Renaissance Leadership

Diverse Desk Game Leads to Creativity at Work

Want to conduct a free team building exercise that leads to increased creativity, productivity and morale on the job?  Try this:

The Diversity Desk Game

If your office environment is stagnant and unappealing, it could mean that your employees are also suffering from a lack of creative thought when it comes to thinking up new products and services or new ways to address business problems.

Studies show that an appealing and highly diverse work environment lead to increased creativity and productivity at work.  Wall art, toys, lighting, and even music facilitates a more dynamic and positively charged work space.  Even by placing your office furniture on a diagonal and provide a new perspective at work. 

To help you bring out the best in your employees, sponsor a Diversity Desk Game where you charge your team with building the the most unique and diverse office environment possible.  You can make this even more fun by having teams compete for creating the most fun and productive work space by examining the team's results within ninety days after they've created their new work space.

The goal of this is to create an environment where people are free to be themselves and also teaches a valuable lesson that there are always different ways to look at situations.  Just by sponsoring an office environment change also opens your employees up to new perspectives.  And the good news is that this team building exercise can be done with a small budget or even none at all--and it still works! 

When I worked in Residential Markets at AT&T in 1985, we constantly decorated our call center to keep everyone's perspective fresh about having to answer the phones and take billing questions day in and day out.  A splash of color here, a slinky there and a poster of my favorite rock bands always put a smile on my face even when a customer wanted to argue over a twenty-five cent phone call as if the world was ending tomorrow. 

The Diversity Desk Game can do wonders to improve your work environment--try it and let me know what happens!

Books Bring Teams Together

Want an inexpensive and education way to build a high performing team?  Want to create meaningful dialogue at work?  Try starting an office book club!

Book clubs are nothing new, but thanks to Oprah and the Today Show, more and more folks are reading again for personal pleasure.  So why not take advantage of this opportunity at work as well?

Once a month, pick a relevant business book and purchase them for your team.  Give them a deadline to read the book and then plan a team meeting where all you do is discuss the book.  In fact, you could create a set of questions about your company for them to reflect on while they're reading the book to make it more meaningful to your business needs. 

Team Building in Times of Change

The American Management Association has published my latest article--"Team Building in Times of Change" in its MWorld Magazine.  This article discusses the qualities of a high performing team and offers practical ideas a leader can explore to create the ideal team.

Download the full article and get this free team building piece by visiting my PRESS page by clicking here!

Be sure to come back and provide comments on the article as well!

Friday Afternoon Meetings...NOT

I recently read an article in a management magazine where someone suggested that instead of hosting meetings on Monday mornings, that you should have them on Friday afternoons.

Hmmm.....make that an emphatic NO to Friday meetings! 

In this little bulletin, which offers "results for leaders," the author states that meetings on Monday morning tend to drag on longer because people are still "in transition from the weekend."  Friday meetings...especially Friday AFTERNOON meetings are a serious waste of time.  Most people have already transitioned themselves out the front door by about 11 AM and most employees will be watching the clock tick slowly towards 5:00 rather than fully participate in any kind of planning or results meeting.

When I worked at AT&T Government Markets, there was an unwritten rule that you never scheduled anyone for a meeting after 11 AM on a Friday unless you wanted to meet by yourself in some conference room.  Even senior management frowned on conference calls (unless they were customer impacting) on Fridays as most people used this time to catch up on their administrative tasks before successfully closing out the week. 

Frankly, I think the problem with most meetings is larger than the day you actually have them.  Unless you've got an agenda to follow, someone with decent facilitation skills and a real purpose for getting together, your meetings will drag on no matter what day you have them.  Plus you need to balance out how much you're talking at people versus creating a meaningful team dialogue.

For more ideas on how to have a good meeting, take a few lessons from Rodger Darlington, a consultant from the UK:

