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Building the Spirit of Teamwork

Teamwork is the heart and soul of a company, organization, family or relationship. Groups are comprised
of individuals; and individual drive, skills and motivation are essential to the success of the group.
But it's the spirit of teamwork that breathes life and creativity into your
organization.
A key role of every leader is to continually build teamwork within her or
his organization. Unfortunately, most managers and supervisors
unwittingly sabotage their own team-building efforts on a daily basis
through a lack of awareness. Our team-building workshops are designed
to create a new level of teamwork awareness, not only in management,
but in every member of your team.
A Team-BuiIding Workshop for Your Team
Contact us today to schedule a fun and effective team-building workshop for your team. After gathering
information about your team through an exchange of emails and a phone call, we will send you a detailed
outline of the team-building program we recommend. Depending on your style and current situation, your
workshop may include:
O Team-building activities
O nteractive training & exercises
O Assessments
O Role-play
O Facilitated group discussions
...or all of the above. Our workshops range from a short one-hour program that can be included in an
already-scheduled meeting or conference, to a dedicated, multiple-day event.
Teamwork in a Different Context
Our team-building workshops build the spirit of teamwork by creating a teamwork experience in a different
context. The daily routine of work is generally focused on the tasks at hand. Employees often get
stressed out or stuck in task-focused habit patterns that cause them to lose sight the value of teamwork.
When interpersonal conflicts arise, they get defensive and act in ways that break down teamwork. When
managers and supervisors consistently do this, it ripples through the organization and de-motivates the
entire team. The team needs a change of context.
You can schedule your team-building workshop on-site or in an off-site location, such as a nearby (or not
so nearby) hotel, resort or meeting facility. We work with you to plan the details, and we provide the
training, facilitation and tea- building activities. By getting everyone out of the daily work context and into
a new, teamwork-focused context, we create a powerful experience that results in a new level of
teamwork awareness and organizational change.
Fun & Games with a Purpose
There's no question about it, our team-building workshops are fun! Regardless of the size of your group,
we will facilitate creative team activities that are guaranteed to elicit laughter, fun and enjoyment. But
there's a purpose behind everything we do: building the spirit of teamwork. Every activity is followed by an

interactive debrief, during which we discuss what happened during the experience and how it relates to
teamwork in the workplace. Activities, discussions and training are seamlessly blended together to make
your workshop an effective catalyst for change.
A Profound Team-BuiIding Experience
You can train people in the principles of teamwork, and we certainly do that. But our workshops go much
deeper than typical classroom training. We immerse your people in a team-building experience. Team
members get to know each other in new ways, and new connections are formed. The assessments and
exercises open new dimensions of understanding and empathy. Participants gain deep insights about
teamwork, through the fun, activities, training and team interaction, that would not be possible through
simply being exposed to new information about teamwork.
A Team-BuiIding Event and an Ongoing Program
Once your team experiences one of our workshops, you will want to develop an ongoing team-building
program. We can design a program for you that keeps the energy building, consisting of:
O Periodic team-building workshops conducted by us, or by your in-house training people
O nitiatives, assessments and tools, designed to increase awareness and accountability
O One-on-one coaching and consulting with managers, supervisors and key members of
your team
O Training seminars and workshops to build interpersonal skills
We provide the tools to help your managers and supervisors keep the spirit of teamwork growing within
your organization. Contact us today for more information about our programs and a free team-building
consultation.
Team BuiIding Requires Action
Team-building is what effective leaders do every day. They do it because they are aware of the value of
teamwork, and they see how their attitudes and actions either build teamwork or break it down. When
every member of your team becomes an effective leader, teamwork flourishes. Team-building requires
awareness, and awareness requires action. Take action and schedule a team building workshop for your
team now!




Let us design a special team building workshop that will help you achieve your team building goals and
accelerate the performance of your team:
O mprove communication and manage
conflict
O Manage change
O Learn creative team problem solving
techniques
O ncrease sales
O Capture ideas and suggestions from the
workforce
O mprove harmony and executive teamwork
O Eliminate barriers and road blocks with less
bureaucracy
O Create a clear sense of direction and purpose
O Create a high performance team
O Design a teamwork environment that motivates and has more fun
O Foster team building problem solving, creativity and innovation
O Build strong team building skills
O Enhance team cohesiveness
O Motivate your team members
O Recognize everyone's unique talent and abilities
O Sharpen team problem solving skills

Trust
Trust is the antidote to the fears and risks attendant to meaningful commitment. Trust means confidence
in team leadership and vision. When trust prevails, team members are more willing to go through a
difficult process, supported through ups, downs, risk and potential loss.

