RAINFOREST GAME

Working from home and/or working with others in satellite offices, at a distance, requires new ways to communicate, keep updated and to build relationships. The fun experience of playing the Rainforest Game teaches leadership and collaboration across boundaries. 

Today’s workforce is often dispersed geographically. For instance, more employees are working from home. However, as the popularity of a dispersed workforce increases, so does the need to acquire and develop the skills necessary to navigate its unique challenges. Organizations need to be equipped to bridge the distance in order to achieve success in today's global economy. The Rainforest Game is designed to close that knowledge gap by giving individuals an opportunity to experience virtual leadership and collaboration across boundaries in an insightful, realistic hands-on simulation.

During game play, participants assume the role of artists - brought together from all over the globe by The Rainforest Collective (an organization promoting endangered rainforest awareness). Their mission is to assemble a mosaic, made of pieces that they and other design studios have created, which is to be displayed at a celebratory art installation for The Rainforest Collective's annual conference. Participants are organized into subgroups, but since no group has all of the required pieces, they must venture across boundaries and work collaboratively to achieve success.

During the debrief discussion, participants are introduced to the four core skills for working effectively across boundaries: reaching out, sharing information, exploring alternatives, and making it happen. Together these skills build lasting and powerful relationships that enable individuals and groups to achieve common goals. An action plan at the close of the training allows participants to identify what they will do differently in the future to build partnerships, enhance inter-team communication, and enable greater collaboration across boundaries.