Corporate Team Building Games

Team building training is a great way to develop key workplace skills like collaboration and communication. You can energize your training with corporate team building games that make training a blast!

24
may
0

Leading Teams from Resistance to Performance

Posted by Coaching Skills, Conflict Management Strategies, Corporate Team Building Games, Corporate Training Materials, HR Training, Human Resource TrainingNo Comments

The change curve is a simple framework to help track the progression of individuals, teams and organizations through change. Across different industries, cultures and personality types, people go through four very consistent phases of change. Much like people experience a few consistent stages of grief, there are some clearly consistent phases of change.

  1. First, we’re all usually in denial. In the first phase, people are either just waking up or have recently awakened to the realization that something needs to be different. If this comes from outside your own initiation there is a greater tendency to stay in denial. Examples include a major change in the marketplace that undercuts a strategy, or a demand by a boss you don’t agree with. It’s easier to not pay attention to these, to deny them. If however, the desire to change comes from an internal motivation to improve a frustrating state, or comes from customer input that you agree with, then denial moves through more quickly on to the second phase.
  2. The second phase is the time in the change process when it goes from being an “IT” to a “ME”. What I mean is that people experience the loss and disruption of their long held patterns in this phase. People “resist” in this phase. They’ve moved past denial, but now they’re wrestling with the fact that they have to let go of something.
  3. In the third phase, people, teams or organizations begin to see the future. The frustration or fear of a change has been dealt with to a significant degree, and there is a glimpse of something better, a sense that the change could be good. This is not a uniform experience, and people have this moment at different times, but on the whole, the group enters an exploring phase where they are eager to DO something that leads them forward.
  4. This is the culmination. In the fourth phase people return to a steady state, and commit to it. The change has been integrated, and a new pattern emerges. This happens best and most thoroughly when there has been a sense of acknowledging the past and consolidating the group’s commitment and shared understanding of the new pattern

This model was very helpful in a recent client engagement of mine. A brand new leader had just joined a very large technology services company. This particular team had actually experienced a change in leadership every few months for a few years. They had had 6-10 managers in less than 3 years. The current new leader had been there for about 7 weeks, and had projects requiring team cohesion for quick action. I used the change curve to help her fashion an interactive workshop session that allowed her to bring a sense of renewal, connection and clarity to the team.

The first part of the session consisted of acknowledging just how much change had gone on. By discussing, remembering, and acknowledging the past, people were able to come out of the first denying phase. Something does need to be different now. Then we broke the group up into 3 subgroups dubbed by internal culture as “Old-olds”, “New-olds”, and “Brand-news”.

“Old-Olds”: Had been at the company for a long time, and also in that particular division for a long time. These were the veterans.

“New-olds”: Had worked at the company for a long time, but were new to this group.

“Brand-news”: Were recent hires, new to both the company and the group.

We helped these three groups talk with each other about what they knew, their perspectives, what had changed, and what had stayed the same. The old-olds could share the history, the new-olds could bridge the gap to other divisions and overall company culture, and brand-news could ask questions and offer fresh perspectives. This conversation allowed them to bridge into exploring about what they actually wanted to keep, drop, and create going forward with this division. It allowed them to acknowledge their different histories, and emerge as a more unified team. We then ended the session with a time to acknowledge how far the group had come just that day, and identified specific actions the group could take in the future to continue their process of renewal. We built resilience.

You’ll notice that the design and facilitation of this session connected directly to the change curve model. We moved through all 4 phases:

  1. Denial phase: We acknowledged the amount of change. Waking up to the reality helps people move out of denying.
  2. Resisting phase: Listening then helps people move through resisting. By grieving, being heard, and hearing others, people are able to stop resisting.
  3. Exploring phase: Then discussing new priorities and goals allowed the team to connect
  4. New reality: Acknowledging and consolidating the days work allowed the team to confidently move forward with renewed purpose and cohesion. This is what good leaders do to help navigate and set a new beginning.

