We took our boys down to North Carolina last summer to see their grandparents. We broke the drive into three days down and three days back and about 5-6 hour blocks. It was inevitable that we were going to hear the proverbial “when will we be there?” or “how much longer?” We of course had to answer in terms that a seven year old could understand. For example, fifteen minutes = one Sponge Bob episode, so two hours is eight Sponge Bob episodes and so on.
Right about now we are all asking the same questions about the recession. It seems like we were ramping up for it for two or three years and now that it’s arrived (and boy has it arrived) we hear mixed messages of a possible end in sight. So do we spend another 2-3 years ramping down? What a long trip.
It was easy for folks to jump on the poor recession bandwagon and you can tell they have. Spending is frozen on most developmental programs. Team building (the real stuff) and leadership development were almost non-existent in 2009.
Fortunately we were blessed. Our clients believe in what we do and agree that the best place for an investment right now is in the growth and health of the organization, especially improving the functioning of the executive team, and their clarification of and recommitment to the organization’s values and purpose.
Smart executive teams have taken the opportunity during slow times to build greater trust and a cohesive membership. This benefits the organization as it will reduce the uncertainty that causes distrust, especially during tough times, and it will promote better decisions about the future of the business. The strategy should be to emerge galvanized and stronger than ever when things turn and be that much further in the game than your competition.
Early in my career I was in Exercise Physiology, certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. That’s right, Nick Conner, fitness trainer to the rich and famous. I would always get a kick out of the people whose goals were to get in shape in order to look good enough to join a gym. I always thought the gym was for getting in shape.
My point is that developing effective leaders and a cohesive team at any level is a process, not an event. We shouldn’t wait until things are better then decide to make an effort to better ourselves.
So, are we there yet? There are positive economic signs around the world, but are we there yet? How many Sponge Bob episodes until we feel confident to invest in our people for the future of the organization? The time is now.
]]>Recently we did a deep dive with a client on the stages of her team’s development. We used an activity called interdependency or “the Quantum Puzzle” to illustrate how her team can progress through stages and what happens when change is introduced.
We had a great, lengthy debrief with this executive team on how to lead teams through these stages and how a leader can accelerate the team’s growth. For those of you who would like to learn more about your team’s stage (forming, storming, norming, or performing), and the underlying model that informs this theory please refer to the work of Dr. Bruce Tuckman and his “The Tuckman Model”
Also, those of you working with SMWT or SDWT ask about the adjourning stage of that model. For those many requests about information on Dr. Tuckman and his model, the link above will help you out.
What other team models have you come across and how have they benefited you or a client?
]]>As many of you may know we are fans of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and it is one of the most widely used instruments internationally (within non-psychiatric populations). We’ve used it in Canada, Egypt, Japan, Mexico and the United States. When we travel over the pond though, our clients usually prefer we use the Belbin Team Roles as the instrument of choice for personality assessment.
In my previous position, over fifteen years ago, I was first introduced to the work of Dr. Meredith Belbin by some colleagues from England. Since then TeamBuilders WorldWide has used the Belbin Team Roles in England, France and the United States. What I like most about Dr. Belbin’s approach is that he doesn’t subscribe to the generic use of the word team to describe work groups. He also doesn’t believe that scavenger hunts, boat building and culinary types of events are great for the social aspect of group development, and should not be considered “team building.”
Dr Meredith Belbin, UK academic and consultant, developed the Belbin team roles model in the late 1970s. Belbin’s work at Henley Management College demonstrated that balanced teams comprised of people with different capabilities performed better than teams that are less well balanced. Belbin’s key book ‘Management Teams - Why They Succeed or Fail’, was first published in 1981. According to Belbin publicity, the Belbin Team Roles model is used by over 40% of the UK’s top 100 companies, and thousands more internationally. (Belbin founded Belbin Associates, who produce and provide psychometrics - personality and behavioral testing instruments and other related services based on Belbin’s theories)
Please check out more about his work here.
