Dana was our host this month and brought a game of her own creation – Fear in the Workplace. In this interactive game, the participants draw a “ClassifyMe” card that has a quote that hints at an underlying fear the speaker may have. The group’s goal is to match the statement with the most likely fear or fears that are driving this person to think this way.
Our group used a Mural board with the ClassifyMe cards and Fears/Fear Symptoms laid out. This group works best in small groups and is set up for breakouts to allow for deeper discussion between group members.
Our group’s first ClassifyMe card was “I am not the expert, I better wait and hand it off to them.” and we assigned the following possible Fears and Fear Symptoms to this statement:
- Insecurity
- Risk Avoidance
- Fear of Lack of Expertise
- Fear of Unclear Role Boundaries
- Fear of Failure
- Fear of Losing My Job
There is no “right” answer here – just some possible assumptions for a coach or another team member to uncover. Next, we were tasked with identifying a few Safety Practices that can be used to help allay fears and promote a more psychologically safe team. Below are a few examples of our work on other ClassifyMe cards at various points in the game.
This game was a great way to get a group identifying and talking about their own fears and how they might address them. Big thanks to Dana for facilitating our group through this great game!
Materials from the session:
Fear in the Workplace Card Deck: The Game Crafter
Recording of the session: