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| Team Building Articles 
Synergy And Your Team - How It Can Make All The Difference Essentials For Building a High Performance Team Team Building - Your Beliefs Can Create Success or Failure! Building Peak Performance Teams Team Building & Multiple Intelligences Hawthorne Experiments and Team Building Corporate Retreats: Key to a Healthy Mind and Body in the Workplace How To Make "The Ask!" - Tips for Effectively Recruiting Your Team Building an Extraordinary Team Ten Innovative Ideas for Successful Team Building Events Team Building - from Fun Event to Genuine Team Improvements Synergy And Your Team - How It Can Make All The Difference I often ask participants at my workshops if they know the meaning of the word "synergy". Depending on the make up of the group, I get a variety of answers. Invariably, most people will say they know the term, they've heard the term, and it's got something to do with teams and team work. But trying to coax a more detailed definition is a waste of time. You see, most people understand that synergy is something that teams need. It somehow makes them better teams. But what it is and how it helps to improve teams is often a mystery. Just one of those things that is. A definition of synergy The best definition I've ever heard (and it was so long ago that the source has now been lost in the mists of time) is this one - "synergy is when one plus one equals three". No, I am not a mathematically challenged dummy! But when you add the following definition it starts to make a little more sense, "it is when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". In other words, when a team produces more than the sum of each individual's efforts could produce if they worked on their own. I read somewhere (again, so long ago it's lost in etc etc) a wonderful article on a scientists approach to testing synergy. I'm not entirely sure if the article was a fact-based one, but what the heck. It's a great story and illustrates my point perfectly. By the way, if anyone knows where this comes from originally, please send me the information. I would love to acknowledge the source of such a great story. A team of Clydesdale horses (those wonderfully big animals with the huge hooves and flowing manes) was used to test the theory of synergy somewhere in the British Isles. They were each tethered to a number of barrels and tested on how much weight they could pull. Their individual totals were duly recorded as well as the overall total weight. The team was then tethered together, and the same process repeated. The weight of the barrels the team pulled was also recorded. Now comes the synergistic result. The weight the team pulled was 25% more than the total weight the individual horses pulled earlier (surprise, surprise). Knowing this is all about the one plus one equals three theory, you must have had an inkling that the result would be something like this! It must be an intact team The really interesting thing to note is that the team of horses that were used was an "in tact" team. That means they had pulled things together for a long time. They knew each other. They trusted each other. They were used to working with each other. They were, in short, a team - not just a group of horses tethered together. This is a vital point. In fact, it is the point. A team is more than just a group of individuals. A team has gone through a number of processes or stages which have built it into a well functioning, synergistic unit. I have not heard of other tests like the Clydesdale one above, but I'd bet my bottom dollar, that if a group of strangers (ie horses not used to working together) was used, the results would not be as impressive. Applying this to work teams The same applies to human teams. In fact, synergy is the vital ingredient that turns a group into a "team". Sports coaches know this. They spend as much time building team trust, respect, co-dependency and positive relationships as they do on sports skills. And we've all heard about the team of champions being beaten by the underdog champion team (it's the quintessential Aussie story). So next time you take a look at your team, ask yourself this question. "Do we achieve more as a team than we would as individuals?" If the answer is no, then the team has not yet reached the stage of synergy so vital to turn it into a champion team. Jo Gibney is seminar leader, group facilitator, professional speaker, writer and HR Consultant. Her commitment to adult learning is a life long passion, and much of Jo’s work focuses on developing not just work skills but also personal competencies and strengths. Check out Jo's websites at http://www.organisenow.com and http://www.dragonslayers.com.au Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jo_Gibney Essentials For Building a High Performance Team Teams represent a very powerful mechanism for getting significant results in organizations today. Much has been learned about the development and implementation of teams over the past few years. We have seen what works, what doesn’t and the best approach for developing and nurturing teams. A new class of teams are evolving that have the potential of replacing traditional hierarchical organization structures with a flat, self directed, cross functional, process oriented structure. High Performance Teams are a special class of team that has the ability to easily adapt in a rapidly changing environment and is an essential element for highly successful organizations. The first step for building a high performance team is understanding the essential team ingredients that create a recipe for success. Meeting organization goals is a top priority for leaders today. These goals include increasing business efficiency, creating competitive advantage, improving internal customer satisfaction, controlling costs and leveraging intellectual assets. The first question asked is “How” can this be accomplished. Many organizations have struggled with this answer and very few have found an answer that is successful. For those organizations that have been successful, it all started from the bottom up, developing a strong team to develop and implement a solution that will meet the organizations goals. These unique, highly productive teams are now commonly referred to as “High Performance Teams” and are essential for meeting critical organization goals. Therefore, building high performance teams is a top priority for many leaders. The benefits and value produced by these teams are very clear and being viewed as essential tools in their business strategy. High Performance Teams produce the following benefits. 