Interactive Blob Trees
I’m a big fan of a good check-in. A chance for a team or group to connect to each other and the topic at the start of some time together. Handled well these can promote and create safety in the room & closeness between people. This is important for a team’s health long term but even for shorter lived groups finding a way to connect people and help them to be honest with each other sets you up well for whatever outcome you’re trying to achieve.
One of my favourite check-ins is the Blob Tree. It comes from Pip Wilson & Ian Long and seems to have spread far and wide being used in everywhere from schools to big businesses to mental health trusts.
You ask your team or group of people to pick a blob to help represent how they’re feeling today, in the current situation, etc. We ask people to share which blob they have chosen and say a little about why they have chosen it. Some will share a little, some will get quite into what’s happening.
The blobs are intentionally not all positive and jolly & gives people the permission to be honest and open. Talking about a blob that is sad or struggling (dissociation) rather than yourself adds a little distance and a little safety for those who want it.
This book by Pip & Ian is full of wonderful variations.
Interactive, in person version
Using a blob tree image with a team or group is great but a few times I’ve wanted something with a little more flexibility & longevity. Something that a team can own themselves, keep coming back to & feel an even stronger connection to.
A big, printed blob tree is a way to do this. A blank tree printed over four pages gives a canvas big enough for people to experiment with. I’ll tend to print, time and blu-tak to a wall or sometimes whiteboard.
You’ll need a healthy supply of blob-people for your team to choose from. Printed, trimmed and nicely displayed alongside the tree. A paper-cutter is really handy for this. I tend to either use more blu-tak or sometimes repositionable pritt-stick.
A nice alternative is printed post-it notes which just look so pretty!
Make sure to provide some supplies for people to customise and annotate their blob people as well. Blank post-its, sharpies, glitter if you dare!
After all this hard work is done the exercise itself isn’t that much different to run. Ask people to pick a blob person and place them on the tree while sharing a little about their thoughts.
The beauty of the added flexibility and physical presence of the tree is that you can now come back the day or week after and ask people to do this again. Perhaps replace the blob person they chose last time? Maybe amend it with a sharpie. Add a few words or a label for how they’re feeling? If there isn’t a blob person that fits, then draw one yourself on a post-it.
The possibilities for interaction and engagement are close to endless.
I’ve found teams that take real ownership of and display great affection for their tree! Taking pictures and sharing with each other over Slack/Teams. Moving blob people on request of people working remotely. It’s really a joy to watch.
Remote use
It’s easy enough to use the blob tree remotely. There is even a very handy version where all of the blob people are numbered.
Of course an interactive version we can use remotely would be nice too… Enter Miro!
Miro is a very popular online whiteboard tool that can be used by many people at once to work collaboratively.
Really no different to our wall with printed pictures that everyone can move. The process of preparing an interactive blob tree for Miro was similar too with me needing to cut out and prepare various images. Luckily though this only needs to be done once and we have a template that can be easily reused!
I have found this really easy to use with remote or hybrid teams and in the early stages of the pandemic was a wonderful way to preserve connections between teams.
All of the same opportunities around customisation and annotation are still there. You even have the chance for people to upload pictures to add to the tree. Someone using an image of Pingu to represent their frustration was a real highlight!
Any exercise that helps a team or group to connect more deeply leads to them being able to support each other more and improves their chances of succeeding in whatever they’re seeking. Blob trees are great at creating safety and doing this. Interactive blob trees give the chance to keep this amazing connection going. Give them a go and get in touch to let me know how you get on.
Resources
In this folder you can find a printable tree, blobs & post-it templates. Also written instructions for participants. Lastly an RTB backup of the Miro board.
A note about fair use
Blob trees were created by a couple of very talented individuals, Pip Wilson & Ian Long. They are now used very widely and I frequently see them in lots of other materials in the coaching, therapy & education worlds. You only need to Google to find many unattributed copies of various blob trees.
If you’re going to use their work or derivatives of it then please do think about buying their book or other resources. The book is wonderful and totally worth the money.
Look out for Part 2 of this (probably in the New Year). Blob Trees — with Lego!