If you have a major change you are experiencing or that you are leading, take the time to identify which phase of the change curve you and your team are in at the moment. How might you move to the next phase?

This article was reprinted with permission from the author.

Cynthia and HRDQ-U are hosting a FREE webinar June 1 at 2pm ET. Save your seat here! 

a4aaed3b11d718f0ce79bbcd012baa59_headshot-Cynthia-Scott_200-200-cA founding principal of Changeworks Global, Dr. Cynthia Scott is a recognized author and leader with over 20 years of experience. She is the author of numerous books, including Rekindling Commitment and Take This Work and Love It!. Dr. Scott’s clients include Blue Shield of California, Benjamin Moore, Charles Schwab, Kaiser Permanente, AT&T, the Internal Revenue Service, Deloitte & Touché, Estee Lauder, and National Semiconductor.

2
may
1

4 Ways To Make Your Meetings More Productive

Posted by Communication Styles, Corporate Team Building Games, HR TrainingNo Comments

By Penny Zenker

Question: I am waste a lot of time in meetings, please help?

Do you dread meetings? Does it feels like you spend a large part of your day in meetings and you have to work late just to get some work done. Are these meetings really productive? What discussions take place after the meetings – are these discussions productive?

Studies show that executives are spending 23 hours a week in meetings. 7.8 hours have been identified as wasted time due poorly run meetings, lack of follow-up and follow through or all together unnecessary. So maybe that feeling that there are too many meetings is well justified.

Meetings are necessary but like tool need to be used efficiently and effectively.

Now is a great time to review you meeting culture with your team and see if it needs an update.

Identify meeting types: Set clear objectives for your meeting so people know what kind of meeting they are attending an can prepare for it: Meeting types could be broken down into categories such as:

  1. Update meeting – each person can send a more detailed update by email leaving the update from each person short and focused around any issues to be resolved or open questions that everyone needs to hear.
  2. Workshop or brainstorming – these meeting are come with new ideas around a particular topic such as customer loyalty and retention or product innovation. These are often led by an experienced facilitator to keep these meetings productive.
  3. Team building / Social gatherings – this is time to connect and build a connection among the team.
  4. Decision making meetings – meetings to discuss the options and a process and criteria for deciding on the best solution.

Reduce the time of your set meetings: Parkinson’s Law says that you will use whatever time is allocated, so cut your meeting times in half and see your meetings get more effective with better preparation and clear objectives for the meeting.

Set some agreed rules of engagement: Leave your cell phones at your desk, only discuss issues relevant to the objective,  prepare for the meetings, no meetings after the meeting, decisions made are accepted and supported, make it fun and any others that you feel will help to make your meetings more productive.

Document the meeting: Ensure the key points from the meetings are captured and a clear action list and accountability comes from the meeting.

Get on the same page. As you get together to discuss your meeting culture you will come up with some great ideas from your team. Remember people support what they create. Although it might mean another workshop meeting to discuss this, meetings when done in the right way, help people to take greater ownership and connect with the purpose of decisions being made and how the tasks fit into the greater picture and this is key to ongoing engagement.

Have Fun!

This article was reprinted with permission from the author.

Penny and HRDQ-U are hosting a FREE webinar June 16th at 2pm ET. Save your seat here! 

Penny Zenker is a productivity expert, strategic business coach, international speaker and trainer, and best-selling author of “The Productivity Zone. Penny is the creator of the P10 Productivity Accelerator System based on her extensive experience as a successful entrepreneur, and a Tony Robbins Coach. She will challenge you to think differently and inspire you to be your best.

25
mar
0

Improving Staff Morale Through Authentic Appreciation

Posted by Coaching Skills, Communication Styles, Conflict Management Strategies, Corporate Team Building Games, Corporate Training Materials, HR Training, Human Resource Training, Personality Style, Team Building Exercises, Teamwork GamesNo Comments

By Dr. Paul White

In my work training and consulting around the country, the most common responses by employees when discussing employee recognition typically range from apathy to cynicism.  One woman stated, “I haven’t heard anything positive for two years and you expect me to believe that they value me?”