1. Increased productivity 2. Improved customer service 3. Ability to do more with less 4. Increased innovation 5. Ability to quickly adapt to change 6. Ability to solve difficult, critical problems Team Essentials – The Ingredients So where do we begin? Like a great chef making the perfect souffle, we must follow a recipe that will deliver the best possible outcome. This recipe includes the ingredients, preparation and the process for making the perfect souffle If you forget an ingredient, add too much, eliminate preparation steps, or change the process you will not end up with the results you are expecting. For leaders, this translates into ineffective teams that can not meet critical business goals. For today, lets look at the ingredients necessary for building a high performance team. Trust Trust in your team, their trust in you and the trust between the team members is the core ingredient that holds everything together. You develop trust by setting guidelines for team behavior and decision making, where the people have certain freedoms to make decisions, take risks and speak their minds. They will also have certain obligations to always speak the truth, work with other teams, be accountable for decisions and actions and to learn from the their mistakes. Leaders who have rules and policies for everything create an environment of bureaucracy and stifle team performance. The environment is orderly and structured, but leaves little room for team members to use their own judgment, take ownership or be motivated to complete tasks quickly. On the other hand, leaders who have no guidelines for the team run the risk of leading a team in chaos. Neither of these work. Implementing guidelines where people are trusted, promotes an environment where team members will give their best, produce more and with improved quality. Vision High performance teams share and support a “Vision” of what the team will accomplish. Team members are highly focused on meeting their goals and objectives. Leaders work with the team to develop a vision that brings real meaning to the work that is being performed. The vision defines the future state and is clear, defined and concrete. The team needs a winning, inspirational vision that will motivate them to go above and beyond when the effort is required. Lets look at a few great vision statements: Rid the world of AIDS, Triple the productivity of every manufacturing plant, or Increase customer satisfaction to 100%. Optimism The next key ingredient is “Optimism”. High performance team members have dreams for achievement. These dreams are fueled by the leaders optimism. It is true that team members will flourish when they have hope and they will give up when they don’t. High performing team members thrive on accomplishment and recognition they get when working through difficult problems and persevering. This perseverance requires optimism. The responsibility of a leader in an optimistic environment is to be realistic and optimistic at the same time. Realism is important because it acknowledges the facts of the situation no matter how unpleasant they are. An optimistic environment dictates that given the facts of the situation, the team will continue to work toward their goals. When teams lose optimism, it is the responsibility of the leader to coach the team to get them back on track. Together the team acknowledges the situation and begins to generate ideas for solving the current problem. Enjoyment A leader must make the environment enjoyable to work in. Team members perform at their peak when they enjoy what they do and with whom they do it with. Enjoyment doesn’t mean you play cards all day long. Real enjoyment comes when the leader and team are deeply involved in working a critical problem and they persevere together as a complete unit. The leader sets the tone for the team. Setting the tone for an enjoyable work environment is accomplished by showing that you enjoy your job, that you like the people you work with and that you appreciate their hard work. Thank team members for working through the weekend. Let them take a long lunch if they worked 12 hours the previous day. Praise them for new ideas. Never blame team members for mistakes, laugh and learn from the mistakes. Keep the team focused on winning instead of failing. Empowerment High performance team members are self directed. When empowered to accomplish a goal, these team members take ownership of their responsibilities and are committed to succeed. Leaders of high performance teams work to focus the “Team” on “What” needs to be achieved. The “What” is defined as the vision, goals, objectives and milestones for the team. The “How” work is to be accomplished must remain the sole responsibility of the team. When leaders start telling teams how the work is to be done, the team becomes de-motivated and performance drops dramatically. Opportunity The final ingredient for a high performance team is developing an environment where team members can grow. Top performers need to learn new skills and be permitted to develop and implement new ideas to work at their peak. Creating an environment where team members can experience different roles, cross train, work with diverse teams and learn new specialties will develop team members who are more self assured, who listen, and are more open to new ideas. This strategy of continuous learning will keep the team energized and motivated to perform at the highest levels. A Final Word As a leader, you have the power to influence the people and performance of the team. If you truly believe in creating an environment where Trust, Vision, Optimism, Enjoyment, Empowerment and Opportunity are encouraged, then you will build a solid, sustainable and high performing team. Copyright 2006 Dennis Sommer Dennis Sommer is a widely respected and world renowned authority on sales, business development and leadership performance improvement. He is a leading adviser, author, and speaker providing clients with practical strategies that improve personal and organization performance. He has held numerous consulting, sales, and leadership level positions with Accenture, Jo-Ann Stores, and CA, Inc. Please contact Dennis at: dennis@btrconline.com or http://www.btrconline.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Sommer Team Building - Your Beliefs Can Create Success or Failure! Before Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, people believed it was an impossible feat which would kill the person who attempted it. Bannister achieved it, though, because he was one of the few people who believed it was possible. Once he had achieved that goal, other people started to break the four-minute mile too! So our own personal belief can help us achieve something or prevent us achieving something – that is very clear to most of us. There is unfortunately another truth that is more difficult to grasp. This is that our beliefs about other people can prevent them from reaching their full potential. According to James Rhem, of the online National Teaching and Learning Forum (www.ntlf.com), "When teachers expect students to do well and show intellectual growth, they do; when teachers do not have such expectations, performance and growth are not so encouraged and may in fact be discouraged in a variety of ways." So take a minute to review your team members. Are they all equally capable in your eyes or do you have a few favourites – are the ones that do well, the ones you have a positive belief about? Do you have the same positive feeling toward the other people, whom you may not feel to be as gifted? Give your team the best possible chance to succeed. Make a point of believing in them. After all, a belief is merely a certainty about something. You might like to check these positive assumptions for yourself to see if you live up to them: 1. Everyone is doing the best they can with the resources they have – people make the best choice available to them at any moment in time, based upon their life experience and choices they are aware of. If someone is not behaving in an appropriate way, they need to be given other choices to consider. 2. There is no failure, only feedback – it is more valuable to view yours and others’ experiences in terms of a learning frame rather than a failure frame. If someone does not succeed, they have not failed – they have just discovered one way not to do a particular thing. 3. A person is not their behaviour – this is really important in terms of respecting someone’s self esteem. If someone makes a mess of something, it doesn’t mean that they are a mess! Behaviour is what someone does, says or feels at a moment in time. It is not their self or their true identity. Make sure you challenge someone’s behaviour and not the self – a person’s self is greater than their behaviours. 