Team Development

Brainstorming exercises are an important tool in every manager’s toolbox. They are a perfect opportunity for managers to gather input and ideas from employees and to inspire creativity at work. But it’s not always easy for managers to find the right activity. The Problem with Brainstorming Exercises Most brainstorming exercises are useless because of one or more of the following issues: They take too long. When your employees lose focus, you’re doing nothing but wasting time. They use too many materials. If managers have to run to the store and buy $100 worth of supplies, they aren’t going to invest...

In 1995, Christopher Reeve had it all. He was married to his best friend, Dana. He had three wonderful children. And his family enjoyed a house and estate in beautiful Westchester County, New York. It seemed that he could do anything he put his mind to. He was an accomplished pianist who had composed classical music. He was an avid outdoorsman and a superb athlete: an expert sailor, a licensed pilot, an excellent skier, a scuba diver, and a horseman. And of course he experienced great success in his acting career. As a teenager, he had decided to pursue a...

Too often, managers try to win at all costs, when they should be focused on Winning Well. The hypercompetitive post-recession global economy puts frontline and middle-level managers in a difficult position—expected to win, to “move the needle,” to get the highest ratings, rankings, and results. Many managers become hell-bent on winning no matter what it takes, and they treat people like objects—in short, they lose their soul. This exacts a high price from managers as they work longer hours to try to keep up. Those unwilling to make this trade-off either leave for a less-competitive environment or try to stave...

A 2015 review of group brainstorming in the Harvard Business Review provided a scathing review of the common practice for businesses seeking to develop new ideas and discover solutions to existing problems. In a critique of the father of brainstorming, Alex Osborn, authors claimed that “a meta-analytic review of over 800 teams indicated that individuals are more likely to generate a higher number of original ideas when they don’t interact with others.” Former CNN anchor, White House correspondent, and Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno believes a lack of solitude may not be to blame for brainstorming’s bad rap. According to...

If your company ran for a political office, what would it stand for? Every day, your company and its myriad collection of teams and departments is grasping for new constituents, whether they’re employees, customers, partners, or vendors. Just like a traditional electoral race, your company’s constituents will pay attention to the words you say, the values you promote, and the lengths you’ll go to support them. You may not like it, but your company is always on the campaign trail. Outsiders and potential insiders will use a variety of measures to determine if they’ll give you their vote in the...

Executive Summary How do you ensure that your virtual team members are getting their jobs done? Well, it requires a little bit of faith and a lot of trust building on your end. It’s harder to trust in something you don’t see, so oftentimes, trust on virtual teams boils down to work getting done when someone says they’ll have it done. The challenge for any virtual team leader is to build trust among employees by communicating your leadership, project expectations, and the individual’s goals in relation to the team. Use the following rules as a guide to exhibiting behaviors that...

The coronavirus’ “new normal” is anything but easy. We’re at a point of pure creation with no policy, precedent, or past practice to fall back on. Loneliness, isolation, and boredom can easily set in and affect team morale—even for those of us still working from home. Add to that the millions of workers being placed on furlough, and you have the potential for some pretty depressing days ahead. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, this forced quiet can help us develop new skills and a higher level of self-awareness and personal growth about who we are...

Executive Summary When members of virtual teams lose face-to-face contact and only interact via screen, feelings of indifference can intensify. Sudden changes in organizational policy or company direction or a quick email can spark conflict. Virtual conflicts vary slightly from in-person conflicts, and include the following types: performance conflict, identity conflict, data conflict, and social conflict. When faced with the choice of addressing conflict in public or private, always choose private. Why is the potential for conflict in the virtual world so great? The lack of structure compared with the traditional workplace creates many more opportunities for misunderstandings, inconsistencies, communication...

Executive Summary The Law of Mount Everest states that as the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. If we try to tackle challenges alone, we’ll only spiral into failure. Our goals are still achievable, but we may need to adjust the teams we’re relying on to help us reach them. It’s better to create a team to improve the lives of others long-term than to fulfill individual needs short-term. Editor's Note: The challenges that our teams face are not always ones we select. Sometimes they are thrust upon us, and we have no choice but to do the best...

Executive Summary The establishment of a virtual team brings a ton of potential to a business, but only if it’s set up correctly. Setting up a virtual team is like planning a roadtrip. You don’t have to know every detail ahead of time, but you need to have checkpoints and alternative routes in mind. The foundation of a successful virtual team is defining its purpose. Without it, virtual team members could end up worrying about their individual tasks and forgetting about the bigger picture. To start your virtual team on the right foot, clarify the team’s destination, set the rules...

Executive Summary As coronavirus threatens the world economy, it’s also affecting the lives of employees and their managers. Large and small companies are forcing or allowing employees to work from home in the wake of a new virus that experts have yet to gain a full grasp on. Executive responses to the virus are impacting managers, many of whom are responsible for managing virtual teams for the first time. Keep five simple practices in mind to unify team members who work from different spaces whether it’s a result of circumstances beyond your control or a matter of company benefits and...

Executive Summary Accountability and trust may seem to contradict each other, but when it comes to your business's culture, they actually go hand-in-hand. Without clarity and accountability, even the best employee can become a liability. Your employees can only perform at their best when they have a clear vision of what winning looks like, understand the specific goals they need to own, and are empowered to carry them out. In order to build a business culture of trust, empower employees by not separating power from responsibility and accountability. Employees need to feel that you are entrusting them with big-picture outcomes,...

Executive Summary There are a lot of team-building activities out there that waste time and resources without actually connecting your employees to one another. The success of an activity often comes down to having a clear objective. It's important that your objective is attainable, relevant to the situations your team members are currently facing, and about to be reinforced for the foreseeable future. This activity shouldn't strive to fix all broken gears in your business. Instead, it is one small step of many. Should your activity be competitive? That all depends on past experience with your team, how they deal...