model provides a richer and more nuanced understanding of how individual attributes and team dynamics contribute to successful virtual CPS outcomes.

Theories and research questions

Transactive memory systems (tms) theory.

Transactive memory systems theory originated to examine the processes and effects of expertise recognition and knowledge coordination in dyads and small groups (Wegner, 1986 , 1995 ). A transactive memory system (TMS) is developed through team members’ perceptions of others’ credibility (who is a trustworthy source of expertise), each member’s knowledge specialization (who is an expert in what knowledge domains), and knowledge coordination within the team (with whom to process and exchange knowledge) (Lewis and Herndon, 2011 ). In essence, a TMS is composed of the distributed knowledge possessed by each individual member and a shared understanding of “who knows what” in the team (Yan et al., 2021 ).

A TMS can develop into two different types of structures: differentiated and integrated (Gupta and Hollingshead, 2010 ; Wegner, 1986 ). When a team TMS is highly differentiated, individual members hold specialized expertise in different knowledge domains (Wegner, 1986 ). In other words, knowledge in a particular domain is possessed by only one or very few individuals rather than being widely distributed among all team members (Gupta and Hollingshead, 2010 ; Wegner, 1986 ). This allows team members to focus on their areas of expertise, reducing their workload and avoiding expertise overlap within the team (Hollingshead, 2000 ). While each member focuses on one’s expertise domains, the team collectively gains access to a broader range of expertise, leading to improved team performance (Liang et al., 1995 ; Moreland and Myaskovsky, 2000 ).

An integrated TMS, in contrast, forms “when the same items of information are held in different individual memory stores, and the individuals are aware of the overlap because they share label and location information as well” (Wegner, 1986 , p. 204). This means in a team with an integrated TMS structure, team members possess expertise in the same knowledge domains and information is broadly distributed among team members (Gupta and Hollingshead, 2010 ; Wegner, 1986 ). While the integrated TMS structure leads to overlapped knowledge within the team, it can be beneficial to those teams in which each individual member is required to carry out every function of the job activity without relying on teammates’ expertise (Wegner, 1986 ) and those teams aiming to solve intellective problems with clear, uncontroversial answers or solutions (Gupta and Hollingshead, 2010 ).

Existing TMS research has delved into the mechanisms that foster the development of differentiated and integrated TMS structures, respectively. Hollingshead ( 2001 ) found that a TMS became most differentiated when individuals had incentives to remember different information and most integrated when individuals had incentives to remember the same information. A later study showed that teams with mixed-gender friendships were more likely to develop a differentiated TMS, while teams with strong feelings of closeness tended to create an integrated TMS (Iannone et al., 2017 ). Further, it was found that teams with role-specific preparation developed more differentiated TMS, which led to better performance compared to teams whose members received cross-role preparation (Linton et al., 2018 ).

An abundance of TMS scholarship has also shed light on how differentiated and integrated TMS structures affect team performance in various contexts. While both differentiated and integrated TMS structures yield similar results on memory-based tasks (e.g., recall tasks), an integrated TMS leads to faster and more accurate performance on intellective tasks (e.g., tasks requiring critical thinking and reasoning) compared to a differentiated TMS (Gupta and Hollingshead, 2010 ). In addition, an integrated TMS fosters collaboration and mutual support among team members, while a differentiated TMS provides a clear division of responsibilities (Gupta and Hollingshead, 2010 ). Additionally, Gupta ( 2012 ) found that team members in an integrated TMS tended to cover work tasks for the noncontributors, whereas those in a differentiated TMS were likely to facilitate other team members in performing their jobs. Moreover, a differentiated TMS was found to exacerbate the negative effects of polychronicity diversity (wherein some team members prefer single-tasking while others prefer multitasking) on team performance (Mohammed and Nadkarni, 2014 ). Lastly, a differentiated TMS enhances centralized information seeking when specialized expertise is needed, but an integrated TMS promotes team cohesion and social interactions within the team (Yan et al., 2021 ).

Expertise vs. expertness diversity

The classification of differentiated and integrated TMS structures in TMS scholarship has provided a theoretical foundation for the conceptualization of two forms of task-related cognitive diversity in team research: expertise and expertness diversity (Martins et al., 2013 ; Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ). While expertise diversity refers to the variation of individuals’ expertise in different knowledge domains (i.e., inter-domain expertise difference), expertness diversity represents team members’ differences in the level of expertise within the same knowledge domain (i.e., intra-domain expertise difference) (Lee et al., 2022 ; Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ). Both expertise and expertness diversity are common and desirable for teamwork because today’s work teams need the breadth of knowledge to handle wide-ranging tasks and the depth of expertise to tackle complex problems effectively. For example, a website development team may be composed of members who are specialized in different web-design knowledge domains such as front-end HTML and CSS coding, graphic design, search engine optimization, and server-side scripting skills, which reflect the expertise diversity within the team. Meanwhile, within the specific domain of graphic design, there may exist some degrees of expertness diversity such that one member is a very skillful and experienced graphic designer whereas another member may only have entry-level knowledge about graphic design.

Both expertise and expertness diversity are closely related to the development of differentiated and integrated TMS structures (Lewis, 2003 ). On the one hand, without the distribution of expertise across multiple knowledge domains (i.e., expertise diversity), the differentiated TMS structure would not have become feasible and sustainable within the team (Littlepage and Mueller, 1997 ). On the other hand, expertness diversity reflects how an integrated TMS structure can function within a particular knowledge domain (Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ). Consider a team with a well-developed integrated TMS structure; while team members possess similar expertise in shared knowledge domains, it is unlikely for all team members to have exactly the same level of expertise in one knowledge domain. Thus, expertness diversity delineates how team members differ in their level of expertness in a single knowledge domain within the context of an integrated TMS structure (Martins et al., 2013 ). This perspective offers deeper insights into how an integrated TMS structure can manifest at the domain level, supplementing and extending traditional TMS research that primarily focuses on cross-domain knowledge distribution (Lewis and Herndon, 2011 ).

Prior research suggests that expertise and expertness diversity may influence team performance through different mechanisms (Martins et al., 2013 ; Mathieu et al., 2008 ). While expertise diversity can foster team learning by exposing members to new knowledge and perspectives, expertness diversity may stimulate individual learning when less experienced members seek guidance from more skilled teammates (Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ). However, it is worth noting that high-expertness members may not always be willing and committed to helping low-expertness members (Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ). The influence of these factors can be further affected by team dynamics. For example, when team members’ psychological safety was low, expertise diversity could hinder team performance, while expertness diversity could improve team performance (Martins et al., 2013 ). Further, team members’ expertness diversity could moderate the relationship between expertise diversity and team performance such that the positive effect of expertise diversity on team performance diminished when team members’ expertness diversity was high (Zheng et al., 2016 ).