• First of all, consider whether the meeting is really necessary. To have a meeting just for the sake of it is a waste of time and resource. Could the business in hand be dealt with by a telephone call, an exchange of e-mails, an audio conferencing call or a video conference or could it simply wait until the next scheduled meeting?
• If a meeting is necessary, make sure that the right people are going to be there. Too many people and the meeting is likely to be unproductive; too few and affected individuals are likely to feel excluded. If the meeting is of a standing body, extra individuals may need to be invited for particular agenda items.
• Make sure than everyone knows in good time when and where the meeting will be held, who will be there, and what will be discussed. If you know that someone is out of the office or on holiday until just before the meeting, make special arrangements to advise them of the relevant details.
• Make sure that everyone has the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, and all the necessary supporting papers in good time for them to be read, considered, and consulted upon.
• Provide a suitable room and ambiance. Everyone should be able to sit in comfort and see each other. The room should be well-lit and well-ventilated. There may be a need for a flip chart and felt-tip pens or an overhead projector or a laptop for a PowerPoint presentation. If it is appropriate, flowers or fruit or candles may provide a pleasant atmosphere.
• The meeting should start on time and finish on time - and everyone should know that this will be the case. This will encourage people to come along, knowing that the meeting will not go on endlessly, and it will encourage them to arrive for the scheduled start time, knowing that if they do not they will have missed some of the business.
• The opening of a meeting is important. It helps if the chair briefly sets the scene and indicates the purpose or aims of the meeting. Some organizations like to open meetings with a few moments of stillness or contemplation, so that everyone mentally puts everything else to one side and focuses on the meeting and what they want out of it.
• Each agenda item should have an appropriate time allocation, reflecting the importance of the item and the amount of discussion anticipated. This timetable should be a guide and not a straitjacket - it will assist a sensible prioritization of business, but some flexibility will be necessary in the light of the amount of discussion which is found to be necessary and the strength of feeling on the controversial issues.
• Consider having one or two short breaks. This will allow people to go the toilet or have a smoke and it is likely to help everyone to stay fresh and focused. If there is real tension over an issue, a short break may clear the air and allow a new approach.
• The very best meetings generate new and exciting ideas. This is most likely to be achieved if everyone is allowed to express a view and not cut off or put down as soon as they appear to challenge the conventional wisdom or organizational orthodoxy, if everyone is encouraged to put forward suggestions even if at first they seem novel or counter-cultural, and if everyone really listens to what is being said and judges ideas on their merits and not on the basis of who put them forward.
• Effective meetings should be action-orientated. Therefore, at the end of every agenda item, it should be clear what has been agreed, who is to be responsible for giving effect to this agreement, and what is the timescale for implementation. If this is not the case, say to the chair of the meeting: "Before we leave this item, can I just be sure what we have agreed here?" or "Can we just clarify who is going to be responsible for that decision?" or "When do we want this to be done?"
• The conclusion of a meeting is important. The chair should summarize what has been achieved or agreed, thank everyone for their contributions and support, and try to ensure that people leave the room feeling good about the time they have devoted to the meeting.
• At the end of the meeting, you should be clear what you need to do as a result of the meeting and quickly carry out your action points or allocate them to a colleague. Delay will tend to lead to you overlooking your action points or postponing them to the last moment.
• Minutes of meetings should be produced as soon as possible. They should focus on what has been agreed and make clear who is responsible for actioning each decision and what timescale is expected of that person. The minutes should be circulated not just to all those who attended, but also to those invited but unable to attend, to any other colleagues involved in any of the action points, and to others who need to know what is going on or who will be affected by the decisions.

Creative Team Building Exercise Leads to Fun and Profit

Looking for a fresh perspective to solve a business problem, enhance your customer service or develop a new product?  Tired of hearing everyone try to tow the company line? 

Check out the July edition of Everyday Team Building, our electronic newsletter, and get a jump start on your team's creativity with our "What Would So and So Do" exercise.  This exercise will allow your team to approach your issue from a fresh perspective and you'll be amazed at the ideas you get! 

Oh, and it's also a lot of fun!  You might be surprised when you discover some hidden talents on your team when you use this!

Click here to get this free team building exericse for July!

When Team Building Exercises Cause Alarm

For those of you who grimace at having to participate in another poorly facilitated "trust building" exercise or an obstacles course--neither of which provide lasting results, be thankful that you weren't on payroll at Alarm One Inc for their last team building event!

According to Workforce.Com, the company held a team building event where sales people were actually spanked as part of the team building session.  And to top it all off, people were forced to dress in diapers and eat baby food during one of their "competitive exercises" to stimulate camaraderie building. 

I don't have to tell you what a glaring offense this company committed. And on April 28, 2006, a former employee at the company was awarded $1.7 million dollars after a jury found this team building event to be a clear form of sexual harassment and sexual battery. 

If you're in charge of creating a team building event, I encourage you to ask one basic question in order to avoid situations like this: Could this event do anything to harm my employees?  If you have to think about it for more than five to ten seconds, the answer is most likely YES! 

It amazes me that there are so many companies who think it's appropriate to humiliate their employees all for the sake of "good fun."  But when you expose your people to sexual misconduct, improper language and harassment, you get what you deserve. 

