Energizers and Ice-breakers for WECoaches

Type

Icebreaker

Exercise Name

Normally GAME

Specific objectives

• Get to know each other
• Create sharing atmosphere and trust between participants  

Duration

10 minutes

Material/room

White papers, pencils,

Nr of participants

2 - WECoach and the Coachee

Description

Normally is an exercise which provides a good way to begin the coaching and break the ice. It can be done in larger groups or smaller (WECoach and one coachee). It enables the coachee to describe herself by telling what she would have been doing if she wasn’t attending this course introducing her other interest to the WECoach, but also reflecting on what she is getting from the coaching session in terms of value.

Methodological advice

Steps in developing the exercise:

1. Stay in introductory mode.
2. Instead of asking the coachee to introduce herself by stating why she is attending the coaching session, the WECoach can ask her to say who she is and what would she normally be doing if she wasn’t at the session at that moment.

Variations

The WECoach can also enter the discussion by describing herself in the same way. In this way, she can bring more ease in the atmosphere and will relax the coachee.

Another alternative to this exercise is to ask the coachee about what would be the most boring thing she would’ve been doing, instead of being at this coaching session. After that, she can be asked to do a comparison between that state and the current one (attending the course).

Weblinks, Videos, Pictures, further material

Not needed

Type

Icebreaker

Exercise Name

WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?)

Specific objectives

• Identifying learning benefits from the coaching sessions;
• Identifying specific goals for the coaching sessions.

Duration

10 minutes

Material/room

White papers, pencils,

Nr of participants

2 - WECoach and the Coachee

Description

By asking What’s In It For Me? question, the WECoach will help the coachee to identify the benefits of learning the skills through the WECoach sessions.

Methodological advice

Steps in developing the exercise:

1. WIIFM stands for “What’s In It For Me?” which is a frequently asked question, whenever we want to know the benefits of being asked to do something.
2. The WECoach will ask the coachee to brainstorm all the benefits she can get from this course – short-term and long-term ones.
3. In paired mode – WECoach and coachee, a discussion should be started, where the coachee will share what she thinks the benefits can be and elaborate on them.

Variations

Possible areas in which the coachee can explore the benefits are : financial, organizational, self-development, career, personal or just for fun. (and many more, which the WECoach can think of)

Weblinks, Videos, Pictures, further material

Not needed

Type

Icebreaker

Exercise Name

The KSA Fit for Entrepreneurship (Knowledge Skills and Attitudes)

Specific objectives

• Identifying learning benefits from the coaching sessions;
• Identifying specific goals for the coaching sessions.

Duration

10 minutes

Material/room

White papers, pencils, Flipchart

Nr of participants

2 - WECoach and the Coachee

Description

This exercise invites the coachee to consider knowledge, skills and attitude requirements of the coaching program. That way she can analyze the coaching process and gather information on what the KSA of entrepreneurship is and how she can use it in her advantage.

Methodological advice

Steps in developing the exercise:

1. The WECoach will first give an explanation on why the Knowledge, Skill and Attitude mix is important in doing any job well, giving a special accent to entrepreneurship. She can explain them by giving examples (e.g. the knowledge, skill and attitude requirements of driving a car).
2. The coachee first needs to consider the knowledge, skill and attitude requirements for entrepreneurship and then list them on a paper. After that, she has to rate each requirement from 1-10 and produce a comparative graph.
3. After that list is done, the WECoach and the coachee can discuss how each of them are significant to the coachee and how she can incorporate them in her field of entrepreneurship.

Variations

Instead of writing, a flipchart can be used. That way, the coachee can use sticky notes and attach them on the flipchart. There, they can be placed in a vertical line, signifying their rate from 1-10 and in the same time giving a better visual which will also be easier to memorize.

Weblinks, Videos, Pictures, further material

Not needed

Type

Energizer

Exercise Name

Value Game

Adapted from the Manual of the Erasmus+ CAN DO project (p.102-103)

Specific objectives

• Get to know each other
• Understand each other’s positions.
• Understand what type of entrepreneur the coachee is/could be

Duration

10-15 minutes

Material/room

2 work-sheets of 13 universal norms and values

Nr of participants

Two people: the WECoach and her coachee.

It can be conducted as a group activity.

