Your team is handed a series of problems whose solution is not visible at the outset. It does exist, but it sits just off the route you normally take. The first few minutes go into trying what always works, until someone offers a different angle and the lock gives way. Every code you crack builds momentum for the next, and the pace picks up.
Teams that split the work, think out loud and dare to experiment get further than teams that lock onto a single idea. Along the way, how you handle being stuck becomes visible: who changes tack, who keeps going, who asks for help. The debrief draws the line to how you tackle problems at work.