4. The meaning of a communication is the response you get! If you do not get the response you require when communicating with your team, you probably need to change the way you communicate. Bear in mind that everyone has a different life experience and the meaning of a word for one person may be completely different to another. Remember that voice tone and facial expression also communicate information, and people may respond to these just as much as they do to what you have said. So check out your beliefs about the various members of your team. Believe in them, all of them, and they will more than likely surprise you! Andy Britnell's training and coaching products maximise the potential of your staff and cut out the unnecessary costs incurred by low morale, high turnover and repeated recruitment. Visit his training website at http://andybritnell.co.uk/ and his coaching website at http://executive-coaching-for-business-growth.com/ for information on his powerful products and to subscribe to his FREE monthly newsletter. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Britnell Corporate Team Building FAQs Corporate team building is a tool that helps in motivating a team for the fulfillment of organizational objectives. Today?s multi-cultural society demands working in harmony with different personalities, especially in intercontinental and multi-location corporations. Corporate team building techniques is a way by which team members are accommodated to the requirements of a firm. These techniques help achieve goals as a team rather than working on their own. What are the benefits of corporate team building? Team building techniques enhance communication between co-workers. The benefits also include improved morality and management skills, ability to tackle problems, and better understanding of work environment. Other advantages are the developments in communication, concentration, decision making, group problem solving, and minimizing stress. What are the usual signs that indicate the need for team building? The common signs include conflict or hostility between members, increased opposition groups among workers, lack of work involvement, improper decision making abilities, decreased productivity, and poor quality of customer service. Describe different methods of corporate team building? Corporate team building professionals and individual courses on ?how to work collaboratively? would be able to provide different methods of corporate team building. An important method of corporate team building is amusement activities that need communication between the members. The favored activities are fly-fishing, sailing regattas, road rallies, snowboarding, interactive seminars, quizzes, puzzle games, etc. All these activities would help workers compete and sharpen their lateral thinking abilities. What services are offered by the team building trainers? Most of the training companies offer entertaining features, from accommodation to meals and more. The packages also include vacation packages, rope courses, on-going office games, and ice-breakers. Training charges would depend upon location, number of team members, trainings, and class sessions. Discounts are available for long-term contracts and if the number of team members is high. Name some famous corporate team building event providers in the U.S. Some popular providers are Accel-Team, Experience Based Learning Inc, Performance Management Company, Team Building Productions, The Training Oasis Inc, Venture Up, Team Builders Plus, and Team Building USA. Corporate Team Building provides detailed information on Corporate Team Building, Corporate Team Building Events, Corporate Team Building Programs, Corporate Team Building Exercises and more. Corporate Team Building is affiliated with Team Building Exercise. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Romando Building Peak Performance Teams All work is done by teams. Nobody does anything alone, aside from brushing their teeth and making their breakfast, everything else requires the involvement and cooperation of other people, and sometimes many other people. Even the car that you drive takes the coordinated talents and skills of hundreds of people to create and manufacture the parts that go into the finished automobile. The words “teamwork” and “teambuilding” are two of the most popular phrases in management today. Because of the fierce global competition today corporations have been forced to downsize and eliminate their traditional hierarchal structures. This has made building and maintaining high-quality teams a necessity for success. We have moved into the Information Age and studies show that over 75 percent of the highest paid people in the country are “knowledge workers”, or people who use their knowledge and thinking capacity in their daily jobs. It is your ability to think that determines the quality of your life. Every piece of information that you learn has the potential of increasing both the amount of money you make and the quality of your life. Being a member of a team is changing. Employees can no longer just be a member of one team with one job. Because businesses today have to react quickly to the competition and changing market conditions employees have to be able to do a variety of multi-task jobs. Being able to work on one team successfully and then quickly moving to another is why having a high level of skills and knowledge is critical to achieving success. Everything worthwhile is the result of a variety of people coming together to perform a variety of jobs, all of which are coordinated and sequenced together to achieve a final result. Today this new model of multi-task team building is the key to success in both individual and business life. The ability to move quickly, surely, and confidently within small, goal-oriented groups, is the new definition of a "team player." Selecting the right people is the crucial first step in team building. For you to select the right people, you must be clear about the key result areas and standards of job performance. Most people judge themselves on the basis of what they feel they are capable of doing in the future, but you must only judge people based on what they have actually accomplished in the past. The inability to choose people well for a team will lead to under-achievement and failure. There are five keys to building peak performing teams. The first of which is shared values. This means that the team sits down and discusses and agrees on the basic values, principles, and beliefs that will tie all of their interactions together. Once they agree on values such as integrity, quality, teamwork, excellence, and trust, everything that the team does should be continually compared to these values. The second key to building peak performance teams is shared objectives. The major reason why companies and teams perform poorly is because of fuzziness and confusion about the exact goals that the team, and each person on the team, is meant to achieve. The third key to peak performance teams is shared plans and strategies. The more time a team spends talking about how they are going to go about achieving the goal or objective, the better they will function as a team when they take their individual positions. Many of the problems of low-performing teams revolve around the fact that no one is exactly clear who is supposed to do what, and how, and by what time, and to what standard. The fourth key to high performing teams is to lead the action. The most important thing that the team leader does is set an example of excellence in everything that he or she does and says. Team leaders are willing to roll up their sleeves and do whatever is necessary to achieve the goal. They never ask anyone else to do anything that they are not willing to do themselves. It is clear at all times who the leader is because the leader is the role model for everyone else. The