Trust is most efficiently established when leadership commits to vision first, and everyone knows those
commitments are genuine. The process for leaders to commit is the same as for everyone else: assess
pre-commitment doubts, questions, unknowns and fears. This involves three simple steps:

List the unknowns.
Assess worst case scenarios and their survivability.
Research the unknowns.

The list of unknowns reveals some answers and further questions. Some of these questions lend
themselves to research (others' experience, a small pilot plan), and some have no apparent answers from
our pre-commitment position. These latter comprise the bottom line or irreducible risk. We learn the
outcome only after commitment. Every major commitment contains some irreducible risk, some lingering
unknowns. We therefore make every major commitment in at least partial ignorance.

Leadership now understands the potential loss and gain involved in the new vision. At this point,
leadership can commit itself, and prepare to include other team members. That preparation must include
a plan for leadership to share visibly both risk and reward with the other team members who will be
coming on board.

With leadership's commitment to a clear vision, and a genuine plan to share risks and rewards, the
atmosphere for trust is in place. We are now ready to include others in our team effort.

3 Ideas Ior building trust in your team
1. Frequent and timely communication team members proactively keep one another inIormed
oI new inIormation, changes, and issues. Work to include the right people in meetings so you
have the right involvement
2. How you manage high pressure situations There are always schedule constraints, resource
issues, budget changes that will test how team works through issues. Trusting teams work
together and draw Irom one another rather than get deIensive or accusatory when tough times
come. All projects undergo these situations or you are not working aggressively enough. Team
members band together and Iocus on Iinding solutions and do not resort to personal attacks.
3. Positive Attitude Showing commitment and enthusiasm as a project manager or team leader
goes along way to how others view the project. When there is enthusiasm and letting others
know they are great is important. Tell them that they are awesome, you couldn`t have done it
without them. As these are all deposits to the bank account that pay dividends later.
How can you start restoring trust in your team? Take a deep evaluation a to what the reasons may
be. II you Iind speciIic areas with speciIic individuals you can start with an apology and intent to
change. Ask Ior help to correct situation with team member. You can start with 'I`m sorry and
your Ieelings about situation, ask how you can change situation or make it better, and then ask
Ior Iorgiveness. Another technique can be to express that you want to change a behavior or habit
and be upIront about asking Ior their Ieedback and help to make the changes.
Three steps for building trust in teams and organizations
I recently discussed how team leaders need to align incentives to achieve a high level oI trust
among teams which, in turn, supports better perIormance and results. A recent article by ASTD`s
Ernie Kahane, Trust and PowerIul Learning, proposes that organizational learning can be a
powerIul tool in building the kind oI trust needed Ior eIIective teamwork.
This article makes me envision a three-step process for building trust through learning:
STEP 1: Conduct a Trust Audit
STEP 2: Build an Environment of Trust
STEP 3: Nurture Communities of Trust
Let`s examine each oI these steps more closely.
Trust Audits
A trust audit is an assessment oI the current organization to determine whether growth
opportunity exist.
A trust audit gauges the current level oI trust and identiIies a plan oI action Ior learning
programs.
Activities can include organization-wide questionnaires, Iocus group discussions, or one-on-one
interviews. There is a rich set oI literature dedicated to developing good measurement tools Ior
such an audit. Where trust is judged to be low, leaders will want to plan tactics Ior change.
Trust Environment
An environment oI trust can only been built when leaders take the Iirst steps to set the example.
A leader who identiIies that greater trust is needed, will begin by publicly acknowledging the
need Ior change and making a commitment to learning.
Since trust is about perceived care, competence, and integrity, these values need to be
demonstrated through interaction and design choice. By respecting participants and Iostering an
environment where people can Ieel saIe acknowledging what they do not know, an organization
can go a long way toward achieving long range objectives. Genuine participation, clear
strategies, direct talk, Iairness, and re-entry strategies can all create high-trust environments.
Trust Communities
Even when the environmental stage is set Ior learning, organizational culture is not going to
change overnight. Some teams, or even small groups oI team members, will adopt trusting
behaviors more readily than others. Leaders will want to identiIy and nurture these change
agents.
Learning proIessionals |and team leaders| should aim to build small communities oI trust by
demonstrating actions that promote trust and by addressing issues openly.
Finally, a trust simile
Building trust within an organization or team is like planting a tree
Irom seed. The leader plants the seed by modeling the behavior oI trust.
The leader cultivates the ground and waters the environment to ensure
that the seedling will take root. As the tree begins to grow, the leader
nurtures the strong trust communities (branches) and prunes away the
sprouts and under-branches.
How To Build Trust Wben Your Team Doesnt Know
Eacb Utber
(MoneyWaLch) We know LhaL LrusL ls absoluLely crlLlcal Lo Leam and pro[ecL
success lLs always been hard Lo bulld and malnLaln buL when you donL work ln Lhe same physlcal
locaLlon lL can feel even more dlfflculL 1he good news ls LhaL we know Lhe Lhree componenLs of LrusLlng
Leams 1he Lrlck ls Lo make Lhem work remoLely

