Activity-Team Building - Sheep and Shepherd

Overview 

Each shepherd needs to guide his/her group of blind sheep into the pen using  only a whistle. This is a challenging team building activity where each team needs to come up with a very good plan to be able to communicate non-verbally.

Time  25 Minutes

Tools/Items required

Blindfolds for the ‘Sheep’ , Whistle for the ‘Shepherd’

Set up 

• Split the participants into sub groups
• One person in your group will be selected as a shepherd.
• The remainder of the group will be sheep and will be blindfolded.
• The sheep will be individually led (already blindfolded) to various points in the immediate area and left there.
• A ‘pen’ area will be marked out (not necessarily near the shepherd).
• Identify the shepherd
• Brief the whole group away from the area – 10mins preparation time.
• Take the whole group to the edge of the area.  Blindfold the ‘sheep’ and lead them to various points around the pen area.  Disorientate the sheep.
• Stand the shepherd away from the pen.
• Begin the time and re-iterate ‘No verbal communication’.
• Trainers should watch for safety and use ‘STOP’ if difficulties arise.

Rules 

• The shepherd must guide the sheep into the pen.
• No verbal communication after the preparation phase.
• Sheep must not remove blindfolds until the end of the exercise.
• The shepherd cannot move.
• The shepherd must remain in their original position away from the pen and not ‘touch’ any sheep.
• The shepherd can only communicate with a whistle.  The sheep can only return communications without verbal communication.
• 10 minutes maximum for the briefing and preparation phase.
• 25 minutes in total for both the planning and the retrieval/penning phase.

Safety

Trainers will oversee the activity and watch for delegates getting into difficulty.  If a trainer shouts ‘STOP’ all must stop until the trainer has sorted out the situation.

What’s the point from this activity?

For each  team to be able to complete this challenge successfully , they will need to come up with a very efficient communication plan  between them . They will need to be very creative and come up with and agree on a plan together and execute it successfully to enable their ‘shepherd’ to successfully guide them into their designated pen without any verbal communication and using only the whistle .

Goodluck!