fifth key to building a peak performance team is continual evaluation and review of performance. The key question is, “How are we doing?” The team gets together and reviews their progress on a regular basis. If something is not going according to plan, they fix the problem rather than the blame. Some other important factors in building peak performing teams are to always choose people who integrate themselves fully into the organization. You want people who throw themselves wholeheartedly into whatever they commit themselves to doing. People who start a little earlier, work a little harder, and stay a little later. The type of person who I think makes the best team member is someone who looks upon every assignment as an opportunity to grow in both experience and reputation. A person who recognizes that every job he or she does carries his or her own personal signature on it for everyone to read. Building peak performing teams can mean the difference between the success and failure of an organization. When you put together a group of individuals who not only can multi-task, but also who can concentrate all their talents and abilities on making the most significant contribution to the organization you will have team that will take your organization to the highest levels of success. Copyright©2006 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many businesses around the world, on the subjects of leadership, achievement, goals, strategic business planning, and marketing. Joe is the author of three books, Starting Your Own Business, Finding Your Purpose In Life, and The Guerrilla Marketing Workbook. Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Love Team Building & Multiple Intelligences Team building and multiple intelligences, to many people, have as much similarity as a company dinner and an i.q. test. if you are new to multiple intelligence, the following is a brief explanation: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences The Theory of Multiple Intelligences surfaced in 1983 when Dr. Howard Gardner’s renowned book titled, “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences” was published. Within the next 10 years, educators world wide embraced the theory as a basis to identify talents in the children they work with. Before that, most people perceived people to be intelligent if they score high in an I.Q. test or other psychometric tests, or are good with logical thinking, mathematical, musical and perhaps, linguistic skills. In his book, which has been described to have caused paradigm shifts, Dr. Gardner identified 7 distinct types of intelligence: 1. Linguistic Intelligence The talent to learn and use languages, it includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically, using language as a primary means to remember things. Poets, writers and translators are people with high linguistic intelligence. 2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence The capacity to analyse problems logically, performs mathematical operations, and scientifically investigate issues. Scientists and mathematicians are some examples of people with high logical-mathematical intelligence. 3. Musical Intelligence Skills in the performing arts, composition, and appreciation of music. It also includes the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. Examples of people with high musical intelligence are: musicians, composers and singers. 4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence The use of one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements. Some examples of people with high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are carpenters, seamstresses and chefs. 5. Spatial Intelligence The potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas. Designers and architects are people with high spatial intelligence. 6. Interpersonal Intelligence The capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. People with well developed interpersonal intelligence tend to work effectively with others. Some examples are educators, religious and political leaders and salespeople. 7. Intra-personal The capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations. People with high intra-personal intelligence have a good idea of what they want to do in life, what they can and cannot do and when to get help. Some examples are high achievers and entrepreneurs. Brief History of team building No one can be sure how the term “team building” was formed or when team building first started. The term “team building” is probably the combination of the words “team” and “building”, which means “building a team”. team building could have started as early as the 1930s, when Professor Elton Mayo’s research in The Hawthorne Experiments (1927 to 1932) concluded that the need for recognition, security and sense of belonging has a greater effect on workers' morale and productivity than other working conditions. Today, team building can mean different things to different organisations. To some it may simply mean building cohesion among participants, while to others it may mean improving communication and sharing of information between departments. So How Does Multiple Intelligence Help Multiple intelligence has been widely applied to children, particularly in the early detection of talents and gifts in children. So does the theory of multiple intelligence still hold true among adults? Are we able to apply the theory to adults? We began to ask these questions a few years ago when we were helping clients with their team building exercises. Over the years, we have successfully conducted team building sessions for many corporations, using multiple intelligence in our games, to bring out strengths of different people in different situations, creating an environment to promote mutual respect, understanding and patience with adult participants. Organisation may define team building in different ways, yet one very basic reason for team building is to get the participants to acknowledge the importance of teamwork and appreciate that people are different. Dr. Sandy E. Kulkin, founder of Institute for The Motivational Living, Inc, USA (the world’s largest publisher of DISC personality profiling system) once said, “People are different, but they are predictably different”. Dr. Sandy is an expert in human behaviour and he develops courses, trains and certifies professional trainers in behavioural analysis for personal and business settings. He is a firm believer that in order for us to be better able to work with one another, we need to understand why people behave in the way they do and how they look at things differently from us. Thus in our view, if we can help participants realise that people are different and see these differences as strengths in the other person, we will be able to help them learn to celebrate the differences, thereby creating mutual respect. Understanding multiple intelligence helps broaden our perspectives of the people around us. In the context of team building, it uncovers the types of intelligence fellow team mates possess, which may never surface within the office setting. This brings about better understanding among the participants. Exposing participants to multiple intelligence during team building also creates an environment in which participants share their knowledge in the type of intelligence that they possess with their fellow colleagues; it helps participants to be patient with one another as they take turns to learn from one another. It can also be a humbling experience when we realise that there are other types of intelligence which may not be well developed in us. Introducing multiple intelligence during team building can also help participants become conscious that if we work as a team, we will be well-equipped to tackle