We’re sorry, the Tower Building Exercise has been discontinued.

Use the Tower Building Exercise® give participants first-hand experience of how management style affects the performance of a team.  Use it to help:

• identify and address problem areas in a group that has recently gone through change
• enhance management development programs

This test provides the answers you need to make informed decisions.

Want more information about this test?  Get it now.  Please REQUEST MORE INFO and we’ll reply promptly.

Not the perfect fit?  No problem.  We have many similar tests to choose from.  See alternatives in the LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT SKILLS and TEAMWORK category section of our site.

Our research shows that good leadership can radically improve bottom line performance. This exercise shows leadership in action, really helping the message to hit home. It gives participants a chance to think about what makes a great leader – it provides rich data about leadership behavior and its impact.

Use the tower building exercise to:

• identify and address problem areas in a group that has recently gone through change
• enhance management development programs
• provide a bigger picture of managerial behavior and impact alongside other managerial style and organizational climate tools (our surveys or workbooks).

Why choose the tower building exercise (TBE)?

This exercise gives participants first-hand experience of how management style affects the performance of a team. It shows different styles in action, demonstrating, for example, that what managers intend is not always what comes across. It’s an engaging, enlightening exercise that has real impact and generates live, behavioral data you can work with.

The TBE asks you to divide your participants into groups of one manager and three team members. Then, as a group, they have to build a tower using different sized blocks. Sounds easy – until you tell them that team members must be blindfolded and use their non-dominant hand. Managers cannot touch either the blocks or their team members. There are three rounds, and the whole exercise can be done within two hours.

• it demonstrates that what you (as a manager) intend is not always what comes across to others
• it reveals that managers make a difference by providing a perspective on what the team is trying to accomplish
• it’s engaging and enlightening, drawing in both active and reflective learners
• it generates live, behavioral data that you and your group can really work on
• it has real impact and shows how you influence your team
• it gives you a chance to see different managerial styles in action

Because the Tower Building Exercise is cost effective, quick and simple, you can use it anywhere; in the workplace, in the classroom or at an away-day.

It can be used:

• alongside the Managerial Style Questionnaire (MSQ) and Organizational Climate Exercise (OCE) to provide a bigger picture of managerial behavior and impact with a group that has recently gone through some changes,
• to identify and address problem areas
• in leadership and management development programs with people who love learning by doing

The tower building exercise set includes a set of blocks, 3 blindfolds, 3 participant booklets and a facilitator guide. Additional blindfolds, blocks and booklets are sold separately.

The Tower Building Exercise® is a registered trademark of Human Synergistics, Inc., Plymouth, MI, U.S.A.