To Build Your Team Try Building A Covered Wagon

The business world has changed dramatically since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. The nature of work for modern workers has become increasingly specialized, isolating, and impersonal. Although technology has made it possible to increase human productivity, effective human collaboration is still needed for long-term business success.

The business world has changed dramatically since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. The nature of work for modern workers has become increasingly specialized, isolating, and impersonal. Although technology has made it possible to increase human productivity, effective human collaboration is still needed for long-term business success.

Although people no longer need to be in the same place at the same time in order for communication to happen, there is still no replacement for in-person physical interactions for building relationships and team cohesiveness. People become more than just impersonal names on email distribution lists. They become partners and members of a team, united in working toward a common purpose. Employees become much more energized and capable of working together to accomplish shared goals.

In an increasingly competitive business world where successful companies must be nimble, creative, and good at collaboration in order to take advantage of rapidly changing market conditions, smart businesses should utilize internal and external team building opportunities. Until people feel comfortable working together to solve shared problems, companies will be ineffective, lethargic, and unwieldy as everyone pulls and pushes in different directions to accomplish different ends.

As companies have grown larger and more complex, many businesses have looked to the military as well as the pioneering history of bygone settlers for managerial inspiration. They saw that people who faced logistical and physical challenges together formed quick bonds of trust and developed effective problem-solving abilities as a team unit. People became highly motivated to achieve group success for their team unit.

Team building opportunities have thus been adopted from those models to assist in the world of business. One fun and exciting method involves covered wagon building and driving. People are typically divided into groups of 8 - 12 people to accomplish a number of group tasks themed on the trials of the old west.

Each team must design and build a covered wagon according to certain technical specifications. Each team can also purchase additional supplies within their allotted budget in order to build their wagon. The same rules, limits, and specifications apply to each team. They may also need to create a team flag and camp song. After completing their wagons, teams will then compete by racing their wagons.

Throughout this event, team members must practice communicating, decision-making, exercising leadership, and working in tandem. They practice problem solving in a group setting. People get a fun opportunity to develop trust in their teammates as they define roles and responsibilities to accomplish group challenges. The accompanying adrenaline rush from this activity's speed and novelty is also chemically conducive to feelings of group camaraderie.

Team building events like these can help take people out of their comfort zones and help them overcome self-limiting fears and mental barriers. They can be a safe, fun, and exciting way for companies to develop innovative, cohesive, and highly effective project teams. Team building exercises can help companies become more effectively interdependent, both internally within company departments and externally with business partners and vendors. Everyone can benefit when people feel highly motivated and comfortable working together toward common goals.

Daiv Russell is a management and marketing consultant with Envision Consulting in Tampa, Florida. Find more Team Building Ideas, techniques, and exercises or learn more about finding the root cause of your organization's teamwork issues.

Team Building - Break the Comfort Levels

Managers and leaders are encouraged to create procedures and policies that encourage people to follow proven "trails" to create a measurable outcome, maybe a sale, or a product. Mangers spend time working to make people be at their most effective. How often do mangers, individuals, and teams push themselves out of their discipline? How often are individuals and teams given the opportunity to safely practice pushing that comfort zone, to walk a different "trail"? Once a manager, individual, or team pushes past a comfort zone and prescribed roles they then have the ability to view a procedure or policy through a different lens. This change of lens empowers the team and manager to create policies and procedures that can raise the effectiveness of those on the team. The manager when pushed past a comfort zone may now see that the procedures and policies themselves are an evolving and dynamic process, full of synergistic solutions. This change of lens has the ability to illustrate that there is an abundance of ideas and creative solutions to be seized upon, and all it takes is changing you perspective pushing past the prescribed roles and comforts of the daily routine.

Within a team building program participants are encouraged to do things that scare them, to push that comfort zone to create and connect new brain based synapses and discover new ways of approaching and solving problems. To empower yourself and teams to see people and feel experiences in a way that at one point seemed impossible. An example of something that is scary to participants does not have to be dangling off a rope 60 feet in the air. This has little to no applicable references to the work environment. An example of a brain based push past set limits can be a leader truly quieting and listening to the team. To some leaders this is the change in lens that is needed. As leaders we tend to feel that our lens is clean and that others are the problem. The outside is the problem, pushing and opening yourself up to listening to team members whether you are a leader or not is a frightening push into discomfort. A leader may hear from their team that it is not the outside that is the problem it is inside, the leader and the current environment that is the problem. An effective and long term team building plan is to create an open environment for team members to speak their piece have their voices be heard and respected, while at the same time having commitment to the success of the team. This can be accomplished and it takes work, a push of the comfort zone of daily routine.

The brain and mental push past limits of comfort for leaders and managers alike is a more challenging zone to break. Several of us push physical limits, how many managers and leaders push their intellectual limits and team limits?