different issues and problems as people who are more developed in different areas of intelligence tend to look at different aspects of an issue. These people will also be better at solving different challenges that the team face. Here are some of Dr. Howard Gardner's books on Multiple Intelligence: • The Arts and Human Development (1973) • Art, Mind, and Brain: A Cognitive Approach to Creativity (1982) • Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence (1983) • The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach (1991) • Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (1993) • Changing the World: A Framework for the Study of Creativity(1994) • Intelligence: Multiple Perspectives (1996) • Intelligence Reframed - Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century (1999) The article was contributed by Alvin Quah, a certified behavioral analyst(in business consulting perspectives), who is registered with the Institute for The Motivational Living, Inc, USA. He can be contacted through the website: Team Building Singapore Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alvin_Quah Hawthorne Experiments and Team Building The hawthorne experiments The Hawthorne Experiments were conducted by Professor Elton Mayo, from 1927 to 1932, at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago. The experiments were primarily started with the intention of studying the relationship between productivity and work conditions. Professor Mayo started these experiments by examining the physical and environmental influences of the workplace (e.g. brightness of lights, humidity) and then moved on to the psychological aspects (e.g. breaks, group pressure, working hours, managerial leadership). The Hawthorne Effect The findings in Hawthorne Experiments have been generally described as the “Hawthorne Effect”, which can be summarised as "Individual behaviors may be altered because they know they are being studied." This is, however, only one of the many useful conclusions that Professor Mayo made. For example, Mayo also found that worker productivity increased with the psychological stimulus of being shown individual attention, feeling involved, and being made to feel important. About the Experiment Mayo selected two ladies from the factory, and they in turn chose another four ladies to participate in the experiment. The team worked in isolation, under the supervision of a friendly supervisor who established a working relationship with them. He took time to explain the changes that were to be introduced, asked for their feedback and listened to their complaints. Mayo then varied the working conditions like working hours and number and duration of rest breaks in stages. The level of production is mechanically recorded, while the supervisor recorded the team’s behaviour. Elton Mayo's Conclusions on Team Performance Among other findings, these conclusions made by Mayo have significantly impacted the way management ran their production plant from then on and, we believe, resulted in the eventual birth of the concept of team building: • Relationships between supervisor and workers affected productivity. Mayo discovered that the relationships between workers and their supervisors affected production. The working relationship that the supervisor established with the workers was not a usual on at that time. Women did not have a high social status at the workplace and when the supervisor asked for the feedback from the ladies and listened to their complaints, it gave them a sense of self-worth. Mayo believed that this spurred them on to produce more even when all the privileges were taken away. • Workgroup norms significantly affected productivity. If most people produced at a particular level after a change was made, everyone tended to produce at that level, as it was ‘a fair day’s work’ (this confirmed similar conclusions made previously by other researches) • The workplace has a culture. A worker’s performance is affected by internal and external social demands. Informal groups within the work plant influence the habits and attitudes of the workers. • Being taken care of. Being recognised for their work, feeling secured and a sense of belonging is more important that physical conditions at work. Emergence of team building One of the most crucial conclusions from the experiments is that toward the end of the tests, when all of the privileges were taken away, productivity continued to rise to an all time high. It was reasonably concluded that the production team were more motivated to work hard by the factors listed above than the physical working conditions. The researchers also noted that there was a possibility that the production team was grateful that the experiments were extended from the initial arrangement of one year to five. In the decades that followed, employers became aware of the importance of maintaining a positive work culture and relationship with workers and probably led to the emergence of team building exercises and retreats. The article was contributed by Alvin Quah, a certified behavioral analyst (in business consulting perspectives), who is registered with the Institute for The Motivational Living, Inc, USA. He can be contacted through the website: Team Building Singapore Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alvin_Quah Corporate Retreats: Key to a Healthy Mind and Body in the Workplace A corporate retreat is an excellent opportunity for any business – from conferences to workshops, or simply for escapism of the hectic, stressful nature of the workplace. A crucial advantage, however, is that relationships and communication are maintained amongst employees/employers which allows for solid team bonding. Corporate retreats will not only benefit people’s lives, but will also improve the way work is approached on a daily basis. It is never too late to renew and rejuvenate the workplace with the experience of a corporate retreat. There are a diverse range of retreats available, which can often comprise of a weekend getaway or a week-long adventure, depending on the company. Activities are involved and can include those such as: yoga, water sports, outdoor activities, team bonding exercises, and food preparation workshops. Team building should be a priority for any organisation, no matter the size. Strong interpersonal relationships and communication skills are vital for the workplace. Corporate retreats allow great qualities to shine through. Individuals will exceed their expectations of themselves and fellow workmates. The internal environment of an organisation needs to be strengthened so that all external activities are effective. Retreats are designed so that participants leave with a wide range of invaluable skills and lessons to take home and apply to their lives. The journey of a corporate retreat is an innovative form of involving employees and providing them with a foundation for strong teamwork. A retreat allows for an employee incentive, as a reward for their hard work and dedicated efforts. Company Advantages A corporate retreat will assist in team building by strengthening employee-to-employer as well employee-to-employee relationships, communication, trust and acceptance. By participating in this experience, workplaces will no doubt benefit and receive a refreshed and energetic staff upon return to the office. Corporate retreats also increase performance and productivity, as well as assist in maintaining sound employee relations. It is far better to maintain a content work environment otherwise morale will decrease, thus resulting in a depletion of productivity and work ethic. By providing an organisation with a corporate retreat, employers will be seen as proactive and willing to support the growth individuals as employees. Individual employees