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Many of us have read or even operate and facilitate around the same community of authors and team/leadership experts. We all know and either like or dislike the work of Blanchard, Covey, Lencioni and Kouzes and Posner. We enjoy the personality dynamics presented by Jung, Myers Briggs, Eysenck, and other personality theories. But the month of December we will dedicate to some of intellectuals who may not be as well known in the area of team and leadership development. Experts like Dr. Katherine Benziger.
Dr. Katherine Benziger is a true pioneer and leading expert in her field. Her work has for the past 25 years focused on the proper and ethical development and application of personality assessing in the global business environment. Significantly, Dr Benziger prefers the term personality assessing, rather than personality testing, to describe her approach. Katherine Benziger is keen to distance herself from the ‘personality testing’ industry, for which ‘falsification of type’, and the interests of the individual - rather than the organization - are not generally seen as a priority concerns. For Dr Benziger they are.
See also the Personality Models and Types section which includes more about Benziger’s theory in relation to Jung, Myers Briggs, Eysenck, and other personality theories.
In my search of learning as much as I can and to be the best facilitator I can be, I look for other experts worth mentioning. Who do you think should be recognized for their contributions to human and professional development? We’d love to hear from you.
]]>1. Ask yourself, “What can I do to make the situation better?” Then do it!
Don’t blame, don’t play victim. Instead, if you see something that needs to be done, do it!
2. Spring into Action!
When we practice ownership and responsibility we can spring into action in any context – in any location. If it becomes our motif and style, it can be useful in any circumstance we find ourselves confronting.
Dr. Cloud suggests:
3. Get out of the phone booth
You will remember that while an emergency was unfolding, Clark Kent was in the phone booth getting turned into Superman. What would have happened if Kent had stayed there? Nothing! This is true of a great leader as well. When the emergency comes up – act! You will get noticed and the future will be even brighter for you.
4. Do Something Super
Every once in a while we all get stuck in our careers. By digging in and doing something – things will change.
I remember thinking I would never get around to a Master’s Program. But one day I sat down and made a list of everything it would take to get enrolled. When I got done I started doing each thing one at a time. Before I knew it, I was enrolled in a Master’s Program. What seemed formidable became doable when I DID SOMETHING. To someone else I may not have looked like Superman – but to me, Clark Kent had nothing on me!
]]>Dr. Cloud says that leaders must “Play the Whole Movie” or in other words, evaluate their decisions in the present based on how they will affect the future.
He makes it clear that many people often look to the next step following a decision, but seldom do people go beyond that to many more possible outcomes. How can you plan for adjustments if you haven’t thought through many of the things that could happen from the decisions you make?
Dr. Cloud says that many people have postponed happiness because they see the things in their way as formidable. If people can look beyond the next three or four year commitment, they might find true happiness. They might be able to make the advances they have so desired.
I experienced this in my own life. I found my self teaching school and, while there were some wonderful parts of that job, I knew that a Master’s Degree would move me beyond what I was doing now for some richer experiences. It took sacrifice and investment of money, but I finally achieved that and was able to move beyond the classroom to many more leadership opportunities. By playing out what I thought would happen, I found much greater success.
Dr. Could says don’t miss out on plotting for the downsides of decision making. Contingency planning is very important. Spend some time with “what if” to see if you have all these parts covered. What you don’t want are surprises!
Finally, Dr. Cloud says to put on an Oscar-Winning Performance! Having done the planning, forecasting, and contingency review, you can move forward ready to receive the Oscar for outstanding leadership performance.
Next week…“Put Superman out of a job”
]]>Dr. Cloud believes that we all have the choice of getting rid of the negative energy around us. It doesn’t matter if it is little stuff or big stuff – yank it out and get rid of it.
