Last week I met with an executive who’d called me in to help her with strategic planning and team building. I noticed right away her lack of eye contact and her brusque manner. What she told me was this: “I want to build a great team” and “I have an open door policy.” What I …
Continue reading “The “Southwest Test””
There’s a concept of community in South Africa that’s called “Ubuntu.” It emphasizes the interdependence of each member of the community. It recognizes a person’s status as a human being, entitled to unconditional respect, dignity, value and acceptance. But it also entails the converse. Each person has a corresponding duty to give respect, dignity, value …
This tool reminds people about the difference between teams and groups. When a group is mislabeled as a team, people may have unrealistic expectations of each other. On the other hand, if a group aspires to be a team, it is useful to know what behaviors are expected of team members. This tool is best …
Continue reading “Teams vs. Groups”
This tool enables leaders to increase the level of emotional intelligence in the workplace. It shows ways to increase awareness of emotions at both the individual and team level. It also suggests strategies to help regulate emotions. This is invaluable for leaders who want to create teams where there is a healthy balance of emotional …
Continue reading “Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace”
The CEO of a retail chain wanted his leadership team to learn how to have tough business conversations. Too many issues were being buried, he said. Team members needed to bring their issues to the table and learn how to resolve them. He asked me to design a three-hour team-building workshop. I began the workshop …
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What are the characteristics of high performing teams? This tool, drawn from the book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni, provides you a quick look at what high performing teams really do. High Performing Teams Here are the five characteristics of highly effective teams: Attention to results: Team members regularly monitor their …
Continue reading “Five Characteristics of High-Performing Teams”
One of our consultants recently facilitated a day of team-building for a client. Her goal was to help the team members understand one another better, build trust, learn the habits of effective teams, and develop operating principles to communicate and work together more effectively. Marcia started the day with an hour-long Straight Talk® workshop. Its purpose was …
Continue reading “Team Building with Straight Talk®“
What an interesting report this week from The Conference Board! The report says that Americans of all ages are increasingly discontent at work. Only 45 percent of those surveyed say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61 percent in 1987, the first year in which the survey was conducted. The report said that …
Continue reading “New Report Highlights Unhappiness in the Workplace”
Studies over the past few years have shown that trust can grow quickly among people from different backgrounds, given the right circumstances.
Example case study of one of my clients and the experience of building a brand new team with trust and credibility.
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