Team Building Activities & Exercises

Group Mandala
Description of a Group Dynamics Exercise
Group Mandala

• Allows symbolic exploration of group structure and

dynamics, and revealing of personal feelings towards
others
• Each person is represented by an object they choose themselves; objects are
then "caste" like dice
• Each person then shares how he or she feels about the position in which his
or her object has landed (uses psychoanalytic technique of "projection")
• Through various rounds, participants get to modify/adjust the position of
their object until each individual is satisfied with where they sit in relation
to the other objects (group members)
• Logistically, a simple activity; facilitation-wise, a potentially difficult and
challenging activity; lots of potential for subtle and deep group work
• Group sizes of approximately 7 to 9 are ideal, but can be done with as few
as 5 or as many as 12.

Equipment: Each group member to select one personal object or an object from
nature, to represent themselves

Time: ~30-40 minutes

Background Information for Group Mandala

Acknowledgements: This exercise has been adapted from an exercise facilitated by

Chris Loynes at the 10th National Outdoor Education Conference, 1997, in Perth,
Western Australia and subsequent personal advice. Chris attributes his learning of
the learning to Roger Greenaway who provided me with some excellent
information about a similar activity he calls �Stones� and a related activity called
�Human Sculpture�

Psychodynamics & Personal Objects: My intention in developing this particular

adaptation was to use it in an outdoor education graduate seminar class to facilitate
within group communication and interpersonal understanding, and to stimulate
discussion about psychodynamic theory in outdoor education settings.
The most obvious psychodynamic principle at work is the notion of "projection",
although this is a psychologically complex activity that is likely to elicit several
other observable psychodynamic processes (such as ego states and interpersonal
transactions). The group had in the previous week been introduced to background
readings about psychodynamic theory and had been challenged to think about
possible ways this theory might be seen at applicable to outdoor education.
Students were requested to bring a small, non-fragile object of personal
significance to the class. Note that the selection of personal objects of significance
for the exercise is likely to bring into play the history of psychological association
and meaning that individuals have attached and invested the object with. Thus the
decision to include these objects immediately heightens the level of psychological
investment. Using objects of personal significance comes with associated risks and
liabilities of course and requires an appropriately supportive and trusting
atmosphere, so use this feature carefully. Using personal objects can make for a
�weightier� and more sobered session than might be the case when using readily
available objects in the immediate environment.
Surprisingly little has been written in the psychological literature about the
psychology of objects. Possibly the key text is still Jung�s �Man and His
Symbols�, along with a relatively recent book by Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-
Halton, �The meaning of things: Domestic symbols and the self� which states in
the preface:
�To understand what people are and what they might become, one must
understand what goes on between people and things. What things are cherished,
and why, should become part of our knowledge of human beings. Yet it is
surprising how little we know about what things mean to people. By and large
social scientists have neglected a full investigation of the relationship between
people and objects.�
Roger Greenaway made a useful suggestion here that
�it may be tricky to move from here to group dynamics if, say, someone brings a
photo of their boyfriend, another a family photograph, another a tiny piece of
jewellery, another a goldfish in a jar ... So each person may like to have the option
of choosing a new object when switching into group dynamics that is more
representative of their image or role within the group.�
Interesting effects might be obtained by instead bringing a lot of set of objects from
which participants can select.
Also note that before the activity, give the group the extra instruction that their
object will be subject to group activity, some of which will be beyond each of their
personal control, and that they will therefore lose a certain amount of control over
their object. So if they wish they should select an alternative object for the
activity. Usually peope do not take up the offer, but usually someone has forgotten
to bring an object. In this case, they should use something handy, e.g., something
from their bag or wallet, or a watch or pen.
What is a Mandala?:
Mandala is Sanskrit for circle, polygon, community, and connection. The The
Concise Macquarie Dictionary defines mandala as
�a mystic symbol of the universe, in the form of a circle enclosing a square; used
chiefly by the Hindus and Buddhists as an aid to meditation�.
Mandalas, however, need not be so narrowly defined. A Google Image Search for
Mandala reveals many traditional and contemporary mandala designs, several of
which go beyond a circle enclosing a square. What seems to tie them together is
their patterned interconnectedness.
By the way, I don't share the title for the activity with the students until afterwards,
or possibly at all. By leaving it nameless, it can help emphasize the discovery of
meaning via intricate patterns and interconnectedness, both conscious and
unconscious, that seems to form even in the most rudimentary of group structures.

Description of Group Mandala

Each of these steps should be revealed one by one. This helps to enhance the
unknowness of the activity (and therefore, any experienced meaning is largely
socially constructed by participants themselves).

Also note, the facilitator should consider whether or not participate in the group -
either way can be appropriate or not, depending on the nature of the group and the
facilitator.

1. Participants in a group select a small object. The object can be anything,

from anywhere: e.g., an object of personal significance or collected from the
outdoors
2. Standing in a circle, ask a participant for their hat (or use some other
container).
3. Place your object in the hat, and pass the hat on to the next person who does
the same.
4. Caste the objects, with some care, some randomness (like rolling dice) (may
use casting mat, e.g., a sarong or coat, particularly if using personally
significant objects). Try to use the floor rather than a table.
5. Ask people to look at the objects and then take turns sharing how they feel
about the place of their object in relation to the other objects in the group.
6. One-by-one then go around in a circle and have each person move his/her
object to a new position, explaining to the group why it feels more
comfortable for their object to be in this different place.
7. Ask the group to discuss and collective create (move/shift) their objects into
an ideal arrangement.
8. Debrief: What do you think of this activity? Why?
9. What happened in this group during this activity from a Psychodynamic
perspective?

Facilitator Notes

Participants could bring a surprising variety of objects, for example an engagement

ring, a pocket knife, a stone bearing the inscription �inspiration�, a teddy bear,
necklaces and rings, trinkets, and so on. Initially I did not ask students to initially
describe the significance of their objects � not asking this obvious question can
heighten the sense of mystery and suspense in the activity. By the end of the
activity, the students responded favourably and more richly to an earlier hint that
we might close the activity by sharing with others the personal significance
associated with the object. This provided a deep, satisfying sense of closing to the
activity.
Overall, the exercise works well, but it can be a challenge initially to process as
there is often some resistance and anxiety associated with the apparent open-
endedness of the activity.