What an effective team building facilitator is capable of doing is facilitating an environment to challenge these intellectual limits. When the facilitator leaves, your team is smarter and has new lens with an enhanced perspective on what the team is capable of accomplishing!

Are you and your team ready to break comfort limits and achieve greater results? I have customized team building programs to accomplish just that - Physically and Mentally!

-Michael Cardus: is an adventure & Team Building consultant for Create-Learning-Team Building located in Buffalo NY.

Fun Team Building Activities

Janet, a group manager, complained to her human resources consultant, Larry, that her group does not function as a team. Janet's team did not help each other out, didn't care about one another, and didn't want to share information with each other. These were just a few of problems she was having. She and Larry came up with the solution to take this out of the working environment for a couple of days and take their team to a resort to resolve this problem. They put together a plan where they would work on trust, ice-breaking, and brainstorming to better the team in working together.

Only half of Janet's team attended the first day of the offsite, and those members were too tired to actively participate. The other half of the team was frantically working on a project due later that week. Janet's main purpose for the offsite was team building, which left no official business reason for it to occur. While the brainstorming went reasonably well, the members present did not indicate that any action was to occur later. To summarize, the offsite was a waste of time for everyone involved.

You might think this is an exaggeration, but for some people it resembles an offsite they've been a part of. They can't get the team focused on solving a problem, putting a strategy into focus or coming up with a new way of doing things. One of the best things that can come from an offsite, though, is team building. If you do it right, it can bring minds together. If done wrong, people will feel their time is wasted which makes you look like a bad leader.

These simple guidelines will help you to be certain that your offsites are both accomplishing their duties and creating teams that will last.

Have a clear purpose for the offsite - Define some clear business reason for having the offsite. Consider things such as developing strategic goals for the upcoming fiscal year, account planning for strategic customers, or generating solution alternatives for a key business problem. If you make the goal of the offsite "Team Building" then your team is likely to look at the offsite as a waste of time that will have no real business benefit. Do your team building under the guise of solving a problem or defining the future.

Make sure there's enough time to network. There should be plenty of time throughout the experience for everyone to get to know each other and enjoy refreshments. Everyone needs to know each other better in order to have a more cohesive and better working team. Do not plan getting to know each other activities - let the team do this naturally.

You need to make sure that you hold your offsite conference at a time when there isn't a crush of business. An offsite conference is useless if members of the team have to constantly check their email or answer phone calls. While no time is ever perfect for an offsite, you don't want to hold it when your team is distracted or exhausted.

Some of the best offsites I've held were overnight events. It gave it a more fun-filled atmosphere because the team ate dinner together, had some drinks... it made the whole thing feel so much more relaxed. Further, we'd always stay up late brainstorming new , out-of-the-box strategies and working through major business problems. These sessions would prove to be invaluable because the team members put their heads together to address problems and opportunities. Everyone really worked together as a team and, more importantly, the team members built real relationships with each by getting to know each other better. They got to know how the others think and act, which laid the foundation for building a strong team.

In my experience with offsites, one of the things that frustrates me the most is that the great ideas which came from the offsite are never implemented, since there was never any follow-up. We'll need to take action with a follow-up plan to keep the excitement going. This includes dates, tasks and owners to ensure that the ideas we brainstorm will actually get implemented. We have to create and use a follow-up plan so that the team doesn't perceive the whole offsite as a waste of their time.

Daiv Russell is a marketing and management consultant with Envision Consulting in Tampa, Florida. Find more Team Building Ideas, techniques, and exercises or learn more about finding the root cause of your organization's teamwork issues.

There's More Than Power In Positive Thinking

There are many factors that are critical to success. You can have a great plan, the right people, facilities that are top notch and a superior concept but without the right outlook these advantages could be worth nothing. There is a reason why some businesses succeed and others fail and many times it has to do with the philosophy behind the business. We have heard for decades that there is power in positive thinking and finally businesses across the world are putting stock in positive thinking.

When your business is in its infancy everything you do is based on hope for the future. With your will alone, customers come to you and your ideas and concepts begin to reach out and begin to live a life of their own. Obstacles are met with resolve and slowly but surely they are overcome. During those formative times positive thoughts are necessity and come easily when you have not yet faced failures. But as time goes on and businesses grow, it is easy to get complacent. As your organization develops and your staff grows and all of a sudden it isn't just your attitude you have to worry about. The dynamic of your business has changed and the ability to motivate becomes a real issue. Now you really need that positive energy that you started out with.

