SPOTLIGHT COACHING RESOURCES
01. SPOTLIGHT TRADING GAME
Time: 15 – 20 minutes
Card Deck: 30 x 8 sets in a box
Coach Preparation:
Sort the cards so that each participant has a deck of eight cards in total – one each from FLEX (x4) and COPE (x4) cards – with word pairs facing up.
Rules for Participants:
1. Sort your cards in order of preference, going from ‘most like you’ at the top, to ‘least like you’ at the bottom.
2. Take your top card and share with the group what this looks like when in its sweet spot and what this might look like overdone.
3. In pairs, keeping any cards that particularly resonate with you, give your partner a card that you feel is reflective of a strength they bring to the team, and explain why you have chosen this for them, e.g.: I’m giving this you because... I see you bring this when... When you do this, it helps the team...
4. Your partner then repeats the process with you. You cannot reject a card or exchange without offering feedback! All players must have 8 cards at all times.
5. Once both partners have exchanged cards, (ensuring you both still have 8 cards), find another pair and repeat the process.
6. When you have a deck which are mostly reflective of you, or if you feel the remaining cards you have aren’t relevant to the rest of the group, feel free to step out of the exercise.
7. When finished, lay out your cards white side up (word pairs) and order them going left to right from ‘most like you’ to ‘least like you’.
8. Coach-led discussion (see below).
9. Turn the cards over revealing the FLEX and COPE colours, and identify your lead FLEX and COPE preference (Note: this may or may not align to your actual Spotlight performance preference).
Coaching Prompts:
- When others share what their strengths look like in their sweet spot, ask the group whether others see this strength in the team and the impact this can bring.
- How well did your view of your strengths align with other people’s perceptions?
- What cards did you struggle to get rid of? When might these strengths be useful?
02. SPOTLIGHT DIAL UP
Time: 15 – 20 minutes
Card Deck: 30 x 8 sets in a box
Coach Preparation:
As with the trading game, sort the cards so that each participant has a deck of eight cards in total – one card each from FLEX and COPE – with word pairs facing up.
Rules for participants:
1. In pairs, present your partner with a card that you feel represents a strength that they bring but may currently be underplaying.
2. In giving them their feedback, it’s important to highlight when you’ve seen the strength in action, and how dialling it up would benefit the team.
3. In your pairs, switch roles and repeat the process.
4. Find another pair and repeat, ensuring you each have 8 cards.
Coach/Participant Notes:
- Feel free to use cards that you have received for others in the group.
- Remember to keep the conversations focused on strengths – this is not about what people don’t do or get wrong.
03. SPOTLIGHT COACHING CARDS
Sort the cards so that each participant has a deck of eight cards in total – one of
each FLEX and COPE cards – with word pairs facing up. In addition, add one of the coaching cards to each deck.
1. In pairs, take it in turns to complete the statement on your partner’s coaching card with a word pairing from one of your FLEX or COPE cards.
4. Find another pair and repeat the exercise.
- No cards need to be traded in this game.
- Ensure that pairs answer their partner’s coaching question, not their own, to avoid repetition.
- This could be done as a group exercise where each person answers their own coaching question to the full group, if numbers allow.