Why Most Employee Recognition Programs Don’t Work

While the purpose of employee recognition activities are well intentioned, they actually often lead to negative results.  For example, the generic nature of rewards that many programs use feels impersonal- when everyone gets the same “employee of the month” certificate.

Another problematic aspect is the focus on recognition in front of large groups:  30-40% of individuals indicate they do not want to go up in front of a group to receive an award.  In fact, one staff member emphatically stated, “They can give me the award, but I won’t go up and get it unless they carry me up there!”   Finally, most recognition programs heavily emphasize tangible rewards- plaques, certificates, gift cards, coupons, and small tokens.  While most people don’t mind receiving gifts, if they don’t also hear verbal praise, receive individual attention, or get assistance when it is needed, the objects received seem superficial.

Core Conditions for Staff to Truly Feel Appreciated

Four core conditions have been identified which need to be present in order for employees to truly feel appreciated (which differs from recognition just being communicated).  Team members will feel valued when appreciation is communicated:

  1. Regularly. What is ‘regularly’? It varies depending on the work setting, the frequency of interaction between co-workers, and the nature of the relationship.  However, ‘regularly’ clearly implies more than once a year at an employee’s performance review, or when someone receives the “Staff Member of the Month” award.
  1. Through the ‘language’ and actions important to the recipient. The key word is “recipient”. Most of us tend to communicate appreciation to others through the actions that we value- like giving a verbal compliment or sending an email. But not everyone feels appreciated in the same ways.  Some people appreciate words of affirmation, while others are encouraged when someone helps them with a task.  Spending time is another way to demonstrate support, like stopping by a colleague’s office to see how they are doing. Bringing a colleague a special cup of coffee when you know they’ve had a long day can be a “pick me up”.  Even a “high five” or a “fist bump” can be a form of celebration when a difficult project has been completed.
  1. In a way that is personal and individualized. While group-based recognition is a good start (“Way to go, team. Our satisfaction ratings improved significantly last quarter.”), if the appreciation doesn’t relate to what the individual team member did to help achieve the goal, the communication can fall flat. Team members want to know what they have done that is valued- that you appreciate that they stayed late after an event to help clean up.
  1. In a manner that is perceived as genuine and authentic. If the communication of appreciation is not perceived as being genuine, nothing else really matters. Actions of recognition can appear inauthentic when: a) the actions suddenly appear after implementation of a program on appreciation; b) a person’s tone of voice, posture, or facial expressions don’t seem to match what they are saying; c) how a person relates to you in front of others differs from how they interact with you privately; d) the individual has a history of “saying one thing and doing another”; or e) there is an overall question of the motivation of the deliverer- do they have an ulterior motive?  There are other potential factors that undermine perceived authenticity, but these are some of the most common mentioned.

Practical Steps for Communicating Authentic Appreciation

Helping individuals change their actions is difficult. No one is looking for more work to do.  As a result, the focus needs to be on making actions of encouragement more efficient- to spend time with those who value time, to send notes to those who are impacted by them, to help someone out who will be grateful for the assistance, and to give a gift to someone who will appreciate the thought.

Two important points should be emphasized:  1) appreciation can be communicated by anyone to anyone, and 2) any team member, regardless of position, can positively impact their workplace culture.  Employees report they want to know how to encourage one another- they do not just want to be recognized by their supervisor.

How do people know (or find out) what their colleagues value?  The topic of “how do you feel appreciated” is not a common workplace conversation and this type of question can make individuals feel somewhat uncomfortable.   But people do tend to think in terms of “encouragement” and “discouragement”.  So, the question to ask is:  “When you are discouraged, what is something that someone can do or say that would encourage you?”

Additionally, an online assessment tool is available that identifies the primary language of appreciation of individuals, along with the specific actions that are most important to them The results can be compiled to create a group profile and list of valued actions for a team who works together.

Getting Started

Focus on yourself first.  Commit to do what you can to communicate appreciation to others.  Don’t look to your supervisor or administrators to take the lead.  Start by doing what you can, where you are.