Despite a considerable body of research that has documented the effects of expertise diversity on team performance (e.g., Lee et al., 2022 ; Shi and Weber, 2018 ; Zheng et al., 2016 ), the exploration of expertness diversity’s impact on team performance, particularly virtual CPS outcomes, has been extremely limited. Therefore, a primary goal of this study is to address such a research gap by examining how team members’ expertness level, as well as the expertness diversity within the team, could affect their performance in virtual CPS settings. To this end, we will begin by elucidating the key characteristics of virtual CPS and examining their potential impact on the development and operation of TMS within virtual CPS teams. Subsequently, we will explore how the expertness diversity within the team may affect TMS dynamics and ultimately influence virtual CPS outcomes.

Virtual collaborative problem-solving

Collaborative problem-solving (CPS) is the process of two or more individuals working together to understand, analyze, and resolve problems, typically through interpersonal communication, cooperation, and collective decision-making (Xu et al., 2023 ). CPS entails two critical dimensions: collaboration and problem-solving (Fiore et al., 2017 ). Collaboration encompasses the communicative, social, and interactive elements of CPS, while problem-solving pertains to the task-oriented, cognitive reasoning, intellective, and decision-making aspects of CPS (Fiore et al., 2017 ). These two dimensions necessitate the application of TMS theory to better understand the processes and outcomes of CPS because the success of CPS is, by and large, influenced by effective responsibility allocation, expertise recognition, knowledge retrieval, and information coordination, all of which are fundamental mechanisms of TMS development (Austin, 2003 ).

Previous research on CPS and TMS has studied a wide array of CPS teams, investigating how factors like team size, task characteristics, participant backgrounds, and communication modalities impact TMS development and team performance. Many of these studies, particularly early TMS research, focused on dyadic teams (i.e., teams composed of two members only). It was found that in dyadic teams aiming to complete memory recall tasks, intimate relationships and access to nonverbal or paralinguistic cues supported TMS development and improved team performance (Hollingshead, 1998a , 1998b ). Moreover, in dyadic teams engaged in collaborative quiz questions regarding job-related knowledge, team performance improved when team members had highly diverse expertise levels and allocated more work to the higher-expertness member (Littlepage et al., 2008 ). In educational settings where students collaborated on team projects, knowledge-based learning, and social communication facilitated TMS development and enhanced team performance (Jackson and Moreland, 2009 ; Zhang et al., 2016 ). For more formal, non-ad hoc teams such as those in project development for new products (Akgün et al., 2005 ) or information systems (Hsu et al., 2012 ), frequent formal team communication emerged as a crucial factor for TMS development and team success. The nature of CPS tasks also plays a significant role, as research has shown that for exploratory tasks (i.e., searching for new knowledge to resolve problems), informal and face-to-face communication positively correlates with TMS development, while tasks driven by exploitation (i.e., using existing knowledge for problem-solving) benefit from formal and computer-mediated communication (Tang et al., 2014 ).

Given the ubiquitous implementation of remote and online collaborative work escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Maurer et al., 2022 ), this study focuses on the context of virtual CPS. Virtual CPS involves two or more geographically dispersed individuals working together to solve problems by using ICTs (information and communication technologies) (Jiang et al., 2023 ; Xu et al., 2023 ). Virtual CPS teams commonly utilize online tools such as video conferencing platforms (Karl et al., 2022 ), collaborative document editing software (Breuer et al., 2016 ), and project management platforms (Soboleva et al., 2021 ) to facilitate their communication, collaboration, and coordination. Team members can be situated anywhere locally and globally, and the affordances of virtual technologies can facilitate their boundary management by overcoming temporal and geographical constraints (Navick and Gibbs, 2023 ; Sivunen et al., 2023 ). While virtual CPS often adheres to a structured problem-solving framework, its execution allows for flexibility, allowing asynchronous participation and adapting to different work styles and time zones (Yang et al., 2022 ).

The virtual CPS’ unique characteristics can create challenges that hinder the positive effects of TMS development and expertness diversity on team performance for the following reasons. First, due to the absence or decreased levels of information richness (Aritz et al., 2018 ) and social presence (Fonner and Roloff, 2012 ) in virtual CPS, communication and coordination may be more difficult and time-consuming between high-expertness and low-expertness members, especially when they need to transfer complex knowledge to tackle equivocal problems. Second, when team members lack face-to-face interactions, there may be limited social opportunities for them to observe and process communication cues that are essential in shaping accurate assessments of other members’ expertness level (Su, 2012 ) and fostering efficient knowledge retrieval from the high-expertness members (Yuan, Carboni, et al., 2010 ). Thirdly, in large virtual teams characterized by expertness diversity, there is an elevated risk of social loafing (Price et al., 2006 ), wherein certain members withhold their contribution by freeriding other members’ contributions, resulting in further reluctance among high-expertness members to assist their less knowledgeable counterparts (Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ), consequently impeding overall team performance.

Despite these challenges, existing research suggests that TMS can be developed within virtual teams (Kanawattanachai and Yoo, 2002 ), which bolsters the potential for expertness diversity to enhance team performance in virtual CPS settings. While virtuality may complicate the accurate identification of team members’ expertise, past research found that leveraging digital knowledge repositories within work teams can mitigate the negative impact of virtual work on accurate perception of team members’ expertness levels (Su, 2012 ). Furthermore, research indicates that in geographically dispersed virtual teams, the use of ICTs facilitates knowledge exchange between team members with varying levels of expertness, promoting learning and growth within the team (Shi and Weber, 2018 ). Additionally, various features available on virtual collaboration platforms have been found to positively influence multiple dimensions of TMS development (Yoon and Zhu, 2022 ). Notably, the virtual technologies’ visibility and searchability functions can enhance TMS accuracy, while the awareness and pervasiveness features promote TMS sharedness, and the editability and self-presentation capabilities contribute to TMS validation (Yoon and Zhu, 2022 ). These findings resonate with social information processing theory (Walther, 1992 , 2011 ), which asserts that in virtual communication settings, individuals have the motivation and capabilities in compensating for the absence of nonverbal cues by harnessing remaining information cues (e.g., texts, emojis, punctuation, and timing of responses) to help them better process and interpret information messages. In addition, these studies support the theory of communication visibility (Treem et al., 2020 , 2024 ), which suggests the affordance of digital communication tools can enhance the visibility of team member communication and interaction, thereby promoting knowledge sharing and coordination within the team.

