To hate icebreakers

One thing I will say is that responses to icebreakers can be revealing about the type of person/employee someone is. For good or for bad, it's very exposing. Refusal to participate can be a strong signal that someone isn't suitable for a particular job/promotion

You mean the person isn't enough of a people pleaser and won't put up with corporate guff. You may well be right about the signal.

I remember having to do a silly activity as part of a teambuilding activity and the people running the workshop got super-aggressive with me when I didn't want to do it. They were external people but the job/company weren't right for me.

I really like this as you are giving people advance warning and a chance to think about their answer rather than blurt out something stupid that gets brought up at work parties for the next 5 years. As someone whose brain frequently produces utter turnips when put on the spot, this is something I'd appreciate!

Once I had to do an ice breaker (not actually work related) where the facilitator asked us our favourite food, my brain went "just the last thing you had" so I said "codeine" not trying to be clever, just genuinely a symptom of the way my brain works. I was mortified, but if someone had just pre warned me I could've given a very reasonable answer. Yes this might be symptomatic of my suitability for certain high pressured jobs, which is why I don't work in a field like that.....

Put it this way - if I'm in a job where I feel the people I work with are wilfully wasting my time, then I doubt I would consider that to be a good job, or one that I want to stay in. Equally if the message I send to my boss is that they're wasting my time, they probably won't think I'm a good fit either.

If the person thinks the activity set is pointless then chances are the company or the role isn't right for them. That's up to them to decide. But just refusing to participate generally doesn't send the message that they're in the right role.

The expectation is that in their role the candidate will participate in any activity that's set, regardless of how intrusive, wasteful or pointless?

Blimey.

I'd rather recruit or promote people who have a bit of critical thinking, who have some boundaries, who have some backbone to pushback, who are able to spot bullshit exercise for what they are.

I’ve done a management light training course and I believe the purpose is to “make” everyone say something at the start of a meeting, because people are then more likely to speak up during the meeting. Which makes good sense to a manager or team leader who is actually keen on getting opinions and questions from the group and don’t want only the besserwissers, moaners or impulse control challenged to be talking.

Knowing that helped me look at the icebreakers more kindly anyway!

The expectation is that the person will participate in the activity.

Where what's part of their role? Sharing personal information about themselves, their family, their hobbies?
What kind of job is this where that would be a daily expectation?

In general, maybe, but in the context of a work situation where this is part of their role, unlikely. If the person thinks the task is beneath them or shouldn't be part of their job then the strong signal they're sending is that the role isn't for them.

Could just as well be a signal that they're unlikely to be strongarmed into irrelevant or wasteful busywork for the sake of appearances, and are less susceptible to bullshit and groupthink.

Totally agree with this. When I've endured these kinds of activities, the people who relished it and dived in with enthusiasm were usually bullshitters who talked the talk but were shit in the classroom.

Could just as well be a signal that they're unlikely to be strongarmed into irrelevant or wasteful busywork for the sake of appearances, and are less susceptible to bullshit and groupthink.

Tell them the most outrageous lies, to a point where people will be afraid to speak to you again.

😆

Answer to 1st question is always “ I hate doing this shit “

We you brought up in Scotland by any chance?

Me - 1970s by a very domineering narcissistic mother who ruled every part of my life - even after I was married and had left home.

This sounds great

I once went to a workshop where we had to think of our department as a human body and then say what part of the body we thought we were and why.

It was a bit cringe but basically fine until one of my colleagues - who had an office in the basement - described himself as the clitoris because he was fun but hard to find 😅

I loathe them. I was tasked with running a team away day. I was told that an icebreaker in some form must be included.

So, I asked all 20 participants to bring along the name and/or photo of a well known person/character that they like/think is similar to them and place it in their group envelope. Swapped the envelopes and the groups had to match the person/character to the team member. Then a quick line on why your character/person.

It worked really well and the feedback was good. Still not totally sold on the whole idea of icebreakers though.

So what would be an example of a good icebreaker, rather than a shit question? I’ve definitely seen lots of the latter!

Last "ice breaker" I had was "tell us something you hate" I replied "Ice breakers"

They have a place, but shouldn’t be considered seriously. They are about breaking silence, discovering the atmosphere, finding out what types of people you have in the room.

If you lead training, knowing where the extroverts are and where the enthusiasts are is really helpful. You might not want them all in one group- or you might if you want to hear from the quieter people.

Some people are handy to call on to start a conversation because you can see they’ll respond and set up an Aunt Sally for you.

@ViaRia01 now as much as I am at the "don't care what others think" stage of life - that one is a step to far.
Eww.

EVERYONE hates icebreakers! I really dont know why trainers insist on using them as they cause so much stress (ironically).

It is very odd.

These things cause so much anxiety among so many people and so many professional “people” people seem not to have got the memo.

I think the world of work generally is very bad at reading the room on stuff like this. A large number of people suffer from anxiety and find this sort of thing intolerable. I do think sometimes people need to be coaxed out of their shells and people can’t simply refuse to engage but this is a fast way to make shy and awkward people retreat into themselves.

Agree, icebreakers can be awful.

The worst one I was subjected to began with “ok, everyone take a piece of paper and write on it a number (so far so good)…. to show the number of squares of toilet paper you use when you’ve done a wee”

I was brought up never to appear "forward" or "bold" or promote myself in any shape or form so I am crap at interviews.

So was I and so am I.