The first thing to remember as you face your staff each morning is that you are the leader and you set the tone for your entire organization. Your positive attitude will be like the stone you throw in a pond. Its ripples will spread throughout your company and influence every decision and action that takes place. The second thing to remember is that the personalities that make up your company are not only an asset but a huge resource. When you are down find someone who isn't struggling and draw from that positive energy wherever you find it. Every company is like a finely turned orchestra and each section contributes to the beauty of its entirety. Instead of strings and brass, it's Accounts Payable and Customer Service.

Use staff meetings as a time to fine tune your instruments. There is much to be said for agendas and timetables when planning a meeting. But don't forget to leave time for laughter, ideas, and play. Current thought on meetings have come to the conclusion that they can be times of team building as well as decision driven meetings. Nothing builds a team faster than sharing laughter and fun. I am not endorsing hours of free spirited recreation and hilarity. Time is a valuable commodity but spending ten minutes of sharing laughter and humor can go along way in reducing tension and freshening ideas and outlooks. People that laugh together form a tight bond that can mean the difference between a unit and people who merely spend time together.

Leaders who encourage humor and a positive outlook will find themselves renewed and more respected. Some recent studies have shown that humor not only reduces tension in groups but also strengthens the immune systems of its members. Long standing medical belief holds that people who look at life with optimism and humor live longer and stay healthier. Why not let your organization contribute to the health of its members and reap the benefits of less sick days and higher morale? Something as simple as a clever cartoon taped to the break room refrigerator can lighten burdens, relieve stress, and build group cohesiveness. Rewarding the employee with the most original screen saver can brighten your office and the spirits of those who work there. Humor has a place in the business world and finding the place between cynicism and chaos is a fine art. I am not suggesting that people take their jobs less seriously and that work should be just fun. The realities of a competitive and demanding world can't be sacrificed for the sake of fun. What I am saying is that by using a thoughtful approach to team building through humor may be the answer to a business that is overworked and stretched to its limits. Positives attract positives and we all know the damage negativity can bring to a business. By encouraging your employees to use appropriate humor to lighten the mood and liven up their workdays can truly put the power in positive attitudes.

Melissa Vokoun is a successful Business Advisor and Trainer. From 1983 to 2005 she was COO and VP of Sales and Marketing for a national telecom equipment distributor. Her passion for business, working with clients in solving critical issues in the strategic, tactical and operational areas of growth continues. She is now President and Founder of NuVo Partners and Successful Business Advisors. To learn more about the services available, please visit the website at: http://www.nuvo-partners.com or call 847-392-6886.

How To Pick Your Team In A Corporate Environment

"The key elements to a successful sled team are a steady driver, and three strong runners to push the sled down the ice."

-Sanka Coffie, "Cool Runnings" (1993)

Young professionals who have already found a job and ask me for advice are often focused on a single question: which group in their company will give them the best exit opportunities. After all, who doesn't want to land an even better job and make even more money?

But you shouldn't pick your team based solely on exit opportunities. It's true that some groups in your company may place more employees into higher-paying jobs than others, but if you're smart and have performed well, you can find a good job afterwards regardless of your group. And who knows? You may end up liking your job and wanting to stay.

What young people often overlook when deciding on a group is the value of your team.

Good Team, Bad Team

Good senior teammates will reward good work. Do you remember Randy Pausch's Last Lecture when he said that you help yourself become successful if you help those around you? It's easier to achieve your goals with a little help along on the way. You might not even mind working hard for these folks.

Bad senior teammates will use-you-and-forget-you (unless they need someone to yell at), disrespect your time, and generally care nothing about your professional development. Perhaps they're unstable people, or they're the type to be more personable to clients than to their own mothers. Either way, they're bad news for you.

Team preferences can be complicated if all the "good" people in your office have little power, or if they work in areas in which you have no interest, but you should strive to pick out the good apples in your early weeks on the job. Observe carefully and pay attention to what those around you and older people at your office say. Yes, rumors are often false, but in the workplace every rumor has a kernel of truth in it.

Your ability to get the scoop early on will prevent much pain and suffering later.

Picking Your Team

This works differently in every job. Some places hand out team assignments immediately after getting you like heavenly mandates; others rotate you into different groups until a team wants you permanently assigned to them.

Things are more interesting when you actually get to pick your co-workers. You can influence who you work with by declaring your passionate interest in a particular area or your fierce admiration for the head of a certain group, if that's what you're interested in. On the other hand, if you feel yourself caught in the gravitational pull of a team you would hate working with, consider expressing your interest in that other group - quickly!

Once you are assigned to a team (unless it's a 50-person "team"), your maneuvering room is much more limited. Your cards might be limited to the old "I have personal problems with so-and-so", but the prudence of playing this card depends on your situation.

But I Spent 22 Years Of My Life Getting This Job And Now I Hate Myself

If you end up on a truly unbearable team, you have a few options. First and most obvious is to complain to even higher-level managers about your situation and avoid being staffed on projects with the problematic team member(s).

