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Helium Stick
Team cooperation challenge to develop group coordination.
- Simple, but not easy
- Leverages collaboration
- Focus on goal-setting
- Highlights integrity & honesty
- Addictive
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Team Cooperation Challenge
Achieving this team-building exercise is much more difficult than it seems. Helium Stick is a team cooperation challenge that reveals how individual actions impact group success as participants work to coordinate their movements. Perfect for leadership training or team development, this is a problem-solving opportunity where groups quickly discover the importance of clear communication to achieve their shared goal.
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Original post October 2015, last updated September 2025.
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recently did this with 3 people and 2 observers, then all 5 as participants.
easier to put down the stick with the 3. more challenging with 5. more left and right and tilting movements. in the reflection, the insights centered on contributions – one person said she did not know if she were contributing. she realized later that she was, as encouraged by others. she felt seen and heard.
we matched this with strongsuits, and the links were these prompts:
1). how aware are we about our strengths? the strengths we bring into our teams?
2). how aware are we about each other’s strengths? how do others perceive/experience our strengths?
Thanks JeWElle for sharing these ideas. I agree, always more challenging the more people involved, so that checks out. And I love how you connected this activity with Strongsuits – we may need to add them to playmeo’s resources!
One of those activities especially with the young ones that can bring out frustrations and conflict which can be used to open up conversations around persistence/ resilience, support and understanding, effective communication, contribution and working toward common goals.
It might take the group a bit of time to do the activity or they may smash it in. It will really depend on the team and the contribution of every team member. It does sound easy in practice but quite the challenge when you actually do it.