He suggests you listen to that voice inside you that says:
1. This doesn’t quite feel right.
2. I don’t feel comfortable doing this or agreeing to this.
3. This is not what I really want.
4. This violates an important value.
5. I’m going to resent this for a long time.
6. I wish this were not happening.
Negative things have no place in a leader’s heart. Forgive and reconcile. Move quickly to deal with whatever is crushing your spirit.
My own experience of working with people one-on-one in corporations has shown me that negative thinking can be a real drag to becoming a good leader. If we can learn to identify those feelings that erupt inside us and trace them down to their cause, then the path is wide open to good leadership.
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Dr. Cloud believes that we all have hidden treasures in our inner being that are a compilation of dreams, desires and talents. So if we dig into those inner resources and invest in them, we might just find the passion to lead.
To dig deeper he suggests:
1. Become aware of your dreams, desires, talents, and other treasures of the soul.
2. Listen to them and value them as life itself
3. Takes steps to develop them, beginning in very small ways.
4. Seek coaching
5. Don’t get so focused on the results that you miss the joy of searching.
What causes us to bury this treasurer? Perhaps a parent who was too harsh or a tough relationship you have suffered in. Perhaps you “gave up” along the way or other people didn’t foster what was so deep within you.
Dr. Cloud believes that we must take the risk and dig up these treasures. He says, “The avoidance of risk is the greatest risk of all.”
Here are some things you can do:
1. Listen to what bugs you. It might be telling you something.
2. Don’t let negative feelings hold you back.
3. Get back to those long-term wishes and dreams you had a as child.
4. Listen to your symptoms.
5. Pay attention to your fantasies to see if something is missing.
6. Face your fears and obstacles.
7. Don’t confuse envy with desire. Someone else may remind you that you have lost touch with your own dreams.
8. Do all of this with the support community who love you.
Perhaps, just perhaps, if we could get in touch with the talents, dreams and desires, we could find the passion to lead our groups securely.
]]>In case you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of companies out there claiming expertise in team building. Some of these will have you playing pin the tail on the donkey, or running around on a scavenger hunt. When they’re done with your event, they may very well be off to do the same program for a kid’s birthday party.
It’s not that we’re against having fun, or doing silly things. We just don’t like being lumped into the scavenger hunt category.
These are scary, serious times for business. That doesn’t mean you need scary training programs, but you need programs that are serious about results.
At TeamBuilders WorldWide, we prefer to think of ourselves as team development facilitators. We take a baseline measurement of teamwork before we begin the engagement, and then use that same test for up to a year after to make sure that what we’ve trained for has taken hold. The best part is that we have a lot of fun along the way, but that fun is a reward for the hard work our facilitation style demands.
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When I worked for Marriott in the cafeteria management business way back in the last century, one of the rules the old dogs taught young managers was to go into your buildings through a different door every day. There were good reasons for this. By taking a new route into the building, you were more likely to spot something that wasn’t quite right, and needed some attention from the maintenance department. Another reason was that the door you were most likely to enter through was probably some kind of a service entrance. It would be better to walk through the door your customer walked through. And, of course, there was the ever popular, “keep your staff on their toes” benefit, too.
While tactics like this can help to give us a fresher set of eyes for evaluating our business, there really is no substitute for a real outsider of some kind to come in and tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s a mistake to wait to hear from our customers. Most are way too busy to provide that kind of feedback. If they get crossed up with us, it’s easier to find someone else to give the business to than to get into a long conversation with us.
Consultants have gotten a bad name for the high hourly rates they charge, the common sense (or worse, nonsense) advice that that they give, and their unique ability to get a team into a twist. Still, there are good ones out there. Finding the ones who really understand our business, provide actionable advice that more than offsets any fees that they charge, and makes teams more engaged and satisfied is often an exercise in trial and error. It’s an exercise that’s worth going through.
If things get bad enough, one way or another they seem to show up at our doors. It’s better that they come at our behest than someone else’s (the boss, the board, or the bank.)