Team up with others.  Any behavior change is more likely to occur (and to continue over time) when others are involved.  Ask a colleague, your supervisor, or the team you lead to discuss how this could apply to your setting.  Commit to work on a plan of action together.

Persevere.  See what works, and what needs to be changed, but don’t give up.

This article was reprinted with permission from the author.

Dr. White and HRDQ-U are hosting a free webinar April 6th at 2pm ET. Register here! 

Dr Paul White HeadshotPaul White, Ph.D., is a psychologist, speaker and consultant who “makes work relationships work”.  He is the co-author of Rising Above a Toxic Workplace, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, and Sync or Swim.  Go to http://www.appreciationatwork.com for more information.

23
mar
0

Keeping the Mission Alive at Nonprofits with GO Team

Posted by Communication Styles, Corporate Team Building Games, HR Training, Team Building Exercises, Teamwork GamesNo Comments

GO Team is an incredibly flexible learning tool that is being used in all kinds of organizations- from Fortune 500s to small civic groups. Recently we talked with two of our partners who are finding great success in the nonprofit world. Janine McDonald is owner of J9 Leading Solutions and affiliate consultant of One OC; and Philip Yaeger is CEO of AIDS Services Foundation Orange County. We asked for their insights about their collaboration with each other and with GO Team.

David: Tell me first about the organization. 

Philip: Our mission is to prevent the spread of HIV and improve the lives of men, women, and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Orange County, California. Its easy for people forget that there’s still no cure, and it is important to keep talking about it and providing testing.

Janine: I love working with leaders like Philip because they are so passionate about the mission. They’re working hard and stretched thin. Like a lot of nonprofits I work with its hard to pause and say “howcan we do our work better?”

David: You have found GO Team to be a solution for your work.

Janine: It started with Philip’s commitment to his people. He knew he wanted a series of ongoing opportunities for the 12 members of the management team.

Philip: Also, not everyone was dealing with the same issues. So we needed a solution with flexibility. When Janine brought us GO Team, we were excited and committed to two-hour sessions over a period of six months.

Janine: I thought it was significant that Philip was a part of those sessions. It’s important for people to see leaders participating.

David: Which GO Team modules did you use?

Janine: We started with the most basic work, which for this team was creating their operating principles. Then we moved immediately to trust.

Philip: I loved the flexibility. There wasn’t a rigid “step one, step two, step three” process. We were able to choose modules based on what was happening in the team at the time. Next, we have agreed to focus on Giving and Receiving Feedback, which is an important skill for anyone who manages people.

David: So what does the future look like?

Philip: The future looks like GO Team! After doing a half dozen sessions, everyone said they wanted to go for another six months. My team loves the GO Team program, and we love working with Janine. I don’t have to drag people to sessions. They arrive with enthusiasm, ready to absorb and learn.

Janine: Philip is treating this not as a “training program” but as a culture shift. That commitment, and his terrific team, have made this a huge success.

This interview was reprinted with permission from the author.

Susan Gerke, David Hutchens, and HRDQ-U are hosting a free webinar March 30th at 2pm ET. Register here! 

susanSusan is the president of Gerke Consulting & Development where she designs, customizes, and implements leadership and teamwork programs. Her clients include Bank of the West, BHK Accountancy, City of Anaheim, Human Options, Orange Coast College, Sole Technology, UC Irvine, and Warner Bros.

 

 

 

 

davidDavid Hutchens is a bestselling author and consultant who specializes in organizational storytelling, leading, creating and innovating, organizational learning, systems, and more. He has created award-winning communications and learning solutions for companies such as IBM, The Coca-Cola Company, Wal-Mart, GE, and Nike, just to name a few.