This can work, but usually only if he/she has received complaints before; the other key is to frame your problem as a conflict that is affecting the firm and not just you personally; do not attack the offender but instead give specific examples of how his/her behavior prevented work from getting done and prevented revenue from coming in.

Aside from complaining internally, you could also try to switch groups entirely. If your situation is only moderately bad and you're interested in other opportunities, this approach makes sense.

Once you've exhausted the correction and switching groups/offices options, there's always quitting. With today's job market and a looming recession, I would not recommend doing this, especially without a plan.

Ian Spellfield, a former investment banker, advises students and young professionals on how to get investment banking jobs and how to pick their co-workers and work effectively.

How Encouraging And Motivation Of Team Members Increase Performance

In every team there needs to be a leader, one that can follow up with each member, give the appropriate tasks to do and track the results on a periodic basis. When there is no leader and no one is keeping track of the progress, team members are less motivated and usually have emotional conflicts.

The leader needs to encourage motivation and be a source of support for everyone else, he needs to set the rules very clear and give clear deadlines of when each task needs to be completed. Following this guidelines the performance of the members will be higher.

However, motivation is composed of attitude, strategy and drive, if the each member can work with each other in a positive environment attitude will not be a problem. If the leader has a clear strategy and has given each member their tasks to do strategy will not be a problem. But if team members have no drive then the results will be poor because they do not have motivation.

To increase the motivation in each member, first is important to choose the members that have a real interest in the project, if you just force people to work on a project that they don't like motivation will not be possible. Then the goal and deadlines have to be very clear, the members need to know that the goal has to be reached in a limited amount of time. Lastly, the members need to know that they will be rewarded with either money, awards, prestige, etc.

Is not always easy to generate motivation in all the members and usually in companies you have to work with people that you don't like to achieve the results. Even if not all team members like each other, they need to know the rules. The leader needs to let them know that they are working for a common goal and that is all that matters.

Discover how to motivate people anytime any where, students, professionals, teams, leaders and get tips and advice on: self concept motivation at http://www.selfmotivationtechniques.com

You can also read about: motivation inspiration weight loss exercise

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!

If you want to make more money you must avoid, "The One Man Show" entrepreneur syndrome. You have to stop thinking that you can do everything by yourself. Most entrepreneurs have this mindset because this is why they are entrepreneurs to begin with. They simply think that they can do everything by themselves and they don't feel they need the help of others. Oftentimes, this is the wrong approach to achieve your major business goals. Sometimes when you even feel that you can do it better than anyone else resist the temptation and get help. The journey to ultimate success and big rewards should be done through seeking help from others or through a systematic 'TEAM' approach.

Take Henry Ford for example; he was scrutinized for being ignorant because he did not have a college degree. He was not a long time student of school. The press calls him 'a man that was uneducated.' Henry Ford only managed to finish an elementary education. They scrutinized him to go as far as to hold a press conference and prove to the world that he was "ignorant."

They were totally wrong. Many questions were trivial, which required memorization skills about nonsense facts such as dates of wars and names of past historical figures. Henry Ford told the press that he did not know the little trivial facts and figures, but he can in ten minutes summon a person who knows those things. He told them that he did not need to fill his mind with such useless data. All he needed to do was use his mind for thinking and creating. Trivial pursuits are a waste of time, money, and energy.

Henry Ford's rise to success without great schooling is attributed to his ability to 'team up' with the minds of other men. In essence, he borrowed knowledge from those who were smarter then himself to achieve his goals. Henry Ford did not know much about engineering but he had men who knew all about engineering. He did not know much about marketing but he had men who knew how to sell, and they focused on promoting his ideas for him. He did not know a great deal about money, bookkeeping, or investments but he was able to work with accountants, financial advisors, and lawyers who could get him funding.

Henry Ford was a great achiever because he realized the power of 'teamwork' where people working together for a common goal can achieve impossible goals. Looking at this lesson we know that it was impossible for him to achieve the level of success that he enjoyed without the aid of others. In order to get what we want in life, we must learn to team up with others to achieve our goals just as Henry Ford did to change history.

So remember, when you think that you can do everything by yourself, stop and think how much more help you can get. Whether it is to hire an assistant to help with the administration of your business or acquire services of professionals, just do it. If you cannot afford it, try to barter your services because it's a good way to do business and both parties can win. Last, if bartering is not possible, just 'ask.' Yes, there are countless successful professionals that have made it. They can help you if you just ask. Don't be shy because if you don't ask you may never receive.

In conclusion, when you are striving toward your goals, keep in mind that two or more heads are better than one.

