Values Auction

Purpose

The Values Auction adds a playful competitive element to values exploration. Participants receive a limited budget of play money to bid on values in an auction. The bidding process forces hard trade-offs, surfaces true priorities, and sparks rich discussion about what matters most.

At a glance

How to run

1. Setup (5 min): Distribute play money (e.g., 1000 units per person). Display 15–20 values on a board (e.g., Trust, Innovation, Work-Life Balance, Recognition, Autonomy, Security). Explain rules: highest bidder wins the value; you cannot share values; you keep any unspent budget.
2. Auction rounds (25 min): The auctioneer presents values one at a time. Participants bid openly. Record winning bids and winners. Energy rises as budgets shrink.
3. Reflection (10 min): Discuss: Which values went for the highest price? Which went unclaimed? What did your spending pattern reveal about your real priorities? Were you surprised by what you bid aggressively on?
4. Close (5 min): Each person names their top value and what they learned from the bidding process.

Materials needed

• Play money (printed or digital tokens)
• Value cards or slides (15–20 values)
• Auction tracking sheet
• A gavel (optional, for fun)

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Too many values: 15–20 is ideal. More creates fatigue; fewer reduces meaningful trade-offs.
• Unequal budgets: Everyone must start with the same amount for the exercise to be fair.
• No debrief: The auction is fun but meaningless without the reflection conversation.
• Taking it too seriously: Remind participants it is a game designed to provoke insight, not a binding allocation.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Display values visually and read them aloud.
• Allow written bids for participants who are uncomfortable bidding aloud.
• Be mindful that auction dynamics can favour louder, more competitive personalities — check in on quieter participants during the debrief.
• Provide a digital version for remote participants.

Variations

• Team values auction: Teams bid as units, requiring internal negotiation before each bid.
• Organisational values edition: Auction organisational values to reveal which ones the team truly prioritises.
• Scarcity round: In a second round, some values are removed ("no longer available"), creating scarcity and revealing backup priorities.

When NOT to use this

• When participants are uncomfortable with competitive dynamics.
• When the exercise might be interpreted as trivialising deeply held beliefs.
• When budget metaphors feel insensitive (e.g., during financial hardship or layoffs).

Source & further reading

• Thiagi (Sivasailam Thiagarajan), *Interactive Training Strategies* — auction-based games
• Brene Brown, *Dare to Lead* (Random House, 2018)
• Sharon Bowman, *Training from the Back of the Room!* (Pfeiffer, 2008)