Participants will: Create psychological safety through shared vulnerability. Surface hidden concerns. Normalize discussing fears. Build trust. Prevent fears from undermining project success.

Participants will share stinky fish, surface hidden concerns, and address team worries.

Go first, sharing something genuinely vulnerable. Enforce the no-solutions rule. Keep it moving; this isn't therapy. Watch for patterns across multiple fish for later discussion. Use at the beginning of challenging projects, before difficult conversations, or at the start of workshops dealing with change. Also good for team formation or after major failures. Common patterns: multiple people sharing the same fear; fears about interpersonal dynamics; technical vs. emotional concerns; vague vs. specific fears. Variations: Fresh Fish (hopes and excitement); Remote Version (digital whiteboards); Quick Version (10 min, skip drawing); Anonymous Version (write on cards); Follow-up Version (revisit at project end). Avoid minimizing fears. Don't turn it into problem-solving immediately. Don't let one person dominate. Don't force anyone to share. Don't reference specific people's fish later without permission. Energy often drops during sharing, then rises afterward. This is normal. Use an energizer if needed. Post fish as a reminder. Schedule check-ins. Use patterns to inform planning. Create a "fear mitigation" list.