Minh is formally trained as a financial planning strategist for small businesses and individuals within the Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC areas; Minh is also recognized as a real estate investment lecturer on the topics of creative real estate investing. He is the author of a Best-Selling Course, "Turnkey Profits Using Lease Purchase and Other Creative Investing Techniques." Minh is also a co-author of a national best seller: "Mission Possible" along side Stephen Covey (author of 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People") and Brian Tracey (international top ranked motivational speaker). He is also an active member of three real estate investing associations in the Greater Metro Washington DC areas.

www.guaranteeprofits.com

Corporate Team Building Activity - Failure To Achieve Results

Your corporate team building program was not a success? Here are four possible reasons why.

1) Lack of understanding why they are there.

If the participants are not made aware of the reason for the team building program there can be some serious hostility. Some coordinators like to "keep the people in the dark" and surprise them when the team building program starts. Another common idea is, we will not tell them what we are doing and when it starts they will be totally surprised. These two ideas are a recipe for disaster, and a competent team building facilitator's worst nightmare. As adults the idea a "SURPRISE" you need better team work, does not create a happy environment.

Instead what coordinators of team building programs should do is speak to the team inform them that they are going to be taking part in a team program. You are going to get some groans and people may not want to attend. This however is alright. The team building program should not be viewed as a prison sentence. Let them go to the meeting, ask them to observe for a little time, if they still do not wish to participate, this is their choice.

Within work teams - initiative and choice is a building block for team work, you must respect your team members decision.

2) Improper sequencing of activities

This cannot be said loud enough. What sequencing is in the team building world is the order of activities, each one adding a new level of comfort and acceptance to the group. Many times the coordinator of the event and even worse the facilitator wants to "scare them straight into being a team" by pushing a huge physical, mental or emotional challenge on participants for the first activity. If this happens almost 90% of the participants will back out immediately.

Participants understand that they are not going to love every team building activity, and that they have the choice to change their minds. A proper sequence starts with the groups' current state of being. Do they know each other well? Have they worked together for 30+ years? Is there some hidden conflict waiting to erupt? The sequencing depends on the facilitator of your event; the facilitator should at the least have knowledge of Tuckman's 5 Stages of Group Formation, if the facilitator does not RUN out of their as fast as you can! This facilitator is not ready for corporate team building.

Ask the facilitator how sequential learning is going to add to your team building program. Be an informed consumer, do not assume that because the facilitator works for a college, or a reputable conference center that he is qualified.

3) Poor or inadequate debrief

If the facilitator does not have the skills to debrief the team building activities, take your companies check book to the toilet and flush it! You will get the same results - wet feet, a foul odor and an angry supervisor.

This is where experience and broad knowledge is needed for the team building facilitator. After the majority of team building activities the facilitator should lead a debrief or processing session. Effective facilitators are able to gain the trust and attention of all team members through a variety of processing techniques. While you are speaking with the facilitator ask about experiential learning cycles, processing, planned outcomes, goals, and customization to your group. If he just stares at you blankly this facilitator is probably great at playing games but lacks the true processing needed to turn a corporate team building activity from recreation to education.

4) Lacking commitment of Management and Executive team

"Thank you for coming to this our team building day, the executive staff are pleased to have you, the executive staff and I are going to go golfing for the day and leave you here to play some games with [insert team building facilitator here]. This is important to the executive team that all of you work as a team. Have fun playing some silly games we will see you after our golf game, Good luck [insert team building facilitator here] this group needs a lot of work!"

This is the introduction I once got before a 7 hour team building program. Needless to say the goals and learning objectives that were reached never stuck back in the office. It is imperative for the higher ups to be part of the team building as much as possible. Often times the ideas that arise are brilliant and can be easily implemented into organizational practice. If the executive team is off golfing, they will never hear it.

Team building is a culture, team building is a value a mission a deep down belief in the participants soul to like and love their Job as well as co-workers. When looking for a Corporate Team Building Consultant find someone who is passionate about your organization and is ready to work with you for success.

There must be trust for organizational growth to occur.

-Michael Cardus:
Michael is an adventure consultant for Create-Learning-Team Building: and experiential and leadership training organization. Headquartered in Buffalo NY
http://www.create-learning.com

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Employees Were Paddled And Had Pies Thrown In Their Face - Team Building Events

Illicit Corporal Punishment: Spanked Employee receives 1.2 million

"Employees [of Californian home security company] Alarm One Inc. were paddled with rival companies' yard signs as part of a contest that pitted sales teams against each other, according to court documents.

The winners poked fun at the losers, throwing pies at them, feeding them baby food, making them wear diapers and swatting their buttocks."

-Printed in "World Corporal Punishment Research" ;US Domestic April 2006.

As I read this article I thought, "is this what organizations think team building is supposed to be?" I had visions of an executive team discussing this idea and thinking that it is a great way to boost morale.