Drawing upon these research findings, this study posits that virtual CPS teams with varying degrees of expertness diversity might experience different performance outcomes. In teams characterized by high expertness diversity (i.e., comprising both high-expertness and low-expertness members), a reciprocal learning dynamic may occur. On the one hand, high-expertness members can validate and refine their existing expertise through coaching and clarifying knowledge to low-expertness members. On the other hand, low-expertness members can learn and acquire knowledge from high-expertness members, fostering their intellectual growth and problem-solving skills. The knowledge transfer and exchange between high- and low-expertness members not only mitigates the risks of groupthink (Janis, 1971 ; McCauley, 1998 ), where uniformity of knowledge stifles innovation and critical inquiry but also enhances the entire team’s problem-solving capabilities. Further, while the affordances of virtual technologies can make high-expertness members’ knowledge more visible and accessible (Treem et al., 2020 ), the transfer of deeply embedded or complex knowledge (Haas and Hansen, 2007 ) from high-expertness members to low-expertness members may be time-consuming and ineffective. Additionally, the absence of face-to-face communication may exacerbate the difficulty of managing conflicting viewpoints stemming from expertness diversity. These challenges may ultimately hinder overall team performance in virtual CPS settings.

Virtual CPS teams with low expertness diversity can embody two possible team compositions: homogeneous high-expertness and homogeneous low-expertness. In teams comprised of homogeneous high-expertness members, experts can utilize their collective knowledge to identify and resolve problems efficiently. However, the uniformity of expertness can create a culture of overconfidence, which might blind these experts to potential errors. Such culture may also exacerbate confirmation bias (Tschan et al., 2009 ), leading team members to favor information that confirms existing beliefs and hindering knowledge sharing within the team. Moreover, in virtual CPS teams where social interactions and rapport-building opportunities are limited, high-expertness members may be more likely to engage in competitive and ego-centric behaviors such as knowledge hiding (Connelly et al., 2019 ), ultimately undermining the team’s overall performance.

Teams composed solely of low-expertness members face significant challenges with complex problem-solving and decision-making due to their limited knowledge base. The absence of high-expertness members within the team can result in prolonged searches for optimal solutions that may require higher levels of expertness. In addition, low-expertness members may face protracted debates over the validity and merits of existing ideas, as they lack sufficient levels of expertness to make informed judgment calls. However, these teams often exhibit openness to novel ideas and a strong desire to acquire new knowledge, making them more adaptable and resilient in dynamic environments where conventional expertise may prove inadequate to address ever-changing problems. Further, while virtual collaboration platforms offer opportunities to tap into external expertise to compensate for internal deficiencies, the lack of face-to-face communication in virtual CPS environments can make it more difficult to build trust (Choi and Cho, 2019 ), which is essential for collective learning and error correction among low-expertness members.

Therefore, considering the potential positive and negative effects of varying degrees of expertness diversity on team performance in virtual CPS, this study proposes the following research question:

RQ1 : At the team level, how is the team’s performance gain from virtual collaboration influenced by the team’s expertness diversity?

While prior TMS and cognitive diversity research has primarily focused on team-level performance outcomes, it is evident that each individual team member performs and benefits from CPS differently (Lee et al., 2022 ). Specifically, an individual member’s performance gain from virtual collaboration may depend on not only this member’s own expertness level but also the expertness level of the teammates. In a virtual CPS setting, pairing teammates with varying degrees of expertness may influence individual performance through two key mechanisms of TMS development: knowledge storage and information retrieval. First, individuals with higher expertise in a specific domain can contribute deeper and more accurate knowledge to the TMS in that area, enabling the establishment of a high-quality knowledge repository to be utilized by the low-expertness members. However, in face-to-face settings, these experts may face challenges managing overwhelming knowledge requests from low-expertness members, leading to stress and distractions that hinder their productivity (Su et al., 2010 ). Conversely, in virtual CPS settings, high-expertness members can leverage knowledge management systems such as cloud storage and databases to disseminate their expertise efficiently, thereby saving time on direct communication with low-expertness members and enhancing their productivity (Yuan et al., 2007 ).

Second, when it comes to information retrieval, virtual CPS presents both opportunities and challenges for low-expertness members. On the one hand, virtual collaboration platforms offer specialized repositories and designated channels for low-expertness members to retrieve knowledge from experts without being constrained by geographical or temporal barriers (Di Gangi et al., 2012 ). Enhanced search functionalities and clear metadata tags streamline the process for lower-expertness members to identify expertise locations and access knowledge efficiently. On the other hand, low-expertness members may encounter difficulties in obtaining timely feedback and clarification from high-expertness members, particularly when retrieving and applying complex knowledge for problem-solving (Haas and Hansen, 2007 ). Moreover, excessive reliance on virtual communication tools for information retrieval can induce fatigue and stress (Luebstorf et al., 2023 ), potentially impeding the productivity and efficiency of low-expertness members.

Therefore, an individual’s expertness level, together with the expertness level of the teammate, is expected to intricately impact one’s performance outcomes in CPS settings. Given the limited research on the impact of these dynamic environments on individual performance in virtual CPS, this research proposes the following research question:

RQ2 : At the individual level, how is a team member’s performance gain from virtual collaboration influenced by one’s own expertness level and that of the teammate?

Big five personality traits

While the above research questions delve into how team members’ expertness levels, as well as their expertness diversity, could affect virtual CPS performance through the operation of TMS, other personal attributes, such as personality traits, can also influence TMS development and consequently lead to different team collaboration outcomes (Pearsall and Ellis, 2006 ). However, the scholarship on the relationship between personality traits and TMS development is extremely scarce. Thus, it is unclear how team members’ personality traits, as well as their personality traits diversity, could influence their virtual CPS performance from the TMS perspective. Therefore, to further enrich the theoretical framework, this study integrates the investigation into how each of the Big Five personality traits, a well-established personality traits model, can affect individual and team CPS performance through their effects on TMS development in virtual settings.