Description

Preparation:

You need to identify about 13 norms and values and write it down on paper, such as:

• To respect parents/ elderly,
• To have a good school education,
• To speak your own language properly,
• Helpfulness,
• Good manners,
• Loyalty to your own family,
• Religion,
• Hospitality,
• Honesty,
• Respect,
• Secularism,
• Responsibility, etc...

1. You give your coachee the work-sheet of 13 universal norms and values and let her time to take a look.
2. Then, you and your coachee identify the top 5 out of the 13 norms and values which play an important role for you personally as individuals. When both of you have put down your personal top, you can identify the top 5 of norms and values you encounter as a entrepreneur/professional.
3. Debriefing: Is there a difference between the personal / individual and the professional? You can discuss together what are the similarities and differences between your top 5 and where they come from.

Methodological advice

The Value game will be much more interesting if you participate in the same way as your coachee. It will help you understand each other better and realize that the norms and values and the importance we give to them are relative to each person. It's important not to let the coachee play the game alone, but to play with her.  This way, you will see that the learning will be reciprocal.

Variations

You can leave your coachee identify her own norms and values.

Weblinks, Videos, Pictures, further material

Not needed.

Type

Energizer

Exercise Name

Slices of pizza

Specific objectives

• Get to know each other
• Develop self-awareness
• Identify which entrepreneure the coachee is/could be

Duration

10-15 minutes

Material/room

Papers, pens, post-it

Nr of participants

Two people: the WECoach and her coachee.

It can be conducted as a group activity.

Description

Ask your coachee to draw her pizzas. The two pizzas she is going to represent will re-create the priorities of her private and professional life.

1. The coachee draws her own pizza in unequal slices with the priorities in her life and the percentage dedicated. First of all, it is the pizza of her life: family, health, relatives, work, hobbies,etc.. You let the coachee choosing the categories/thematics. 
2. Then, the second pizza is entrepreneurial: it is necessary to define the priorities of her future company (quality, communication, office, ethics,etc.). Again, your coachee chooses the thematics.
3. Debriefing: what kind of entrepreneur are you going to be? What is important for you and the company you want to create?

Methodological advice

The slices of pizza activity is a good activity to know better what are the objectives of your coachee.

Variations

You can choose to prepare 2 lists in advance to “fill” the slices of pizza instead of leaving your coachee doing it.

1 on different aspects of life => family, health, friends, hobbies, work, money, career, personal development,etc...

1 on the company's priorities: money, interpersonal relations, quality, reception area or office, passion, communication, ethics, solidarity, etc...

Weblinks, Videos, Pictures, further material

Not needed.

Type

Icebreaker

Exercise Name

Tree activity

Adapted from Erasmus+ project  MATE – An Innovative, Student-Centered Approach to Intercultural Skills Acquisition for Students and Young Migrants, Training material, Module 1: “Hate speech”.

Specific objectives

• Self empowerment
• Reflecting on barriers to entrepreneurship and identify obstacles
• Create sharing atmosphere and trust

Duration

15-20 minutes

Material/room

White papers (A2 for example), markers with 3 different colours

Nr of participants

Two people: the WECoach and her coachee.

It can be conducted as a group activity.

Description

Preparation:

In a big sheet of paper, you draw the trunk of a tree. Inside of this trunk, you write a hate statement such as: “women are less credible as entrepreneurs than men” OR “women should not have managerial roles because they are too emotional and impulsive”.

You can choose to write a prejudice often used in your country.

1. You read the hate statement with your coachee and ask her to draw roots and branches to identify (and write down) some of the things which lead to this hate statement (the ‘roots’ of the tree), and some of the effects/consequences (the ‘branches’). Each root can have a deeper cause (root) and each branch a further outcome (higher branch). You can do the exercise with your coachee if you feel she wants to interact or let her do it on her own and speak at the end just to debrief. It's up to you to see how your coachee reacts.
2. Debriefing: Was it easy to identify the roots? How did you identify potential consequences of this hate statement? Were there any difficulties? Have you already faced this kind of statement?

Methodological advice

The tree activity requires that you have already met your coachee, so it is not a suitable activity for a first coaching session.

This activity is adapted to introduce discussions on the barriers women may face when it comes to entrepreneurship.

Variations

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Weblinks, Videos, Pictures, further material

Not needed.