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frequenLly ln my work wlLh remoLe Leams labels Lhem as 1) Common goals 2) CompeLence and 3)
MoLlves Why does each maLLer and how can we bulld Lhem when were noL around each oLher all Lhe
Llme?

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mlghL seem obvlous buL Lhe maLrlx sLrucLure of mosL pro[ecL Leams (Lhere ls a pro[ecL leader buL mosL
people have oLher real bosses) makes Lhlngs awfully compllcaLed Lven lf you do a greaL [ob aL Lhe
ouLseL ln agreelng Lo goals over Llme prlorlLles and focus shlfLs Also whaL was clear aL Lhe beglnnlng of
a pro[ecL mlghL geL fuzzy as people leave and [oln your Leam

Lnsure LhaL you klck off Lhe pro[ecL wlLh clear documenLed goals and refer Lo Lhem consLanLly Some
companles acLually use Lhe pro[ecL charLer Lo klck off every sLaLus meeLlng lL mlghL feel llke overklll buL
aL leasL no one can clalm Lhey donL know whaL Lheyre supposed Lo be dolng

nc of compnc ?ou can have everyone aLLempLlng Lo achleve Lhe same goal buL are Lhey
compeLenL Lo geL Lhe [ob done? lf you work LogeLher all Lhe Llme you know each oLhers sLrengLhs and
weaknesses (you know 8obs noL a deLall guy so well glve LhaL Lo Sharon) WlLh Leams LhaL have been
puL LogeLher qulckly or people who donL know each oLher you donL have Lhose opporLunlLles and lL
only Lakes one mlssed deadllne or one plece of work LhaL lsnL up Lo snuff Lo sLarL people muLLerlng
abouL wheLher someones pulllng Lhelr welghL

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and soclal neLwork Lools Lhere are opporLunlLles Lo answer quesLlons refer oLher Leam members and
generally offer lndlvlduals a chance Lo shlne Lhey mlghL noL oLherwlse geL As Lhe manager Lake Lhe
chance Lo commend workers ln ways LhaL leL Lhe enLlre Leam know who dld such greaL work llnally
Lake Lhe opporLunlLy Lo delegaLe Lasks noL only wlll LhaL allow Lhe Leam member Lo see lndlvlduals as
more Lhan [usL Lhe role Lheyre known forbuL mlghL acLually sLop you from dolng a loL of Lhe grunL work
yourself

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hard Lo prove buL easy Lo speculaLe onand few of us creaLe besLcase scenarlos

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were home slck LhaL day buL were happy Lo acL as lf we know Managers should work wlLh Lhe Leam Lo
creaLe communlcaLlon charLers and sLandards Lhen monlLor and coach Lhe Leam Lo ensure Lhose
sLandards are meL When problems arlse make sure LhaL Lhey are dlscussed openly (where lLs
appllcable) and LhaL all parLles are flne wlLh Lhe soluLlon LeLLlng Lhlngs fesLer ls a greaL way Lo save Llme
now and spend a loL of preclous hours deallng wlLh Lhe fallouL laLer

eople who are worklng Lowards a common goal who appear Lo be good aL whaL Lhey do and have Lhe
Leams besL lnLeresL aL hearL are easy Lo LrusL wheLher Lheyre on Lhe oLher slde of Lhe globe or slavlng
away aL Lhe nexL cublcle

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