2
mar
0

How Your Culture Can Detox Stress

Posted by Coaching Skills, Conflict Management Strategies, Corporate Team Building Games, HR Training, Human Resource Training, Personality Style, Team Building Exercises1 Comment

By Michael Lee Stallard

Who experiences greater levels of stress:  you or your boss?  When I ask this question while teaching workshops on leadership, nearly all the bosses in the room respond that they are the ones under greater stress.  They’re wrong.  Hard data makes it clear that non-leaders experience greater stress and in many instances it has a negative effect on their performance.

Consider two studies published in 2014 by Gary D. Sherman, et al.  In the first, a sample of non-leaders in the Boston metropolitan area were compared to middle- to high-level government and military leaders participating in an executive education program at Harvard.   The non-leaders showed higher levels of salivary cortisol, a physiological indicator of stress, and higher levels of self-reported anxiety, a psychological indicator of stress.

A second study looked at the effect that feeling in control had on lowering stress in a group of middle- to high-level government and military leaders.  To determine feeling in control, researchers looked at the number of subordinates and number of direct reports, and authority to make decisions concerning subordinates.  The results supported the study’s hypothesis that a sense of control from having more subordinates and greater authority over them was associated with lower stress as measured by both lower salivary cortisol and self-reported anxiety.

The results of both studies are consistent with those of the pioneering Whitehall studies of British civil servants in lower status jobs which found government workers who were lower in the hierarchy experienced poorer cardiovascular health and lower life expectancies.

Killer Stress and Challenge Stress 

At the heart of these findings is the effect of stress.   Despite its reputation, stress is not all bad.  It really is a matter of what kind and how much.  Too little stress and people grow bored.  Too much stress and they become overwhelmed.  A certain degree of stress, what I call “challenge stress,” actually stimulates people to perform at their best.

“Killer stress,” i.e. the stress that comes from not feeling you have much control over your work, is unhealthy and in many individuals triggers fight, flight, freeze or stalking behavior.  These behaviors are damaging to healthy relationships, productivity and innovation in the workplace. The key to achieving gains in productivity and performance is to create a culture in your organization that preserves challenge stress while neutralizing killer stress.

Connect to Optimize Stress

In my recent book Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy and Understanding at Work, I describe three relevant types of culture to be aware of when it comes to stress:  cultures of control, cultures of indifference and connection cultures.

In cultures of control, individuals with power, control, influence and status rule over non-leaders and they are not intentional about getting non-leaders into roles that appropriately challenge them.   These cultures increase killer stress and fail to capitalize on challenge stress.

In cultures of indifference, people are so busy with tasks that they fail to develop healthy, supportive relationships and get people into the right roles.  These cultures also contribute to killer stress and fail to capitalize on challenge stress.

Only connection cultures dial down killer stress and dial up challenge stress as leaders and non-leaders alike feel connected to one another through shared identity, empathy and understanding.  On a physiological level, this connection reduces stress-related neurotransmitters and hormones while boosting activity in the reward centers of the brain.  People, especially non-leaders, have a greater sense of control, making them more enthusiastic and more energetic which, in turn, helps them thrive at work.

While working with the NASA Johnson Space Center my colleagues and I began identified more than 100 supporting ways leaders can create a connection culture to maximize challenge stress and minimize killer stress.  We describe these behaviors in “100 Ways to Connect,” an e-book we created to help leaders create connection cultures.

When you are intentional in creating a connection culture it preserves the benefits of challenge stress while protecting non-leaders and your organization from the harmful effects of killer stress. An abundance of connection in the workplace will produce greater productivity and happiness, which will help your organization become the employer of choice.

headshotMichael Lee Stallard is president of E Pluribus Partners, and a speaker, teacher, and consultant on leadership, employee engagement, productivity, and innovation. He is the primary author of Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity and Productivity. Articles written by Michael or about his work have appeared in leadership periodicals worldwide. He has spoken or taught at many leading organizations, including General Electric, Google, Johnson & Johnson, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the NASA Johnson Space Center, Scotiabank, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Yale-New Haven Hospital.

 

This article was reprinted with permission from the author.

Michael Lee Stallard and HRDQ-U are hosting a three-day webinar series April 19th, 20th, 21st at 12pm ET. Save your seat here! 

 

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