will experience a general feeling of wellbeing and appreciation through the adventure of a corporate retreat. The relaxed environment will revitalise their work ethic and encourage motivation and passion, which will be transferable to the workplace. Good rapport should also develop: employee-to-employee and employee-to-employer. Inspiration and dedication are key factors involved in developing and executing corporate retreats. Qualified instructors will help enhance the skills of any individual, regardless of what their area of expertise is. Absolutely anyone can enjoy a corporate retreat – age, gender and ability are irrelevant. A corporate retreat is the ultimate incentive for any employee. A final word… No matter the size or nature of the company, all will benefit from a corporate retreat. A refreshed and inspired workplace will always deliver 100% and beyond, in performance. Remember, a happy employee is most certainly a productive one. Sheridan Hammond is the founder of Samudra - Surf & Yoga Retreats run in magnificent ocean settings in Australia and around the world. Sheridan and his staff run corporate retreats which are all about team building while experiencing a different culture, eating healthy foods and engaging in the intimate practice of yoga with new friends. For more information on Sheridan or Samudra, visit the website at http://www.samudra.com.au. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sheridan_Hammond How To Make "The Ask!" - Tips for Effectively Recruiting Your Team I picked up the phone and the familiar voice on the other line said: "Hi Craig, want to make me very happy? Want to be my favorite person in the whole wide world? Say yes to my next question. Will you chair our spring conference?" My colleague made all the wrong moves when she called to ask me to accept a major leadership role. Simply put, that's not how to make the ask. Many times in your life you will make requests of others: to join a group, committee or team, to perform a task or to assist with a project. This month’s question: How do you make the ask? Often the key to getting to “Yes” involves how you make your request. Whether you are: - building a board of directors - forming a committee - enrolling others in your team or workgroup - seeking volunteers for a project Follow these ten tips to hear those magic words: "YES, I'd be glad to!" Making the "Ask" 1. Phrase your request in terms of the benefits to the listener. Speak to "what's in it for them." Why will they benefit from saying yes to your request? (She wanted me to make her happy. It's not about her, it's about me.) 2. Be positive. Don't focus on why someone shouldn't say yes or the negative aspects of their accepting your request. Focus on the positives. Will the experience be fun? High profile? Build new skills? Lead to a promotion? Add to one’s résumé? Give all involved a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction? Will it make the world a better place? Focus on positives. 3. Show respect and appreciation for your prospect. When you recognize their skills, past track record, personality or other qualities they in turn feel special. It's flattering and affirming to be asked to participate. 4. Give accurate and clear expectations of what the position or role requires. It’s tempting to tell people what they want to hear, or only emphasize what is easy or fun, or undersell the time commitment required. DON'T! Give a fair explanation of your request. You don’t want them agreeing under false pretenses. 5. Make sure to listen to the issues or concerns of the listener. What are they worried about? How will they base their decision? Strive to understand their needs, their fears and their constraints. 6. Give your prospect an appropriate amount of time to make an informed decision. Don’t pressure, manipulate or overwhelm your prospect in hopes of their saying yes. This often backfires later as they recant or demonstrate less than complete commitment. 7. Strive for win-wins. Use flexibility and creativity to find mutually acceptable outcomes. There are numerous ways you two can find to make your proposition work for both parties. 8. Accept their answer whether they agree to your request or not. 9. Should your initial request be rejected, consider a counter-offer or secondary offer. Having a fallback offer allows your prospect to join your team in whatever capacity they are able to. 10. Thank them either way for their time and willingness to consider your offer. By treating them with respect and care they are more likely to say yes in the future. Remember, their assent is just the beginning. Now that they've put their faith in you as a leader it is incumbent upon you to communicate your appreciation, convey your support and provide valuable recognition along the way. Credible leaders are credible communicators. They not only make the ask so they get favorable responses, they also utilize their listening and team building skills along the way to strengthen their bonds with others. Accentuate your powers of persuasion with a better understanding of how to appeal to colleagues, partners, co-workers, volunteers and interns when popping your questions. Zig Ziglar was right: “You can have anything in the world you want if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want.” The getting is good…it’s all in how you make “the ask!” Craig Harrison's Expressions of Excellence!™ provides sales and service solutions through speaking. For information on keynotes, training, coaching, curriculum for licensing and more, call (888) 450-0664, visit http://www.ExpressionsOfExcellence.com or E-mail excellence@craigspeaks.com for inquiries. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Harrison Building an Extraordinary Team Have you ever participated in a team or led a team that delivered less than stellar results? If you've had this experience-and most of us have- then your team was likely missing one or more of the characteristics of high functioning teams. A high functioning team can accomplish things a group of independently functioning individuals can never accomplish. This is hardly earth shattering news. So if highly functioning teams are so important, why do so few teams deliver results? As the Total Quality Management movement gained momentum in the United States in the 1980's, there was a heightened focus on teams. Teams were often used as a forum for surfacing ideas on process improvements that would help manufacturing become more efficient, and when these process teams were successful, an additional benefit of teams was realized: teams could also help improve employee engagement and satisfaction. Eventually, companies grew to understand that happy employees created happy customers, and while the emphasis on teaming remained, the strategic reason for teams was often forgotten. Teams were often formed only as a "feel good" device to make management feel like they were doing something. As a result, individuals and organizations became increasingly dissatisfied with the teaming process. In cases where teams don't work, it's often because team members have been chosen based on availability instead of specific skills and abilities. And many times, teams are assembled as a way to keep the troops happy by providing them a forum to provide input, without a full organizational commitment to translate their input into something meaningful. These approaches are a waste of time. In his best selling book, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team," Patrick Lencioni uses the story of a fictional team to elegantly illustrate five very simple characteristics that must be present for a team to be fully functional. Ensuring the presence of these characteristics will help ensure that the collective work product delivered by your