The Big Five personality traits model (Goldberg, 1990 ; McCrae and Costa, 2008 ) provides a multidimensional theoretical framework and assessment instrument to characterize individual personality traits into five categories: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (i.e., the lack of emotional stability). The first trait, openness to experience , reflects an individual’s tendency to be curious, imaginative, and open to new ideas and experiences (Judge et al., 2002 ). Previous research found that individuals high in openness to experience were more likely to learn and explore diverse information sources and engage in knowledge sharing (Yin et al., 2023 ). Thus, in teams whose members share the openness trait, TMS may be developed more quickly and effectively. Further, openness to experience may enhance an individual’s adaptability in virtual environments, because individuals high in this trait readily embrace new collaboration tools and processes, navigating the inherent ambiguity and uncertainty with greater comfort in unfamiliar settings (Huang et al., 2014 ). These factors collectively contribute to a potential positive impact of the openness personality trait on virtual CPS performance by promoting intra-team knowledge sharing and learning, as well as team members’ ability to explore uncharted territories and tackle challenging tasks. However, a team with diverse openness levels, where some members are highly open and others less so, can also encounter challenges. As individuals with lower openness may be less inclined to explore new information or collaborate closely on innovative tasks (McCrae and Costa, 2008 ), teams with greater diversity in openness levels may face hurdles in virtual collaboration compared to teams where members are uniformly high in openness.

The conscientiousness trait represents a person’s level of organization, self-discipline, and reliability. Individuals high in conscientiousness tend to be detail-oriented, dependable, and meticulous in task performance (Sackett and Walmsley, 2014 ). Previous studies found that highly conscientious individuals were effective learners, which helped them develop a higher level of expertise (Poropat, 2009 ). From a TMS perspective, highly conscientious team members excel at organizing and storing information, making it easier for others to retrieve and utilize such information for task completion. They also contribute to establishing clear communication and documentation practices that facilitate team members’ expertise recognition and directory updating, two crucial components of TMS development (Yuan, Fulk et al., 2010 ). Further, in a virtual collaboration setting, the conscientiousness trait may be instrumental in creating precise structures for information sharing and knowledge retrieval through technology-mediated platforms, boosting the effectiveness of virtual TMS development. Conscientiousness may also urge an individual member to meet deadlines and follow through on tasks in a virtual setting where direct supervision may be less present. However, overly conscientious individuals may become fixated on flawless execution, hindering collaboration and innovation (Robert and Cheung, 2010 ). Research also suggests that team performance may be impeded in teams of highly diverse conscientiousness because highly conscientious members may be frustrated and irritated by working with those with lower conscientiousness (Shoss et al., 2015 ).

The next dimension, extraversion , maybe the most researched personality trait among all Big Five personality traits. This trait reflects a person’s level of sociability, talkativeness, and assertiveness. Extraverted individuals are more likely to ask questions, share information, and initiate conversations (Wilmot et al., 2019 ), fostering knowledge exchange that is crucial for TMS development. Indeed, it was found that extraversion had the greatest impact on knowledge sharing among all Big Five personality traits (Yin et al., 2023 ). Previous research has also revealed that critical team members’ assertiveness, a subdimension of the extraversion trait, facilitated TMS development and consequently improved team performance because assertive members could effectively stimulate the development of specialization, credibility, and coordination within the team (Pearsall and Ellis, 2006 ). However, overly extroverted team members may dominate discussions, hindering contributions from introverted colleagues (McCord et al., 2014 ). Further, extraverts may find it more challenging to build rapport and maintain engagement in a virtual environment where nonverbal cues are limited. In sum, when completing tasks that require frequent and extensive interpersonal interactions, such as CPS, teams composed of mostly extraverts are likely to excel (Sackett and Walmsley, 2014 ). However, the advantages of extraversion may be less pronounced in teams with highly diverse extraversion levels or those composed mainly of introverts (Wilmot et al., 2019 ).

The agreeableness trait signals an individual’s tendency to be cooperative, trusting, and helpful (Judge et al., 2002 ). Highly agreeable individuals are inclined to foster collaboration, maintain positive dynamics, and promote trust (Huang et al., 2014 ), all of which facilitate TMS development within the team. Specifically, agreeable members embrace group harmony and readily share information and expertise, creating a foundation for TMS development. Their cooperative nature and conflict-resolution skills contribute to open communication, essential for the effective operation of TMS (Neff et al., 2014 ). Further, agreeableness fosters trust, lowering the barriers to seeking and retrieving information from others within the team’s knowledge base. However, agreeableness can also present challenges. For example, overly agreeable individuals may prioritize maintaining positive relationships over task completion (Fang et al., 2015 ), which may impede the team’s ability to tackle urgent issues in a timely manner. They are more likely to shy away from difficult conversations that are sometimes crucial for finding solutions to complex problems. This limitation may be particularly salient in virtual CPS as nonverbal cues and immediate reactions are diminished, making it even harder to gauge teammates’ sentiments and even longer to achieve team cohesion. Similar to the conscientiousness trait, teams with high agreeableness diversity might experience decreased productivity. Highly agreeable members may find it challenging to navigate interactions with less agreeable teammates, potentially leading to greater agitation and more struggles.

Neuroticism , the last Big Five personality trait, indicates an individual’s susceptibility to negative emotions like anxiety, fear, and sadness. Individuals high in neuroticism are more prone to communication difficulties, as anxiety and negativity can hinder clear and effective communication, impacting team collaboration (Silvester et al., 2014 ). A tendency towards negativity can make it challenging to build trust, a crucial foundation for information sharing within a team. Further, fear of judgment or criticism might lead them to withhold valuable knowledge (Hernaus et al., 2019 ), hindering the development of TMS. The negative impact of neuroticism on TMS development and team performance may be amplified in virtual environments. The physical disconnection and limited social cues inherent in virtual work can exacerbate anxiety for those high in neuroticism (Huang et al., 2014 ). In addition, the absence of nonverbal cues can increase the risk of misinterpretations and misunderstandings, further straining communication. Finally, managing stress effectively can be harder in a virtual setting, potentially leading to decreased performance for highly neurotic individuals (Judge et al., 2002 ).

In sum, the diversity of Big Five personality traits within a team may exert potential positive and negative impacts on TMS development, thereby affecting overall team performance. In addition, an individual’s personality traits, together with the personality traits of the paired teammate, are expected to influence one’s performance outcomes in CPS settings. These dynamics are further complicated by virtual CPS as the virtual environment may hinder the full expression and perception of personality traits during communication and collaboration processes. Considering this interplay between individual personality traits and team personality diversity, this study proposes the following research questions:

RQ3 : At the team level, how is the team’s performance gain from virtual collaboration influenced by the team’s Big Five personality traits diversity?

