The Electronic Maze

Guiding Thought

Organizations must work to improve each person's ability to learn from experience, to learn collaboratively, and to develop these skills while working real business issues in real time.

Purpose of the Maze

The Maze is a highly motivating learning device that consists of a grid and a control module. The grid is a flexible carpeted mat that is divided into 48 squares. Each square has a pressure sensitive switch. If the square is activated, and if someone steps on it, the maze-alarm sounds. The maze module can be programmed into a variety of paths to accomplish a variety of learning objectives.

What the Maze is used for

The Maze can be used for both individual and group development in relationship to training, teambuilding and testing.

Training

Learning through the maze permits participants to actually experience abstract concepts like leadership, trust, synergy, empowerment and dependency. It also encourages participants to experiment with such procedures as collaborative planning, giving and receiving feedback and resolving conflicts

Teambuilding

Teambuilding activities with the Maze improve the performance, productivity and cohesiveness of the team. Team members attempt to achieve a goal (for example, getting everyone across the maze) within specific restraints (for example, without talking to each other, without setting off the alarm, and within 10 minutes). Using the Maze experience as a metaphor, team members identify and implement new strategies to improve their performance.

Testing

Testing with the Maze involve the assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and the patterns of individuals and teams. Maze activities so intensely involve the participants that they are caught in the act of being themselves. By observing the behaviors of individuals, management can assess such variables as leadership potential, problem-solving abilities, communication models and thinking styles