Board Game

The Contact Zone™ Board Game

To tap your full power as a leader or team member, you must make effective contact. This requires multiple skills, ones that you will develop by playing The Contact Zone™ Board Game. It provides a safe, structured and fun way to develop powerful relational skills.

Effective contact requires awareness of when you are in limiting pattern. And feedback is the best way to become aware. The board game addresses limiting patterns, such as:

  • domination
  • over-protection
  • micro managing
  • defiance
  • compliance

By identifying these patterns and then applying the correct "antidote", you can claim valuable ground as a leader, manager or team member. The game will familiarize you with these constructive "antidotes" as you tackle challenging business situations.

What the Contact Zone™ Game Delivers

  • Learn influencing skills that rely more on emotional intelligence and less on position power
  • Prepare for and manage challenging interpersonal situations
  • Learn how to shift from reactive patterns to proactive, productive behaviors
  • Practice giving and receiving specific, structured, constructive feedback
  • Increase emotional intelligence and strengthen relationships
  • Develop clear solutions to familiar and challenging business situations

Best Practices

The Contact Zone™ Board Game integrates best practices from communication, psychology and leadership development. It is based on over 25 years of intensive study of human behavior, effective relationships and productive use of power.

How to Play

Talk with Barbara about how your group could play the game.

Consider bringing The Contact Zone™: Power & Influence training to your organization. The game is a central feature of this training.

Customized Scenarios

The game can be customized to the specific needs of your group or industry. This option is especially attractive for groups that are already formed and experiencing specific challenges. Contact Barbara to discuss options.

Team Building

The Contact Zone™ Board Game is an excellent way to build commitment and collaboration in teams. When a team plays the game together, they build positive relationships and develop skills that lead to higher performance.

Any kind of intact group or cross functional group can benefit from playing the game.


"It was both challenging and very valuable to try to address difficult situations quickly and in front of my peers."

"I can see how I need to pause before reacting. I plan to have a long overdue conversation with my manager as soon as I get back to work."

--The Contact Zone™ Board Game participants


Example from the Game

During the game, players are required to “transform” specific situations in order to move ahead. Here is an example:

You are a work group leader and become aware of a serious technical problem in the current project that will become more obvious as time goes by. If you don’t address this problem early on, there will be a huge cost to the project. However, the project manager, who you report to, usually wants the job done with as little involvement as possible on her part. She has been known to shoot the messenger.

• How do you deal with the problem?
• How do you deal with the project manager?

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