What's the Secret Ingredient That Turns Groups into Teams? Working together building and maintaining long-term team relationships is the key behavior and skill of the most effective people in any organization.Mutual Trust is the secret ingredient that turns groups into teams. It leads to cooperation, productivity, faster problem solving, loyalty and high morale.Some of the key elements that create trust:1. Put the goals of the team first. Place personal goals second.2. Admit weakness, concerns and fears. People trust those who... Read More
TEAM LEADERS WORKSHOPAlice asked Cheshire cat "which road should I take?" (Cheshire cat) "Where do you want to go?" (Alice) "I don't know" (Cheshire cat) well it doesn't matter which road you take.How do you tell a good leader? "By how many people will follow them into battle"What is Coaching?A discussion process between members of an organization aimed at exerting a positive influence in the motivation, performance and awareness of areas for improvement and development of another person to help... Read More
If asked to look at your work calendar for the week, the odds are pretty good that you have a few if not several meetings already scheduled. Now, if asked how you feel about attending some of those meetings, the odds are even better that you may either roll your eyes, groan or mutter something under your breath. Sound familiar so far? Okay, that was the easy part.Coming from a background of 20 years in the corporate world, I can... Read More
Teams run most businesses and teams work best if each member is aligned with the whole group and works in a happy friendly way. Team building has been very popular over the last ten years or so, but wouldn't it be so much easier if we naturally lived a life in synchrony with your teammates and your customers.Businesses in the past has employed people for the purpose of fulfilling a role and paying a wage, were the employee may not... Read More
Have you seen the tee-shirt with the slogan, "Talk to the hand 'cos the face ain't listening?" Do you feel it's like this sometimes when you are trying to get through to people? But just how good a listener are you? Do you actually "listen between the lines?"So often we hear about a problem, and immediately jump in. We want a quick fix. However, we are inside our own head, and make no attempt to get into the head of... Read More
At a time when many companies are scaling down their marketing budgets, big design firms are finding it harder to win new clients and projects. Things maybe tough for the larger design firms, but the situation could be ideal for freelancers and other smaller boutique operations that can operate virtually.One obvious advantage that full-service design companies have over independent freelancers is access to a wide range of creative and technical resources. So how can the individual compete with multi-skilled consultancies?... Read More
"Asking questions can be a means of establishing authority, fulfilling leadership functions, and ensuring effective learning. In fact, asking questions is probably the most subtle power you have for controlling people. The person who asks questions always controls the conversation... if we could discipline our minds to ask questions instead, we could lead any conversation to wherever we wanted it because the other person would still be wrapped up in thinking what he or she wanted to say next...One of... Read More
It's frustrating when your co-workers, audience members, teenager or even your dog (!) won't listen. While you can't control how they receive what you say, you can control how you send it. Here are a few tips on why people don't listen and what you can do to change it.1. Short Attention SpansWhen asked to guess the average adult attention span, most people say around thirty minutes. According to statistics, however, the average adult attention span is actually only seven... Read More
The grand purpose of coaching is to help your managers, the people they manage, and your organization make the transition from where you are to where you want to be.Some points are so obvious it seems silly to even mention them but experience suggests that, just as common sense is not really so common, we can be blindly oblivious of what seems obvious.1. You can not influence the direction of a body at rest! When you sit in your car... Read More
True or false? Teams that practice good teamwork contribute to an organization's success.Not only "true" but blatantly true.The fact may be plain and simple, but creating a successful team, leading a successful team, or participating on a successful team is not so plain and simple. The sticky word is "successful." Creating a team is easy. Sitting in the leader's chair can be fairly simple. Team membership may just mean showing up.But successful? Hold on and wait a second.This article explores... Read More
Trainers, please picture this... You are presenting in a new location to a new group. You are prepared for a one day workshop. Your materials are ready and you are "on". Things seem to be going well. You are building a nice rapport with the class and the pace of the training is right on schedule. About two hours into your day one participant starts to demonstrate disruptive behavior. This individual begins talking to the person beside him during the... Read More
In the constantly changing world of Call Centers, asking agents to adapt to ever increasing demands, responsibilities and performance can be a challenge to even the most involved of managers. Being able to create buy in is always challenging, but if you can answer the WIIFM question you will be ahead of the game.While some people may think that the WIIFM question is selfish and self serving, I want to challenge that notion. Very few of us are willing to... Read More
In the new corporate environments where everyone wears more than one hat, trainers are often responsible for a myriad of duties beyond just facilitating new training classes. Their job is often that of Maintenance, IT Guru, Subject Matter Expert, Coach, Instructional designer, and Copy Clerk. There is an incredible amount of work that has to happen for a training event to occur. Let's look a little closer at the process.Training starts with a new tool/ new behavior or a new... Read More
Do you remember how you felt after your last interaction with another person either on the phone or face to face? That person - it could have been a customer, a colleague, a salesperson, a friend or even a member of your family. Did they make you feel good, uplifted and more positive, did they leave you feeling neutral or did they make you feel down and more negative.Unfortunately, most of us have grown up in a negative culture where... Read More
On the trail in Northern Canada "Marche" was the word that translated as "Mush" and was used to drive the dog teams that once were the only source of power in the frozen North.What was not translated was the original meaning of the word "Marche" which was the French imperative, "Walk".Not run, not hurry up or go faster, just walk.There are in fact only three orders that the dog team understand, "Stop", "Go" and "Take it easy".I was lucky enough... Read More
We all know someone who just drives us batty. Perhaps the person is too noisy, too borish, or too flashy. Perhaps the person is too gossipy, critical, or lazy. There are hundreds of reasons why we may not relate well to a person.In my case, the person was both loud and talkative. He thought he was funny; I thought he was insensitive. So I decided to just ignore him... pretend he didn't exist. That strategy worked well for a few... Read More
Irrespective of any given situation, "Team Work Works!" It is not that students are incapable of studying in solitude, it is just that when they study in collaboration the synergy drives the students, one step further. During the learning period people tend to be skeptical and filled with fraught of underachieving, so they stick with the habit of solitary learning. They often underestimate the power of a "group".The synergy between the groups is the major impetus that has the power... Read More
"When teamwork kicks in, nobody can beat you." Don Shula, Head Coach, Miami Dolphins Only NFL team to attain a perfect 17-0 seasonWhether it's two people, a department, or an organization, teams are the means by which great things get done. Unfortunately, not all work groups exhibit teamwork. So, how can our groups develop that sense of community and cohesiveness, or what was Don Shula's secret? When and how does teamwork kick in? The key is effective teamwork training.Our research... Read More
From the moment he putted with Bob Hope on the Mike Douglas Show at age two, Tiger Woods appeared destined for fame. After an unprecedented junior and amateur career, his entry into the professional ranks in 1996 received tremendous publicity ? and one of the largest sponsorship contracts in history. At age 28, having claimed 40 PGA Tour titles and with eight majors in his trophy case including the Tiger Slam, he has exceeded the loftiest expectations. Even more impressive,... Read More
Have you noticed that some people seem to stop listening even before you start talking? Do you avoid approaching some people unless you absolutely have too? Improve your chance for conversational success by considering the following ten factors before starting your next conversation.1. Consider the setting. Where will the conversation take place? Is it public or private? Are there other things going on that will be distracting? Is the setting approapriate for the topic?2. Consider the personality, gender, culture, age,... Read More