RQ4 : At the individual level, how is a team member’s performance gain from virtual collaboration influenced by one’s own Big Five personality traits and those of the teammate?

Participants and procedures

To address these questions, this research conducted an experimental study of 377 ad hoc dyadic teams. We chose to focus on dyads instead of larger teams (i.e., teams comprised of 3 or more members) because a dyad represents the smallest team size suitable for studying expertise recognition (Littlepage and Silbiger, 1992 ), knowledge coordination (Littlepage and Silbiger, 1992 ), CPS (Xu et al., 2023 ), and TMS development (Wegner, 1986 ). Dyadic teams facilitate more focused and intimate interactions between two members, making communication dynamics easier to observe and analyze within a shorter timeframe. In contrast, larger teams introduce greater complexity with increased interpersonal dynamics, varied communication patterns, and potential role overlaps. Studying dyads allows researchers to isolate and examine specific collaboration aspects effectively, without the complexities of larger teams (Hollingshead and Poole, 2011 ). Insights gained from studying dyads can then inform understanding of collaboration mechanisms in more complex settings such as multi-person teams and organizations (Wegner et al., 1985 ).

Participants to form the dyadic teams were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. One thousand individuals were originally invited to participate in this study. Each participant was asked to complete a general science knowledge test, the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) survey, and a short survey on the participant’s basic demographic background. Then, the participants were randomly divided into 500 dyadic teams to complete an online simulation-based collaborative task. After removing those teams and individuals with incomplete responses to the general science knowledge test, personality survey, or the online collaborative task, we obtained a final dataset of 377 dyadic teams consisting of 754 individuals. Each of these individuals participated in one and only one team. Among them, 366 (49%) identified themselves as male, and the rest 388 (51%) identified themselves as female. The majority (77%) of the participants were white, 8% were black, 7% were Hispanic, 6% were Asian, and the rest 2% were American Indian or Pacific Islander. Regarding the language background, 98% of the participants were native English speakers, and 2% were non-native English speakers. The self-reported age of the participants ranged from 18 to 68, with 70% between 18 and 35, 29% between 35 and 60, and 1% older than 60. All participants indicated that they had at least 2 years of college education per our recruitment requirement.

The virtual CPS task assigned to each team involved an online simulation-based task in the domain of general science (a sample screenshot is shown in Fig. 1 ). Similar to the study by Littlepage et al. ( 2008 ), this research designed a eureka-type intellective task, where dyadic teams were instructed to provide uncontroversial, correct answers to thought-provoking questions. However, unlike previous studies, this task was conducted entirely virtually in our study. In this simulation, virtual collaboration between dyadic team members was exclusively conducted through online synchronous text chat. Team members chatted with each other to complete a general science knowledge quiz focused on volcanoes, answering a series of seven questions. This method of online, text-based collaboration has been utilized in prior research involving simulated problem-solving (Kanawattanachai and Yoo, 2007 ). Compared to communication modes with greater media richness and social presence, such as videoconferencing, text-based communication can reduce the pressure and distractions stemming from social and non-verbal cues, enabling participants to concentrate more on task-related content and discussions (Oviedo and Fox Tree, 2021 ). Moreover, text chat provides a detailed record of conversations, allowing teams to easily revisit prior discussions, track decisions and actions, and monitor progress. This enhances accountability and facilitates knowledge sharing within the team. Additionally, text-based communication requires less bandwidth and technical expertise compared to videoconferencing, making it more accessible and easier to implement for research purposes, especially in laboratory settings (Hollingshead and Poole, 2011 ). Instead of using pre-existing teams, this study recruited participants, who may be strangers to each other, to form ad hoc teams for the CPS task, which is a common practice, especially in experiments and assessments on CPS skills (Xu et al., 2023 ). In our task, participants were assigned screen names for the collaborative task and were not encouraged to disclose their real identities to each other. Randomly assembled teams minimize the effects of potential confounding factors and the impacts of differences in previous collaboration experiences on the new task.

Screenshot of virtual CPS task.

Individual expertness

Before beginning the CPS task, each team member underwent a preliminary knowledge assessment by completing a general science knowledge test comprising a composite inventory of 37 multiple-choice questions. These questions were adapted from the Scientific Literacy Measurement (SLiM) instrument (Hao et al., 2017 ). This method of using a composite inventory to measure team members’ expertness level is a similar approach to how domain-specific expertise was measured in past research (Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ). Each team member’s test score in this test indicates the level of expertness of this member in the general domain of science. All participants’ test scores ranged from 0 to 36 (mean = 27.40 and median = 29). The reliability of this test measured by Cronbach α was 0.89, which indicated an acceptable level of internal consistency among all question items. The distribution of all participants’ expertness levels, measured by their general science knowledge test scores, is shown in Fig. 2 .

Distribution of individual expertness levels (general science knowledge test scores) ( N = 754).

To classify a team member’s expertness level, we divided each participant’s general science knowledge test score into two categories: High-expertness (H) and Low-expertness (L), based on the median value of all participants’ scores. If a team member’s test score exceeded the sample median of 29, s/he was classified as High-expertness (H); if a team member’s test score equaled or fell below 29, s/he was classified as Low-expertness (L). This dichotomization process resulted in 446 individuals labeled as L and 308 individuals labeled as H in terms of their expertness levels within the general domain of science. Next, for each individual embedded in a dyadic team, s/he can be assigned into one of four possible categories in reference to her/his teammate’s expertness levels: H collaborating with H (labeled as HwH), H collaborating with L (labeled as HwL), L collaborating with H (LwH), and L collaborating with L (labeled as LwL).

Expertness diversity

Previous research has measured expertness diversity by computing the standard deviation (Martins et al., 2013 ) or variation (Lee et al., 2022 ) of participants’ expertness scores in a given knowledge domain. However, we contend that this approach might only capture the absolute degree of expertness diversity while overlooking the nuanced distinction between two possible scenarios in teams exhibiting low degrees of expertness diversity: where all team members possess either high or low levels of expertness. Therefore, we decided to treat expertness diversity as a categorical variable rather than a continuous variable. In this way, we are able to discern whether teams with low expertness diversity consist of members with predominantly high or low expertness levels.

In our study, when a dyadic team was composed of a member with H level of expertness and a member with L level of expertness, this team was coded to have a high degree of expertness diversity. When a team consisted of two members who both had H levels of expertness or L levels of expertness, this team was coded to have a low degree of expertness diversity. Among the 377 teams, 134 teams had low degrees of expertness diversity with both members being low-expertness (labeled as LL), 65 teams had low degrees of expertness diversity with both members being high-expertness (labeled as HH), and 178 teams had high degrees of expertness diversity (labeled as LH) comprising a high-expertness and a low-expertness member. The distribution of team members’ expertness levels and their expertness diversity within the team are summarized in Table 1 .