For full details on this case and what you should NOT do to build a highly effective team, click here.

Think Safety First When Team Building

When planning any kind of team building event that involves any physical activity, make sure you think safety first (code for common sense!).

IN 2001, Burger King took some of its members to a corporate retreat where people had to walk across hot coals in their bear feet.  The intention was to show courage and develop a sense of "everyone can succeed here" feeling.  However, what a dozen plus people ended up feeling was extreme pain, having to be treated for first and second degree burns!  Kentucky Fried Chicken tried the same stunt in 2003 and twenty people had to be rushed to a hospital for burns on their feet.

If you're predisposed to hosting an event at some outdoor park where there's an obstacle course (which provide momentary bonding but can often provide further divides between the
"weak" and the "strong" on your teams). make sure you look into the insurance policies and procedures at your company and at the site in order to avoid potential legal recourse should someone get injured.

The bottom line is that you should always ask yourself whether or not you've taken people's physical safety when conducting a team building event.  After all, the lawsuit you save could be your own!

Hosting Team Meetings That Work

So many team meetings leave people wishing they don't have to attend another one.  Poor planning, poor facilitation and a lack of focus are often the culprits when it comes to memorably bad scenarios.

If you're a team manager, try the following suggestions to create team meetings that work:

• Delegate ownership of the team meeting
• Preparation is key
• Appoint a facilitator
• Have a designated note taker
• Conduct a short, team building exercise at every meeting

For an indepth explanation of these tips, click here.

Gaining Support

A great team building exercise to create a sense of collaboration and inclusion on your team involves people making requests for support.  At work, we often try to be self-sufficient, appearing to be warriors who can go out and hunt down solutions to problems on our own.  However, all of us need a little help in getting the job done and so as a supervisor, the more you can do to create a sense of interdependence on your team, the more productive and engaged each person will become. 

This simple exercise will work wonders if you let it!

Beginning with the team leader, have each person go around the room and answer the following question:

Here’s where I could use some further support from the team:

• Advise the person making the request for support that it must be:
• Specific (Ex: I need help getting to meetings on time versus “I need help with time management
• Timely (Ex: I would like to be on time for all meetings the next thirty days)
• Measureable (Ex: I want to be on time for every meeting I have to attend)

Then have the person say WHY this is important to them. 

After a person gives their response, beginning with the person to the left, have each team member respond as to how they can support that person.  If the support being asked for is not something that a person can work with (either they have the same issue or they do not interact with this person, have them acknowledge their request but say something like “I appreciate what you’re looking for, but I don’t think I’m the best resource to help you.”)

The manager or team leader should be the last to make the request AND the last person to respond to each person’s request for support.

To learn how to make this exercise even more meaningful for your team, click here.

The Best Idea is the Worst Idea

Has this ever happened to you?

The boss calls a team meeting to develop a new product or service.  You come to the meeting with ten ideas on how to expand your product-line based on research you’ve done on what the competition is doing as well as by calling your current customers and asking them what they’d like to see your company offer.

At the team meeting, you offer up your first suggestion and your supervisor says “That’s a ridiculous idea.  Next!”  For the rest of the meeting, you quietly sit while your supervisor throws out one suggestion that everyone else seems to validate with their approval and suddenly no other ideas end up on the white board. 

This experience is one form of groupthink—a term psychologist Irving Janis created that refers to faulty decision-making in a group. Groups experiencing groupthink do not consider all the alternatives when looking at new business products or developing solutions to problems at the expense of quality decisions. 

One of the negative impacts of groupthink is that employees don’t feel safe in expressing their opinions or views, that someone—often the team leader—will immediately shoot down their idea or people will openly judge them based on their suggestions. Other impacts of groupthink include:

• Illusions of invulnerability where the group thinks it’s invincible and can do no wrong.
• Collective efforts to rationalize or discount warnings.
• Unquestioned belief in the moral correctness of the group.
• Stereotyped views of the out-group, often as too evil, weak or stupid to be worth bothering with.
• Pressure to conform.
• A false sense of agreement where everyone always agrees with everyone else—or with what the team’s manager presents.
• Protection from contrary viewpoints, by self-appointed ‘mind-guards’.

One of the most famous cases of groupthink was the infamous Challenger incident, where NASA sent seven crew members into space, only to have the rocket explode shortly after launch due to defective decision-making processes within the agency’s leadership. 

If you’re a team leader and you know that these things are happening in your team or if you’re an employee and you’re conducting your next team meeting, try this test team-building exercise to start moving beyond groupthink:

The Worst Idea is the Best Idea!