Sadly this is just one of the many areas that culture and the world view as team building, a gladiator type competition placing one department against another. The odd thing is that most of the times these team building (I use the term loosely) activities are totally lacking in meaning and are sold as a mandatory event that will increase sales and boost morale. The idea that a pie in the face, and a good paddling by your co-worker is going to encourage team members to wish to work together and create shared goals is ludicrous.

These activities as team building ideas usually start off harmless enough, the team is lacking camaraderie or they wish to interject some fun into the executive or any other department. They toss out some ideas and then it generally becomes a "Survivor" type game.

I recall one group I was brought in to consult, after a preliminary meeting and a needs assessment the executive team saw that trust and communication were lacking between the sales and engineering teams. I suggested several team program ideas that could be done to increase the communication and raise the trust levels. Two days later the VP of operations comes back to me with the idea to have the sales team and engineering team compete in a series of challenges (they created all these challenges, and totally threw out my proposals) to accumulate points. These points would count as bonuses in their salaries. I severely objected to this idea, the team was set on doing it and we chose not to work together. 6 months later I receive a phone call from the VP of operations, "things are worse than ever, we have lost 3/4 of the prior work team". The reason that the VP of operations stated for the turnover was that the team members felt uncomfortable with each other and that the environment is hostile (I wonder why).

Team building events can be fun, and meaningful. This is easy to achieve and you must be realistic in what can be done. To create a true change takes an investment in the people and a fresh look at the team. For this to be done all you need is to change the event format so the event has common goals for all participants, making people cooperate, not compete. The event rewards those who get good results but also those who help others get good results and those who help make it a nice experience for everyone. You take plenty of time to let participants reflect on how the learnings from the event can be applied in their work.

You may not get the same hectic mood you get from those intensely competitive events - but that's actually a good thing.

What you would get instead is an event that increases learning, lowers turnover, and creates happier work teams! Without pie on their face, or a sore Buttocks.

-Michael Cardus is an Adventure Consultant for Create-Learning-Team Building, Headquarters in Buffalo NY

http://create-learning.com/

Developing Highly Productive and Highly Positive Teams

In all walks of life teams exist to get results. Getting results depends on teams being both productive and positive. Teams can be highly productive running at 100 miles an hour but have low levels of morale. On the flip side they might be highly optimistic but never get anything done. So what are essential ingredients of highly productive and highly positive teams?

Set clear goals

If teams are to be productive, they need to know where they are heading and what they are going to deliver. In other word they need to have absolute clarity on their goals.

Common mission

Teams need to be aiming in the same direction, working together towards a common vision or mission. Without this they are merely a collection of individuals who will pursue what is right for them personally.

Create accountability

When a team needs to account for what it has achieved and what it has not, there is a greater likelihood of achievement rather than below optimal performance. Accountability is not something that is viewed as negative but a means of staying on track.

Secure resources

Resources (manpower, money and materials) are another ingredient in productive teams. The resources (whatever they are) once secured need to be used effectively.

Make effective decisions

Highly productive teams take decisions, avoid procrastinating and get things done. Effective decision making does not happen by chance. A decision making process is essential.

Encourage proactiviness

Being proactive is about looking out for opportunities to change, develop and improve and then acting swiftly to exploit those opportunities. Being proactive is about anticipating and thinking outside of the boundaries.

Effective leadership

Effective leadership is core to any team that gets results whether it is in business, communities or sports.

Be optimistic

People can generally fall into the glass half full or glass half empty category. The glass half full are the optimists, the glass half empty are the pessimists. Which group do you think achieves more?

Build trust

Trust is about creating an environment where people can speak openly and objectively without fear. Trust comes from knowing that others can be counted on, even when the going gets tough.

Respect each other

Respecting each other is not about agreeing with everyone or liking every one. It is about being willing to listen, understand different points of view and respecting those differing views.

Effective communication

The best teams communicate clearly, avoid ambiguity and see listening as just as important as speaking.

Welcome conflict

No matter how well a team works together, conflict will arise from time to time. It is how it is dealt with that really matters. Utilised effectively it can unleash creativity, open new possibilities and contribute to development and growth.

Create sense of belonging

Camaraderie is extremely powerful, especially when the going gets tough. The best teams work on creating and maintaining that camaraderie.

Value diversity

We are all different. We all have different personalities, backgrounds, experiences, ways of looking at things and approaching things. Valuing that diversity gives teams much greater range and helps that to get better results.

At the end of the day teams exist to get results. So what will you do to develop your team and get even better results in 2008?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with professionals and progressive public and private sector organisations who want to develop their management and leadership capability in order to achieve more success. With 25 years business experience in a range of sectors, he understands first hand the real challenges of managing and leading in the demanding business world. You can learn more about Duncan, Goals and Achievements services and products and sign up for his free e-course and monthly newsletter at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/

How To Expand Immense Teams?