Big Five personality traits and personality traits diversity

To measure each participant’s Big Five personality traits, we used the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) test (Gosling et al., 2003 ). This test included 10 question items on a 5-point Likert scale (ranging from 0—Extremely disagree to 5—Extremely agree ). The TIPI test assessed each category of the Big Five personality traits using two opposite items: one standard item and one reverse-scored item. The final measurement of each personality trait was the mean of the standard item and the reverse-scored item after recoding.

The distribution of all participants’ Big Five personality traits scores is shown in Fig. 3 . The highest frequencies of the responses for four of the Big Five personality traits (except for “extraversion”) were around 4 (“ Agree ”), which was also the median of these four traits. For extraversion, the median was 2.5 (between “ Disagree ” and “ Neither agree nor disagree ”). Similar to the measurement of individual expertness, for each of the five personality traits, we used the median of all participants’ test scores to classify each team member as either High (H) or Low (L) in that particular personality trait category. Next, each individual was categorized into one of four possible compositions based on the individual’s and her/his teammate’s personality traits: High collaborating with High (labeled as HwH), High collaborating with Low (labeled as HwL), Low collaborating with High (LwH), and Low collaborating with Low (labeled as LwL).

Distribution of Big Five personality traits ( N = 754).

Within each Big Five personality trait (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism), dyadic teams with one member scoring H and the other L were coded as having high personality diversity for that specific trait. Conversely, teams, where both members scored either H or L were coded as having low personality diversity for that trait. The distribution of individual participants’ Big Five personality traits and the diversity of teams’ Big Five personality traits are summarized in Table 1 .

Individual and team performance gain from virtual collaboration

We implemented a computerized system to measure the performance change resulting from virtual collaboration (i.e. the difference between task performance before and after virtual collaboration). First, the system asked each team member to answer the seven science task questions individually and graded their individual responses against correct answers. These graded individual responses were denoted as the initial score by the system but were not made available to the participants. Then, the system instructed team members to collaborate with each other by sharing and discussing their answers through the online text chat. Each team was asked to decide on a final response after their virtual collaboration. Subsequently, each team member was asked to submit a revised response individually if s/he wanted to change her/his initial response (graded and denoted as the revised score by the system). Finally, one of the team members was randomly chosen by the system to submit the team answer upon which both members agreed (graded and denoted as the team representative score by the system). In this study, we focused on the initial and revised scores because we observed that most of the team representative scores were identical to the team members’ revised scores. Based on the initial and revised scores for each question, we developed the following variables to measure individual- and team-level performance gain from virtual collaboration, which were used as dependent variables in the subsequent data analysis.

At the team level, we first computed the team's initial score by summing up the initial scores of all question items responded to by both team members in a team prior to virtual collaboration. Then, we computed the team score change by subtracting the sum of the team's initial scores from the sum of the revised scores of all question items. A positive value of the team score change indicated the team level performance gain from virtual collaboration, whereas a negative value of the team score change indicated the team level performance loss as a result of virtual collaboration.

At the individual level, we first computed the individual initial score by summing up a team member’s initial scores of all question items prior to virtual collaboration. Then we computed the individual score change by subtracting an individual member’s initial scores of all questions from this member’s revised scores. A positive value of the individual score change indicated the individual performance gain from virtual collaboration, whereas a negative value of the individual score change indicated the individual performance loss as a result of virtual collaboration.

Both RQ1 and RQ3 inquire how team-level characteristics, namely the team’s expertness diversity (RQ1) and Big Five personality traits diversity (RQ2), could influence team performance gain from virtual collaboration. To address these two questions concurrently, we ran ANCOVAs with the team score change as the dependent variable. The independent variables were the team expertness diversity and Big Five personality traits diversity. We also added the team's initial score as a covariate variable to control for the effect of each team’s initial performance. For the variable that was found to be statically significant in the ANCOVA results, we ran the post-hoc Tukey’s Test to assess the statistical differences among the three subgroups (i.e. HH, LH, and LL) regarding the team performance gain from virtual collaboration.

RQ2 investigates how a team member’s performance gain from virtual collaboration can be influenced by one’s own expertness level and that of the teammate. Likewise, RQ4 explores how a team member’s performance gain from virtual collaboration can be affected by one’s own Big Five personality traits and those of the teammate. To answer these two questions concurrently, we ran ANCOVAs with the individual score change as the dependent variable. The independent variables included an individual member’s expertness and Big Five personality traits. We also added the individual initial score as a covariate variable to control for the effect of an individual member’s initial performance. For the variable that was found to be statistically significant in the ANCOVA results, we ran the post-hoc Tukey’s test to further test the differences among four different subgroups (i.e. HwH, HwL, LwH, and LwL) regarding the individual’s performance gain from virtual collaboration.

Team performance gain from virtual collaboration

Table 2 summarizes the ANCOVA results to address RQ1 and RQ3. After controlling for the effect of the team's initial score ( p < 0.05), the team expertness diversity and the agreeableness personality trait diversity remained significant predictors of the team score change . Further, the post-hoc Tukey’s test results (presented in Fig. 4 ) showed that teams with a high degree of expertness diversity (labeled as LH) had significantly greater score changes than teams with low degrees of expertness diversity (both HH and LL teams). In addition, teams composed of two members who both had low agreeableness traits (LL in agreeableness) had the greatest score changes compared with the other two types of teams (HH and LH in agreeableness).

a Expertness diversity and score changes; ( b ) Agreeableness diversity and score changes.

Individual performance gain from virtual collaboration

Table 3 summarizes the ANCOVA results to address RQ2 and RQ4. After controlling for the effect of the individual initial score , the individual team member’s expertness level remained the significant predictor of the individual score change . Further, the post-hoc Tukey’s test results (presented in Fig. 5 ) showed that low-expertness individuals had the greatest score changes when collaborating with a high-expertness teammate (labeled as Lw/H). However, the pairwise differences in individual score changes among the other three groups (Hw/L, Lw/L, and Hw/H) were not significant. The agreeableness personality trait was significant in the full model, but all subgroup comparisons were not significant in the post-hoc Tukey’s test and thus were not reported nor included for further discussion.

Individual-level comparison based on post-hoc Tukey’s test results.

