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4 Tips for Keeping a Team Motivated


Companies often have incentives for reps, but sometimes that isn't enough. To keep your team motivated, you could do a number of things:

Do You Want to Get Others to Improve Their Performance? Then Expect the Best


Recently I decided to stretch my athletic abilities and add a running program to my regular exercise routine. Although I had tried to run in the past, my level of success was pretty pathetic. This time, however, I decided to follow my own advice and find some expert runners who could teach me how to run. And that is exactly what I did.

Book Summary: The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player


A follow-up companion reader to The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, here is a clear character profile of the ideal Team Player. Maxwell stresses some main qualities of a good team player: intentional, or she is focused on the big picture, relational, focused on others, selfless, willing to take a backseat for the good of the team, and tenacious - works hard to overcome obstacles, no matter what.

4 Tips for Keeping a Team Motivated


Companies often have incentives for reps, but sometimes that isn't enough. To keep your team motivated, you could do a number of things:

The Stages Of Team Development


One of the greatest challenges a coaching manager has is in moving his or her team though the various team development stages. If a manager has no, or little experience of teams and team dynamics then taking over a team and then leading that team can be a very stressful experience. Every manager should know what the various growth stages are of a developing team and they should know how best to move the team through these stages with the minimum of fuss and stress. Unfortunately, many managers do not get the necessary training or coaching in this area of team development and as such teams go through a lot of stress and turmoil when perhaps this could be minimised quite considerably.

The Team Process


We live in very progressive times, one only has to look around at the changes on the internet each day to see that this is true.

Outdoor Team Development ? Harmless Fun or Serious Learning?


The Sales Director had organised a great conference; the venue was first class, the service excellent and the content of the workshops and presentations very motivational. The only potential ?fly in the ointment? was the team-building afternoon which was scheduled to take place outdoors as evidenced by the memo outlining the fact that waterproof jackets, trousers and boots should be brought along to the conference.

Working as a Winning Team


It's a great sunny day so it's time to get out and enjoy the weather. Many of us would like to, but we have projects due, tasks that need to be done, people that we need to see, and money that needs to be made. What if your company gave you that time off as compensation for the great effort that you gave to the team to finish a project on time?

How the P.R.I.D.E. Team Changed my Call Center


Several years ago I took an assignment as a Manager in an outsourcing Call Center. Shortly after I started it became clear that several areas within the department needed improvement; absenteeism was high (19%), call takers lacked the enthusiasm about the programs to deliver quality customer service and seemed unconnected to the goals and metrics. With the overall morale of the center in a less than pleasant state the management team weighed our options. We determined that any new rules rolled out by management may be perceived as ?us vs. them? by the call taking teams. Rather than try to manage down with force we decided to get the people who were doing the work involved in the improvements.  It was clear, in order to make positive changes the call takers had to embrace the existing goals and embrace any changes we tried to make. What better way to do that then to include them in the process of making the changes. From this idea the P.R.I.D.E. team was formed. People Really Involved in Developing Excellence The first step was to roll out the concept of the P.R.I.D.E. team to the supervisors. I explained how the team would work and what we hoped to accomplish with it. The supervisors then rolled out the concept in their team meetings. Basic Roll out:  Each team on the floor votes for a representative from their team to attend the P.R.I.D.E. meetings. P.R.I.D.E representatives gather issues, concerns and ideas from their teams and present them at the P.R.I.D.E meetings. The P.R.ID.E. Team will take action for improvement based on the ideas and discussions from each meeting. Meeting minutes will be distributed to the floor.  Once the roll out was complete and the teams elected representatives, the first meeting was called to order. We congratulated the new P.R.I.D.E. team representatives for being voted in by their teams and broke the ice by getting to know each other.  The group agreed on some ground rules and established time limits for discussion. I reiterated that the meetings will not be a gripe session; we will focus on improvement. We began discussing the issues challenging the center.  The high rate of Absenteeism (19%) was the issue we chose to bring to the table first. We asked the group why absenteeism was so high and asked what we as the management team could do to help. The representative?s answers provided insight and ideas to improve attendance.  Suggestions ranged from things as simple as being welcomed to work in the morning, to more challenging tasks such as supervisors building better relationships with their team members. The ideas and thoughts we tapped into gave us direction to improve this metric. Instead of pushing an elephant up the stairs, we were following the lead to reach our destination.  After listening to and acting on the P.R.I.D.E. Team?s suggestions we started to see some very impressive changes. Over a three month period Absenteeism dropped to 3%! People were more excited about doing their jobs and finding ways to improve. There was a general buzz around the center. Communication was one of the keys to our success. In addition to the P.R.I.D.E. Team members discussing the meetings with their team members and other co-workers, we documented the conversations from the meeting then distributed them to the floor to ensure no ?behind closed door? perceptions. If time allowed supervisors would bring the P.R.I.D.E meeting notes to team meetings for discussions as well. The meetings evolved. The more meetings we ran the more root causes we discovered. We listened to every issue big and small. We created subgroups to focus on large issues. Sometimes there were issues we could not do anything about, but we always provided an explanation on why action could not be taken. Listening to the representatives? ideas and making changes based on them created buy in for change. The call takers were more apt to make the ideas work because they came from them.  After the P.R.I.D.E. program was well in place, I turned it over to the senior supervisors to run. It was a great development opportunity and helped build relationships throughout the group. Overall the P.R.I.D.E Team created a paradigm shift in the center. The existence and actions of the team sent a message that everyone in the center was part of the same team. The representatives realized their importance. There was only ?us? instead of ?us and them?. The program created involvement, strengthened commitment to the company and opened communication gateways.

Leading To A Preferred Future


Last month's edition of Footprints and Monuments illustrated a parallel between leadership in the face of disaster and the voyage of the Apollo 13. As you will remember, an explosion on board forced the crew to circle the moon without ever landing on their prized target. Obviously, they didn't have the preferred ending to their trip in space. But they did get home alive, and were very happy about that.

Finding The Leader Within (Keys To Zen Leadership)


Most believe that leadership is an innate quality that some have, not others. They believe that leaders are born not made. Nothing can be further from the truth. Each one of us has the potential to stand tall, be a light to others, clearly define a vision and mission and take charge. Within every individual an ?Inner Leader? is waiting to be born.

Top Ten Creative Excursions for Building Effective Teams


The ability to build effective teams is a must for any organization who wants to succeed in the millennium. This article offers ten examples of highly creative excursions which can provide insight into developing the leadership qualities essential for success in challenging times.

Why It Pays to Out More Humor in the Workplace


1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number one problem confronting employees today.

How To Lead Your Team To Success


Today, most of us have been involved in a team project, either as the leader or a contributor. The team concept, if structured properly, can be a very successful option for any company or organization. You?re able to pool a great variety of resources with various backgrounds and strengths to achieve a desired outcome. However, there also needs to be a proper foundation set in order for a team to function effectively and efficiently. So, in this month?s article I want to share my own key learnings and observations on how you can use the team concept to bring about success.

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