As an HR Manager I always ask my self on how to develop or expand my team to serve the management and the stake holders. This is always a challenge for me as I start my day every time I work. People working in every office often talk about developing a team, team work, and their team on how to be group - group that works for one common goal, vision and one mission to serve. But very few people actually understand just how to build an efficient team or work as a team effectively.

Being part of a team is always a challenge and you will always feel like you belong to something which is bigger than yourself. A very important part of being in a team and working together as a team is that everyone understands the aims and objectives of the company.

When you are working in an organization which is team-oriented, then you directly put in your individual effort into the total success of the business. You have to work with your contemporaries in the company to bring about this result, not work on your own as you want to.

You have to adjust and compromise with your teammates and only then will the organization achieve success. Although you still retain your own job outline in a particular department, you are joined to the other members of your team to reach certain common goals, common vision and common mission for all.

You no longer work alone, but think of the larger method of things such as the good, betterment and success of the whole company. To be productive within a team, you must be able to separate the general sense of working as a team from the efficient team which has been created to realize a particular goal.

Most people cannot differentiate between the two and this leads to lower productivity levels. It is also the reason why many team building, meetings, retreats and seminars are considered failures by the participants. If team leaders cannot define the kind of team they want to create, then it is not practicable to develop an effective team.

Top managements, supervisory and rank and file in organizations think that team-centric organization structures are a great way to improve profits in business and also get better results. Since these kinds of business structures involve all the employees of the organization, they are most conducive to increasing productivity and profits.

Every team-based company is striving to improve their services for their customers. Sad to say, not many organizations are happy with their team improvement attempts. If your organization is one of them, go through the following options and details so that you may know why.

Meticulous attention is needed to these as these could help you to expand and build an efficient, focused and immense team. Make your group knows and understand the organizational and business strategy, how vital the team's role is in achieving corporate goals, how the team's work features in the company's overall principles, values and vision, mission and goals. Dedication - Do your members actively participate in the team? Do they understand the company's mission, vision and goals and see how important their services to the organization? Do they expect recognition for their work and want to improve their skills through teamwork? Lastly, you must have a clear expectation - executive leaders should tell them about what is expected of the team's performance. Members should know why the team was built, and executives should support the team with the necessary resources and money.

A good company that values team management will always expand an immense team that brings a good investment and stable income. What are you waiting for? visit http://www.u-gotcash.com

Christopher Panlaqui - A College Professor in Business and Accountancy and Human REsources Manager

A Three Step Process To Motivate Your Team And Get The Work Flowing Again

Are you wasting precious time on tasks that are not helping you achieve your life goals?

First begin with a list of your 10 most-time-consuming business or personal activities, compare that list with your life goals and business vision, and delegate or stop doing those that have nothing to do with where you want to be in five or 10 years.

Secondly, your top T.E.A.M. Players have a long list of important projects to work on -- but instead of making progress on them, they're spinning their wheels.

Here's an idea I used regularly when consulting for corporate America that will be sure to get things rolling again.

1. Get all the people together in a room. On a blackboard or display panel, list every important project they're involved with and have each person rate each of the projects in terms of how important he thinks it is to the future of the business. Post the results on the board.

What you will probably find is that there are differences of opinion as to how important certain projects are. Discuss the individual results. Talk about the differences and resolve them.

2. Now, have each Player on your T.E.A.M. make a list of any other projects he or she feels would be important to the business -- projects not on the previous list. Post these lists on the board and ask everyone to rate these additional projects in terms of priority. Post the results on the board, discuss the differences of opinion, and come to a resolution.

3. Finally, integrate the two lists. And, with everyone using the same list, have them score them in order of priority based on their opinions. Then list the scores from each Player next to the project description.

What I do is have each Player rate the list in order of priority, (1) being the most important project and so forth. Next, ADD up the points for each project, the lowest SCORE is the project that is considered the most important by the T.E.A.M.

Continue developing the list with the rest of the scoring in descending order.

I have used this technique at Fortune 500 companies with board of directors and officers. It works. And, it quickly identifies where the most effort and resources should be invested.

What will emerge will be a new list of business priorities with a unified idea of which are the most important.

Make this year the wealthiest, healthiest, wisest and most rewarding year of your life!

The difference between great success and mediocrity is so often a matter of the small things...just a little extra here...a little more there.

It is EZ to get sidetracked...but, your weekly T.E.A.M. Meetings can keep you focused if you inspect what is expected.

Remember, you are the CEO of your business. You have the ultimate and primary responsibility to LEAD your T.E.A.M. to the outcome desired.

The author may be contacted toll free at 877-935.6371 extension 201 or email at ceo@wellnessone.net Mr. Howell is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of WellnessOne Corporation, a national alliance of chiropractic and wellness centers.