This study applies and integrates TMS theory and the Big Five personality traits model to uncover the potential benefits of virtual collaboration within dyadic teams. At the team level, it investigates the impact of a team’s expertness diversity and diversity in Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism) on the team’s performance gained from virtual collaboration. At the individual level, the study examines how a team member’s performance gain from virtual collaboration is affected by one’s own expertness level and Big Five personality traits as well as those of the teammate. This research conducted an experimental study, analyzing 377 dyadic teams comprising 754 individuals engaged in a virtual CPS activity, namely an online simulation-based collaborative task. The results revealed that dyadic teams characterized by high expertness diversity, encompassing members with high and low levels of expertness, exhibit greater performance gains from virtual collaboration compared to teams with low expertness diversity, where both members had either low or high levels of expertness. Moreover, teams with low diversity in agreeableness, consisting of members who both had low levels of agreeableness, experienced the most substantial performance improvement from virtual collaboration, surpassing teams whose members both had high levels of agreeableness and teams with high diversity in agreeableness. Finally, at the individual level, a team member with a lower level of expertness who collaborated with a high-expertness partner demonstrated the most significant performance enhancement in virtual collaboration.

Theoretical implications

Through the lens of differentiated and integrated TMS structures, traditional TMS scholarship primarily examines how team expertise is dispersed across different knowledge domains and how such inter-domain expertise diversity affects team performance (Gupta, 2012 ; Gupta and Hollingshead, 2010 ; Iannone et al., 2017 ). However, the distribution of expertise within the same knowledge domain and the impact of intra-domain expertise diversity on team performance remain largely unexplored. Adopting the expertness diversity perspective (Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ), this study extends TMS research by examining how varying degrees of expertness diversity in a given knowledge domain could influence team performance change in virtual CPS settings. Contrary to previous research suggesting a negative correlation between expertness diversity and team performance (Lee et al., 2022 ), our findings reveal the positive effects of expertness diversity on team performance enhancement in virtual CPS environments. Moreover, addressing previous concerns that high-expertness team members might be unwilling to assist those with lower expertness levels (Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ), our study finds that pairing low-expertness members with high-expertness counterparts results in significant performance improvements in virtual collaboration. This finding suggests that high-expertness members may indeed be inclined to offer their expertise to help those with lower levels of knowledge when collaborating with each other to solve intellective tasks. Our study also extends prior work, which predominantly involved student participants who had existing collaborative relationships (Martins et al., 2013 ; Van der Vegt et al., 2006 ), by demonstrating that expertness diversity can enhance team performance in ad hoc CPS teams where members have not previously collaborated.

Although our research did not focus on the direct effects of differentiated and integrated TMS structures on virtual CPS performance improvement, prior studies on related topics provide valuable insights to support our findings. Previous TMS research has emphasized that both differentiated and integrated TMS structures can enhance team collaboration, albeit through distinct mechanisms and in varying task settings. For instance, teams operating with an integrated TMS structure tend to outperform those with a differentiated TMS when engaging in intellective tasks, whereas teams with a differentiated TMS structure tend to leverage the unique information possessed by individual members more effectively (Gupta and Hollingshead, 2010 ). Additionally, a differentiated TMS may facilitate centralized information-seeking, particularly when specialized expertise is required (Yan et al., 2021 ). These studies provide a relevant rationale for understanding the findings observed in our research. Indeed, all teams participating in the current study were required to complete an intellective CPS task, specifically to identify a single, correct answer to a series of quiz questions focused on a particular domain of science. Consequently, the differentiation in expertness levels between team members necessitated the low-expertness member’s active pursuit and utilization of the expertise held by the high-expertness member. In turn, the high-expertness member has the opportunity to solidify and refine her/his own understanding of the problem by explaining concepts and correcting misconceptions during the discussion and decision-making process. This reciprocal learning dynamic (Jokisch et al., 2020 ) likely contributed to the overall significant performance gains observed in their virtual collaboration.

As evidenced in our experimental design and analysis results, when team members collaborated with each other on a virtual platform without in-person, face-to-face interactions, they still engaged in expertise coordination and information exchange to achieve collaborative outcomes. This finding resonates with social information processing theory (Walther, 1992 ) that suggests individuals are able and motivated to compensate for the loss or reduction of non-verbal cues in virtual CPS settings by exchanging and processing remaining information cues such as language content and style characteristics. As shown in this study, although team members were deprived of rich communication channels such as face-to-face and audio/video-based communication (Fonner and Roloff, 2012 ), team members exhibited adeptness in adjusting their relational behaviors to effectively utilize textual cues to accomplish their collaborative tasks.

Finally, this research contributes to the Big Five personality scholarship by offering empirical evidence of the linkage between the diverse composition (or lack thereof) of the Big Five personality traits of team members and their performance gains from virtual collaboration. Echoing prior research findings that the agreeableness personality trait (Barrick and Mount, 1993 ) and the diversity of team agreeableness (Mohammed and Angell, 2003 ) could hinder team performance, our study revealed that teams whose members were both low in agreeableness benefited the most from virtual collaboration compared with teams whose members were both highly agreeable and teams whose members had diverse agreeableness levels. This finding may be explained by the prediction that low agreeableness can be associated with assertiveness and a strong desire to achieve goals (Fang et al., 2015 ). In a virtual CPS setting where social cues are limited, low agreeableness may lead to a more focused and efficient work style, with less time spent on pleasantries or social niceties. In addition, lower agreeableness can lead to more direct communication, which can be crucial in virtual settings to avoid misunderstandings or delays due to unclear communication (Huang et al., 2014 ). Moreover, when team members are uniformly and highly agreeable, they are less likely to confront and challenge each other. Also, in teams where members have diverse levels of agreeableness, although the less agreeable ones may take aggressive or argumentative actions, the more agreeable ones would strive for harmony by staying silent or compliant. Both situations can foster groupthink (McCauley, 1998 ), a phenomenon characterized by the suppression of critical inquiries and dissenting viewpoints. Consequently, there are limited opportunities for the exchange of creative ideas and critical thinking, which are essential for collaborative problem-solving (Hao et al., 2017 ).