team will be extraordinary. The Heartbeat of an Extraordinary Team Often when a team comes together the primary motivators of team members are to impress, protect, judge or criticize. Because they operate with the assumption that "it's a jungle out there" and they feel pressure to be perfect, people are conditioned to value strength, power and results. Weakness, vulnerability or mistakes are to be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately, when "strength" and "power" rule, there is no ability to assemble on neutral territory, admit to the unknown and create solutions from a place of learning rather than share answers from a place of knowing. What is missing is trust. The basic element of trust is the heartbeat that continuously feeds and nurtures teams. Trust allows team members to shift to a place of collective learning that's critical to the success of a team. Trust is so fundamental to the team process that without it, a team cannot be successful. Regrettably, ensuring an atmosphere of trust is often overlooked. Here's what happens in teams without trust: • People avoid conflict and don't say what they really think in a misguided attempt to maintain harmony. Unfortunately, all this does is send conflict underground, allowing passive aggressive behavior and secret agendas to flourish. • People fear retribution for articulating an opinion outside of what's generally accepted in the organization. Thus they either learn to "tow the party line" or find another job. • Individuals conceal their weaknesses and mistakes due to a focus on defending themselves and/or advancing their careers. This prevents members from engaging in healthy dialogue and debate which inhibits the development of creative solutions. • People judge and criticize in an attempt to protect their individual power base. Building Trust as the Cornerstone for Extraordinary Teams Without trust, the other four dysfunctions of a team are allowed to flourish. It prevents healthy conflict and makes it virtually impossible for the team to realize the benefits of comparing and contrasting different opinions in an environment of respect and healthy debate. When potential issues-be they technical or interpersonal- are not aired, real commitment to a decision or plan of action cannot take place. Team members simply pay lip service to agreed upon goals and do their own thing anyway. When they don't really buy into the group goals, they avoid accountability both for themselves and other team members. They avoid accountability because they are not sure what is expected of themselves or their co-workers. This creates an environment where each member becomes more focused on their own career than the results of the group. And obviously, you can't have a successful team if each member is more focused on their own goals than the team goals. The Role of the Leader The executive team or team leader plays a crucial role in determining the success of a team. How they behave sets the tone for the rest of the team. In order to create an environment of trust, the team leader must be willing to be vulnerable. They must be willing to take risks in order to show other team members that it is safe to do so. Taking risks makes room for healthy conflict but the team leader needs to be careful not to immediately jump in when things get heated. The leader needs to have a healthy tolerance for respectful, and sometimes emotional debate. If the leader shuts down conflict, team members learn that conflict is "dangerous" and don't develop the ability to drive through the conflict that is an inevitable part of developing creative solutions. The leader must also ensure a consistent focus on results. If team members feel there is an over focus on keeping peace, protecting sacred cows, or burying potentially negative issues, they will read it as permission to do the same. What You Can Do to Turn the Tide Establishing trust first requires that team leadership, whether formal or informal, authentically models vulnerability and risk taking. Secondly, a process involving an intentional focus on creating trust will help build the cornerstone that leads to achieving extraordinary results. Some ideas for the process include: • Personal sharing of individual stories in a way that the team learns both the unique talents as well as the personal triumphs and challenges of individual members. • Personality and Behavioral Preference Profiles. Popular tools and assessments for this include DiSC, Meyers Briggs (MBTI) and Birkman. These types of assessments provide a non-threatening way for people to understand the strengths, weaknesses, thinking styles and communication styles of each team member. They help teams come to appreciate the differences among them. • 360 Degree Feedback – An experienced coach can interview individual team members and debrief the overall team on concerns, fears, opportunities and other themes and patterns that exist within the team. When shared in the appropriate way, a coach can help a team use these collective insights to build a solid foundation of trust. Extraordinary teams are not created by accident. Although they may have a high level of conflict they also have a high level of trust. They also have strong leaders who can both model team behavior and allow a certain level of trust. Read Patrick Lencioni's book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" to learn more about you and your team can achieve the results you want. Copyright (c) 2006 Tim Link Tim Link is an executive coach and management consultant with a record of successfully guiding leaders and organizations from small business through Fortune 50 to increased employee productivity and satisfaction. Link Resource Group provides customized business coaching, consulting and leadership training programs, both large and small. http://www.LinkResourceGroup.net Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Link Ten Innovative Ideas for Successful Team Building Events Team building can give a powerful boost to the spirit and effectiveness of any group. Well-designed and delivered team building programs can lead your group to a better understanding, clearer alignment and much stronger motivation to work and succeed together. Organizing a team building event is a big responsibility. The next time the responsibility lands on your shoulders, use these ten ideas to make your event a well-planned and memorable success. 1. Set the tone with an inspiring theme. Telegraph the tone and purpose of your event with a theme that hits the mark. ‘The Third Annual Team Building Program’ is not going to excite many participants. Here are examples of themes my clients have used to motivate and communicate with their teams: ‘Rocket to the Top, Together!’ (for a software company seeking to achieve dominant market share), ‘The Winning Team’ (for a financial services group seeking to overcome competitors and economic adversity), ‘Forging a New Alliance’ (for a diverse medical services group managing a complete reorganization of roles and departments). 2. Prime the pump for full participation. Use internal communication to get everyone interested and ready for the event. Use e-mail, printed memos, websites, bulletin boards, posters and meetings to arouse people’s curiosity, and circulate a list of objectives and issues for the meeting. You could conduct a survey prior to the meeting and announce the results during the program. Have individuals prepare essential business presentations. Create cross-functional teams to deliver the evening entertainment. 3. Conduct the program off-site. Major team-building programs are frequently conducted off-site. This allows participants to get away from the workplace physically (minimizing disruptions) and mentally (opening their thinking to new points of view). 