Congruent Team Training Philosophy

Many years ago when I first began teaching the American Management Association programs, I came across the term "congruence." It was used to explain an employee's individual needs and values in relation to a company's philosophy. That term must be transformed into your team training philosophy as well.

Congruence in this article will be used to explain a systems approach to team training. As a qualified training or human resource professional, you are probably the one that develops and implements training for your organization. To create an optimum training environment, you must look at your entire training theater. Your training arena should encompass every training program and seminar that your organization offers. You must look at your training department or HR division as a system, and not just a menu of programs.

Classically, training programs are developed, purchased, or contracted as a short story for the "training library." This approach has been an accepted practice that has worked well for many years. Today the "training library" must consist of several large sets. These sets contain many "volumes." Most importantly, they all must relate to one theme or story. In other words, each volume must be congruent with the organization's strategy and philosophy. In addition, your programs must not contradict other training seminars that your organization provides.

The classic example is Time Management training. Almost every program that we have reviewed for our clients, was found to be incongruent with the operation of the business. In most industries senior executives and new managers must be able to juggle at least three projects simultaneously. Yet most time management programs preach "one task at a time." Interviews with participants immediately following the class and three months later document the incongruence of certain parts of the training. Responses include; Great ideas, wish I could use them; When will the boss take the course? She could really use it; Just don't have the time to try the material, etc.

A more congruent approach can be established by: 1) insisting that executives and managers never handle more than one task at a time, and not asking them to do more than one thing at a time...Fat Chance! -or- 2) Teaching time management with an understanding of the business' requirements. That means teaching people how to juggle four balls...while fighting three fires...during a month-end closing.

Now what does time management have to with Team building? A parallel can be drawn between time management training and team building training. If you are not developing and presenting team training that is congruent with the corporate philosophy and business strategy you are already behind the 'eight ball.' Your training must be 'correct' for your organization. It must be believable if your team is to 'buy in' to the concepts presented.

We have worked with organizations that for decades have stressed, insisted, and preached a "get them before they get you" philosophy. Another organization actually gave a poorer performance review to someone who said "We did it together!" instead of "I did it alone!"

Obviously, an experiential program that delivers the message "trust everyone and everything will be great" does not get great support in these environments. If trust is the topic, it must be sequenced. Sequencing allows each participant to build trust at his or her own pace. It should encourage a gradual trust and include ways to 'test the water' without having your head bitten off. Let participants know that there are two trust philosophies; I'll trust you when you prove it, and -- I'll trust you until you prove otherwise. Provide examples of how people have successfully built trust in your organization -- and make sure you tell the down side too.

Here are five tips for developing congruent training:

1) Know the corporate culture. What does the organization stand for? Does the CEO or board of Directors live by that culture? Knowing what 'reality' is in your organization can help you develop a program that will provide participants with practical steps to positive growth.

2) Know what can be changed and what should be left alone. Understanding corporate politics can save you many sleepless nights and will prevent those costly "career decisions." If you know what is 'sacred' at least you will know when you are on thin ice.

3) Review your existing training library. You will find plenty of material to update, rewrite, or shred. Make the existing programs fit the organization. You have the knowledge and the experience to improve the effectiveness of every program in your training library.

4) Walk the Talk. Don't teach one thing and do something else. make sure that your staff and department lives the philosophy they teach. If you can't do it how can you expect anyone else to change.

5) Ask for help. Within your organization you will find coworkers that have the desire to be a part of the planning process. encourage their input. you will learn that they have tremendous insight, even if they aren't a part of the Human Resource Group. You will accomplish two things by incorporating others' input. 1) - you will be setting the example and 2) - you will have program that is more effective because it will inherently be congruent with your organization.

Brian Kathenes is a consultant, speaker, and author who specializes in management development, and organizational team performance. He is Principal of Progressive Business Concepts, founded in 1986.

Brian has designed and delivered more than 625 training programs for clients including; Hyatt Hotels, MasterCard, Disney/MGM Studios, Johnson & Johnson, Avon, Nabisco, Merrill Lynch, Verizon, Merck, Bank of America, Pepsi, KPMG, Novartis, and is an instructor for Rutgers University.

Mr. Kathenes has appeared on more than 457 television and radio programs and has been quoted in over twenty business magazines and newspapers including the New York Times, Successful Meetings, and USA Today. He is the author of: How To Build Teams That Will Still Respect You In The Morning, and Betcha Didn't Know That.

Brian holds the title: Teambuilding Guru, bestowed upon him by Successful Meetings Magazine and Meetings International Magazine, and was honored as Hope Township's Outstanding Citizen of the Year. Kathenes offers a free report on teambuilding at http://www.BestTeamTips.com