IPEC Domain/Competency 

Teams and Teamwork

Sub-Competency

TT2 Appreciate team members’ roles, responsibilities, expertise, and authority to enhance team effectiveness

Goals and objectives

• Practice precise verbal guidance and coordination
• Demonstrate trust and reliance on teammates
• Reflect on vulnerability, authority, and followership

Materials

•  Small safe obstacles; floor markers

Activity description

Participants work in pairs to navigate an obstacle-filled area. One participant provides verbal directions while the other moves through the space without visual access to the obstacles. Physical guidance is not permitted. Participants switch roles after completion. The activity creates a structured setting for examining trust, communication clarity, leadership, and followership. Facilitators observe emotional responses, reliance on partners, and how teams manage errors. Reflection centers on trust, authority, shared accountability, and team support.

• What communication strategies helped you and your partner understand one another during the activity?
• How did it feel to trust someone else’s guidance, or to be trusted to guide someone else?
• What helped you feel comfortable asking for clarification or providing additional guidance when needed?
• What did you learn about your own communication style while giving or receiving directions?
• What challenges arose when giving or following directions, and how did you address them?
• What behaviors contributed to building trust and confidence between partners during the activity?
• How did the roles of guide and navigator helped you understand the importance of leadership and followership in teamwork?
• How might the lessons from this activity apply to teamwork in interprofessional or interdisciplinary settings?

Optional Closing Reflection:

What is one behavior that helps build trust, open communication, and psychological safety when joining a new interprofessional or interdisciplinary team?

Use

Most applicable in the early stages of team development (i.e., Forming), activity can also be used mid-program (in Storming and Norming stages of team development). If using in Storming stage, focus debrief on how teams handle disagreement and uncertainty. If using in Norming stage, allow time for the teams to establish communication agreements (i.e., emphasis shifts from “Can I trust my partner?” to “How can we communicate more effectively together?”)

Estimated time

• Setup & safety briefing: 5 minutes
• Round 1 (guide/navigate): 5–7 minutes
• Switch roles: 1–2 minutes
• Round 2 (guide/navigate): 5–7 minutes
• Debrief/reflection: 10–15 minutes
• Total: 26–36 minutes

Variation for IPE or IDE experiences

• IPE: Pair participants from different professions; reflection emphasizes interprofessional trust, communication, and decision authority
• IDE: Rotate leader–follower roles; reflection emphasizes accountability, coordination, and role clarity

Additional Resources

• Icebreaker Spot. Minefield: Trust-Building and Communication Exercise.
• GUIDE, Inc.. Minefield Team Communication Activity Guide.

References

• Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384–399.
• Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (2010). Stages of Small-Group Development Revisited. Group Facilitation, 10, 43–48.
• Webber, S. S. (2008). Development of Cognitive and Affective Trust in Teams: A Longitudinal Study. Small Group Research, 39(6), 746–769. Link

Adapted by: CHBS IPE and IDE Council, James Madison University
Suggested Citation: CHBS IPE and IDE Council. (2026). Trust Walk – Trust, Guidance, and Shared Accountability. CHBS IPE & IDE Instructional Toolkit. James Madison University.