4. Use a mix of energy, enterprise and entertainment. Stimulate interest and involvement by employing a full range of team building activities. You can have ‘work hard’ sections with speeches about the future and workshops on current business problems. You can have ‘play hard’ sections with team games or outdoor challenges. And you can include social sections with mealtime activities, awards and evening entertainment. Carefully sequence your activities throughout the day and evening. Be especially careful to follow lunches with some physical activity and to end your program with a strong note of confidence and commitment. 5. Allow enough time to process, discuss and apply. Allow some time between each activity for discussion about new learning and application to the job. It’s better to have a full day with two team building games and enough time for discussion, than a ‘stuffed’ day with three or four games but little time for reflection. 6. Focus on new actions with ‘more, less, start, and stop’. During the program, have participants develop clear answers to the following questions: ‘What do you want (the other person, department, etc.) to do more of?’ ‘What do you want (the other person, department, etc.) to do less of?’ ‘What do you want (the other person, department, etc.) to start doing?’ ‘What do you want (the other person, department, etc.) to stop doing?’ Toward the end of your program, have participants make a list of personal commitments: ‘What am I committed to do more of?’ ‘What am I committed to do less of?’ ‘What am I committed to start doing?’ ‘What am I committed to stop doing?’ 7. Use photos and videos to extend the program’s impact. Engage a photographer to document your team building program. Give copies of special photographs to your participants after the event. Post the best photographs on your bulletin boards, in the cafeteria or publish them in the company newsletter. Put them on your company’s website so your teams’ family members can view them from home. If you record on video, have the footage edited with music and snappy graphics. Show this entertaining vignette another time at a company meeting or social event. 8. Harness the power of peripheral players. When selecting participants for your program, be willing to include those related to, but not permanent members of, the core group. Internal customers, suppliers, and neighboring departments could all provide a few participants who are ‘closely related’ to your core group. These ‘peripheral players’ can add significant value, perspective and insight to your program. They can also help with appropriate communication inside and outside your organization after the event is over. 9. Get personal. Make sure everyone sees the link between ‘group team building’ and ‘individual action’ on the job. Have each person complete a commitment card, action plan, personal promise statement or some other means to ensure they apply appropriate new behaviors. Closing a team building program by having everyone share their list of commitments and action plans is a good way to gain buy-in from individuals and unite the entire group. 10. Reward the organizers. Planning and preparing a team building program is a major undertaking. Be sure to give recognition to those who did the work ‘behind the scenes’. A thoughtful gift, given in front of everyone at the end of the program, will be appreciated and remembered. Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of "UP Your Service College". Visit www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at www.RonKaufman.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ron_Kaufman Team Building - from Fun Event to Genuine Team Improvements What does the phrase "team building" mean to you? Quad-biking? Abseiling? Propping up the bar with your work colleagues? Allow me to disagree. Let's look at the word "build" and see where that leads us. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines the word "build" as "Establish, make or accumulate gradually". This definition implies a sense of time passing and growth. This, in turn, implies a modicum of care and attention to maximise the growth - or at the very least monitor the development. So what kind of process works best to turn a team building session into something that improves team effectiveness back where it matters? It is not uncommon for trainers and facilitators to like the sound of their own voice. Yet we all know that it is far more powerful if people can learn something for themselves rather than be told it. People turn off very quickly even after a very enjoyable team activity if the next thing they hear is the facilitator telling them his or her view of their performance. I'll go further - the tried and trusted technique of "What did you do well? What could you have done better?" isn't much better. All too often you can hear people leaving team building sessions saying "every time we do one of these, we fail at the same old things" closely followed by "we'd have been better off talking about the real issues at work". If you are lucky, they might add "I enjoyed it though". So here's the dilemma. If you leave it up to the participants themselves to come up with the improvements, their blinkers stop them from seeing the obvious development opportunities that the activity unveils to those observing. Yet if the observers tell them what they see, the participants don't listen - or worse, become defensive. I can hear you thinking "but a truly skilled facilitator will lead them to the learning without them realising it". Don't you believe it. Only the most naive of the group will fail to spot a facilitator guiding them somewhere they don't really want to go. And that taints the learning - or at least the chances of it being applied. So if the participants can't see the learning and won't listen if someone else tells them, is a team building session doomed to mediocrity before it starts? No - there is a third option. A team building debriefing guide, tailored to the activity and (ideally) to the participant group, is a superb mechanism to guide the learning while not interfering in the process. So what are the key characteristics that such a guide should have? My experience suggests the following seven elements are all key components: 1) It should be tailored to the activity and focus on those aspects that have one or more direct parallels in the group's real working environment. 2) It should provide an opportunity for individuals to reflect before any discussion within the team on the points it makes. 3) It should be constructed such that the input of every member of the team is necessary to complete the process. 4) It should not make value judgements in the way in which it describes particular aspects of the activity that might have gone well or less well for the team. Rather it should provoke discussion and encourage transfer back to the workplace. 5) It should provide places for individuals to capture their own learning and for the team to capture the group learning. 6) It should be useable purely by the participants themselves after brief instruction. 7) It should offer a framework for the team to invite observer input so that any "external" comments are requested by them rather than forced upon them. Achieve all of these and you will have a superb base to build team improvements upon. And that feels like what the Oxford Concise English Dictionary is getting at. Copyright 2006 Sandstone Limited About The Author Alan Hunt is Managing Director of Sandstone, a leading UK team building company. He enjoys creating innovative activities that combine fun with genuine team development. In his spare time, he does voluntary work for the RNIB. http://www.sandstone.co.uk
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