]]>Team building training provides a great mix of activity, classroom learning, and measurement that can deliver better performance. Here are three things to ponder:
1. If you’re behind budget, you’re not alone. The good news is that it’s not too late to make your year end numbers, but you’re going to need the help of everyone on your team. A professionally facilitated program that’s custom tailored for your organization can bring the fresh eyes you need to jumpstart results.
2. What are you doing to prove to all the constituencies you serve that you are pulling out all the stops to have a great 2009? Conducting team building training demonstrates your unwavering commitment to success to your employees, your stockholders, your customers, your suppliers, the media, and even your competition.
3. In a tough business climate like this…. Does it make any sense to leave any of your staff development budget unspent? The end of the year is rapidly approaching. Put those resources where they will do the greatest good… Into building a stronger, happier, more cohesive, and more productive team.
The need for teamwork has never been more critical than in todays business environment, and productive team development engagement that can set your team up for success right now.
When you plan do you make sure that your goals are measurable? Notice I said when you plan. I am assuming that you write down some form of plan for your personal and professional life. Even if it is from week to week, that is a good start.
So here is another question. When you plan do you have a hook?
What is a hook? A hook is what I call a measurable goal. When you have a measurable goal, it gives your mind something to hook onto. It provides a trigger for your mind to remind you that you need to do something or that something is coming up soon.
Try it. Write down your goals and make sure they are measurable. Some of you should go even as far as to read them out loud so you can hear them in your spirit. The key is to then listen to the reminder that your mind gives you. Here is where many of us fall short. We don’t listen to the mental reminders and then end up procrastinating; however, that is another topic for another day.
Get hooked on setting measurable goals. Set a hook for each of your goals.
For example, instead of saying I will get my masters degree, how about saying I will get my masters degree in Business Administration with a minor in entrepreneurship by June 2009. That gives your mind something to hook onto. It tells it specifically what degree and specifically when we want to achieve this goal.
I know that life happens, so sometimes we have to take unexpected or unplanned detours, but at least if you have a plan you are going in a definitive direction instead of just existing. (Yes, I have a whole article on existing also…we’ll talk about that another day!)
Of course you have to set milestones to help you to attain your goals. You will also have to discover what you must let go of (sacrifice), along with other things, but maybe I’ll talk about that next time.
Until then, get hooked!
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I recently have been reading Dr. Henry Cloud’s book, “9 Things a Leader Must Do.” I am hoping over the next period of time I can share some of my insights with all of you from the time I have spent reading this book.
While working for a large public utility a few years back I was asked by the HR Manager, “Are leaders born or created?”
The answer to that question has always challenged me. Of course, I know there are born leaders – they are graced with some of the qualities that make outstanding leaders as described by Cloud and these leaders can fly by the proverbial, “seat of their pants.”
The thing that led me to pick up Cloud’s book was the ongoing question, “Can leaders be created?” Cloud believes that he has seen certain behaviors consistently exhibited across customers and situations used by people of very different styles that are behaviors that make a real difference in leadership.
So…if you will check back with me each week on this blog…I will share with you some of these leadership behaviors that Cloud believes we can all learn. I will leave that final decision to you!
]]>Goals are important and are made more important by the writing down of them. People who write down goals can earn nine times the money that people who don’t write down goals earn, according to Dave Kohl, Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech. It is well established that 80% of Americans say they don’t have goals; 16% have goals but don’t write them down; less than 4 percent write down their goals; and less than 1% actually review them on an ongoing basis.
Dr. Benjamin Mays wrote: “The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals, the tragedy lies in not having any goals to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to die unable to capture your ideas, but it is a disaster to have no ideas to capture. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach.”
So…what should be your action plan?
1. Track the things you plan to do. Any serious sport enthusiastic knows that the way to win the game is to know the score. Write down your goals and track them.
2. Evaluate how things are going. Periodically do an assessment to see if you are on track to what you are trying to accomplish.
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