Practical implications

Besides demonstrating the value of using both TMS theory and Big Five personality traits models to understand virtual team dynamics, this study also offers practical guidance for improving team performance and informing managerial practices. One of the primary implications of this research is that expertness diversity (i.e., intra-domain expertise differentiation) is equally advantageous for team performance improvement as expertise diversity (i.e., inter-domain expertise differentiation). Hence, for those organizations and teams that rely on a single or limited knowledge domain for CPS, they can and should harness the benefits of expertness diversity. When forming virtual teams to complete intellective collaborative tasks, the management should strategically compose teams by pairing individuals with high and low levels of expertness. For example, in a project team developing an AI application, a Senior AI Engineer leads the design of complex algorithms and system architecture while mentoring a Junior AI Developer. The Junior Developer assists with coding and testing, freeing the Senior Engineer to tackle more advanced problems. This dynamic benefits both: the Junior Developer gains experience, and the Senior Engineer reinforces her/his knowledge through mentorship. This mix of high and low expertness ensures efficient resource use, innovation, and project success.

Aligned with recommendations from Van der Vegt et al. ( 2006 ), we encourage organizations to establish structured mentorship programs in which high-expertness members are assigned as formal mentors to less-expertness members. Organizations should provide incentives for high-expertness mentors to actively share their expertise and offer guidance to mentees. This could involve recognition programs, training opportunities, or other forms of appreciation for their contribution to team development. Furthermore, this research suggests that teams with low agreeableness may benefit more from virtual collaboration. This highlights the potential advantages of strategically assigning less agreeable members to work in the virtual team, especially where groupthink is present and critical thinking is desired. However, the management should be mindful that individuals scoring low in agreeableness may be more prone to conflicts or disagreements. Thus, organization and team leaders should proactively implement conflict resolution strategies and foster an environment that encourages open communication and constructive feedback among team members. This approach can help alleviate potential conflicts among less agreeable members and bridge potential divides between highly agreeable and less agreeable colleagues.

Limitations and future directions

This research has several limitations that should be addressed in future research. First, the experimental design took place in a highly constrained context (i.e., ad hoc teams with two randomly assigned team members who communicated through text chat for a duration of ~50 min to complete an online simulation-based task). The dyadic composition of the team, text-only communication, short duration of the collaboration process, and simulation of the collaborative task are all very likely to limit the generalizability of this study to understanding how real-world teams work. For example, the effects of TMS development (such as expertise recognition and knowledge retrieval) and the Big Five personality traits might not have had sufficient time to unfold during the short span of virtual collaboration. Future research should examine more natural and mature collaboration settings for an extensive period of time to fully uncover the short- and long-term impacts of TMS development and personality traits on collaborative performance. Additionally, further studies are needed to go beyond dyadic teams and explore how these dynamics play out and influence CPS outcomes in larger, multi-person teams.

Second, this research measured task performance by grading participants’ responses to seven multiple-choice questions only. The small number and limited type of questions rendered less room for performance improvement among the teams participating in our study. Therefore, future research should develop more sophisticated and multidimensional instruments to assess individual and team performance with greater accuracy and the ability to capture subtle variations.

Third, this study focuses on the effects of two prominent individual attributes, namely expertness and personality traits, on virtual CPS outcomes. However, we excluded other personal attributes, such as demographic data, from our analysis. While prior research showed that TMS processes (particularly intra-team coordination) had a greater impact on team effectiveness than demographics such as gender and social-economic status (Michinov et al., 2008 ), other studies highlighted the importance of team members’ demographic properties, such as gender composition (Iannone et al., 2017 ), cultural backgrounds (Yoon and Hollingshead, 2010 ), and demographic similarity (e.g., racial and gender homophily) (Keith et al., 2017 ), on TMS development and team performance. Therefore, future research should continue to explore the influence of a wider range of personal attributes, including demographic, personality, psychological, and behavioral factors, on TMS development and work performance in virtual CPS settings.

Finally, the current study does not include the communication content (text-chat) data in the analysis. Though discourse analysis has been previously deployed to provide substantive insights into team members’ collaborative behaviors (Andrews et al., 2017 ), more research is needed to fully delineate how TMS development, expertness diversity, and personality traits influence collaborative outcomes by examining the content generated and shared throughout the collaboration processes.

The landscape of collaboration among team members has undergone significant transformation in recent years, driven largely by the global pandemic. This shift has prompted scholars to emphasize the importance of investigating the factors that influence virtual collaboration, spanning from its antecedents to its outcomes, across both experimental and real-world work environments (Jiang et al., 2023 ; O’Bryan et al., 2022 ). As evidenced in the present study, the interplay of team members’ expertness and Big Five personality traits plays a crucial role in shaping collaborative outcomes. Moving forward, enhancing our understanding of individual and team performance in CPS settings will require the integration of diverse theoretical frameworks and the adoption of innovative methodological approaches.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available because when participants signed the informed consent, they specifically agreed to the term that their responses will not be made publicly available.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFF0901600), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62177044), and the USTC Research Funds of the Double First-Class Initiative (FSSF-A-240110).

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Zhu, M., Su, C., Hao, J. et al. Who benefits from virtual collaboration? The interplay of team member expertness and Big Five personality traits. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11 , 1212 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03678-y

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7 Strategies for Better Group Decision-Making

Torben Emmerling
Duncan Rooders

What we’ve learned from behavioral science.

There are upsides and downsides to making decisions in a group. The main risks include falling into groupthink or other biases that will distort the process and the ultimate outcome. But bringing more minds together to solve a problem has its advantages. To make use of those upsides and increase the chances your team will land on a successful solution, the authors recommend using seven strategies, which have been backed by behavioral science research: Keep the group small, especially when you need to make an important decision. Bring a diverse group together. Appoint a devil’s advocate. Collect opinions independently. Provide a safe space to speak up. Don’t over-rely on experts. And share collective responsibility for the outcome.

When you have a tough business problem to solve, you likely bring it to a group. After all, more minds are better than one, right? Not necessarily. Larger pools of knowledge are by no means a guarantee of better outcomes. Because of an over-reliance on hierarchy, an instinct to prevent dissent, and a desire to preserve harmony, many groups fall into groupthink .

Torben Emmerling is the founder and managing partner of Affective Advisory and the author of the D.R.I.V.E.® framework for behavioral insights in strategy and public policy. He is a founding member and nonexecutive director on the board of the Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists ( GAABS ) and a seasoned lecturer, keynote speaker, and author in behavioral science and applied consumer psychology.
DR Duncan Rooders is the CEO of a Single Family Office and a strategic advisor to Affective Advisory . He is a former B747 pilot, a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management program. He is the founder of Behavioural Science for Business (BSB) and an advisor to several international organizations in strategic and team decision-making.”, and a consultant to several international organizations in strategic and financial decision making.

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