ECCAY RESOURCES

The ECCAY resources can help professionals to use in practice the solution focused knowledge they have just acquired.

Exercise nr. 7

Treasure Box

Minimum number of participants	Average time length	Individual setting	Group Setting	Special Equipment	Unit	Online	Challenge /competition
3	Time may vary	no	yes	yes	1, 3, 4	yes	no

An exercise that helps develop attention to the resources and talents of the other person.
It consists of leaving a paper note in a "treasure box" where participants can indicate the resources and talents they recognize in other group members.
It is a background activity, in which the treasure box is left in the room for as long as the group wants and, from time to time, participants leave their paper notes in the treasure box.
This exercise can facilitate an atmosphere of mutual appreciation and acknowledgement within the group.
Moreover, since participants are aware of the treasure box, they can feel motivated to act more proactively and with the aim of improving the group’s climate.

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Aim / Benefits

This activity aims to facilitate the change of perspective, from criticism to appreciation, from what is missing in the person’s behaviour to the resources he/she can show.

It also shows how quickly you can change your focus from negative to positive aspects (and vice versa), depending on the stance you have in approaching a situation.

UNIT(s) related

Unit 1,3, 4

Why?
This exercise can be related to Unit 1 as it is a way to explain the Solution Focused mindset (focus on resources and skills and Double Listening process).
It can be related to Unit 3, as it shows relationships as mutual influence and cooperative systems.
In fact, the idea of getting positive notes on the treasure box may influence participants' behaviour and attitude towards the group, while the group, in turn, can provide positive feedback to the single member.
It can be related to Unit 4, as it helps enhance motivation and cooperation in groups .
Also, it helps the group practicing the solution focused mindset.

How to do the exercise

Step 1 / Preparation:

Put as many envelopes as are the group members in a place that is easily accessible, it can be inside the room where the group sessions are done, or in a place nearby.

Each envelope represents each participant’s treasure box.

Every member should write his/her name on it.

Give each member a certain number of paper notes, and leave other paper notes at disposal, if they need more.

Step 2:

During the other activities that the group carries out, each person can write on a note the resources, talents and beautiful things they imagine, see or suppose of another colleague, and put it in his/her treasure box.

The note can be anonymous, or it can be signed, so that the person that received it can identify the note writer.

Final step / Conclusion:

At the end of the day/session/work each member opens his/her treasure box and reads the notes.

Explain to the group that participants can take away with them all their notes, so they can reflect upon them and re-read them from time to time.

Debrief

The debrief phase can be done with the group as a whole.
If you decide to use a SF-based approach, it is recommended to keep the focus on the resources and on what worked.
You can highlight that people’s lives are always richer than we think, because everybody has always nice sides of himself/herself.
Here are some ideas of questions you could ask in this phase:

●       How was it receiving the notes, for you?
●       What do the notes say about you that you did not notice yourself?
●       How is it for you knowing that other people see these resources/skills/strengths in you?
●       How was it writing the notes, for you?
●       How hard was it for you focusing on the positive aspects of your colleagues?
●       Was focusing on the positive aspects of your colleagues a positive or a negative thing, in the end? If positive, why? If negative, why?
●       What might the fact that you focused on positive aspects of your colleagues say of you as a person?
●       How did the group climate change after this activity? What are the differences that you notice?

Specific materials

● A number of envelopes equal to the number of participants

● A number of paper notes

● Coloured pens and markers.

Tips and Tricks

This exercise might raise some embarrassment among the participants.
For this reason, we suggest just inviting them to participate, but not to force them.
The fact of receiving positive notes on themselves could raise in participants some performance anxiety, as well as a sense of competition among participants.
Be very clear in explaining that this activity is not a challenge among participants, but a way to experience how we can shift from a problem-focused to a resource-focused approach.

On-line version

This exercise can also be done online. You need an online platform that allows you to create virtual boxes as email, as reserved areas in a website or as a virtual board that has a confined area (that represents the virtual box) where all participants can add virtual post-its.

The use of boards such as MIRO (www.miro.com) or MURAL (www.mural.com) can also help.

Bibliography - Sitography

None.

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