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In This Issue:

- The Five Deadly Sins of Teamwork
- Trends Toward Connection & Involvement
- Team Start Activity
- Practical Team Activity:  Your Shared History
- The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs
- Bring Your “A” Game to Work
- Marbled Teamwork
- Quote of the Quarter: Babe Ruth
- What’s New at QPC Inc.

Please enjoy the newsletter and feel free to forward it on to your teammates.

Question:  Have you read our Winter newsletter yet?

Grab a marker and ask “What do we need to accomplish at this meeting?”  On an easel chart, legibly write down each idea the way it was stated and the name of the person who suggested the idea.  Note:  You are asking the team to identify outcomes or expected results – not just a laundry list of topics.  Before you move on to the next step, ask if everyone understands the outcomes and clarify if necessary.  Combine similar items – if there is any dissent, assume that the ideas are distinct and should remain separate.  Elapsed time to list the outcomes: no more than five minutes.

Next, take each item and ask the suggestor how long it will take to achieve the outcome.  If the team disagrees, allow a few seconds for discussion and write down the most agreed-upon time.  Remember:  An agenda is just a roadmap and the time limits are guideposts.  If the team later agrees that they need more time, they will have the flexibility to adjust the agenda.  Also ask the suggestor if he or she would like to lead the discussion.  If not, then ask the team for a volunteer.  Beware: If just one or two people are leading all the items you’ll end up with a one-way conversation!  Elapsed time to identify time limits and leaders: two minutes.

Lastly, prioritize your list.  Most teams have too much to do and not enough time, so it is critical to start with the most important.  Some teams simply rank the agenda items with number one being the most important, two as the next most important, etc.  Or try the ABC concept – where “A” is vital – we must accomplish this outcome at this meeting, “B” is important – we should accomplish this outcome, and “C” is trivial — we could do this, but the world won’t come to an end if we don’t accomplish this today.  When prioritizing, quickly go through the list and ask: “Is this an A, B, or C?” and write down the most agreed-upon letter.  Some teams continue to prioritize by sequencing each group of letters – identifying A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3.  Elapsed time: one or two minutes.

You have now built your agenda!  Start with the A1 and move through the list.  Total time:  no more than ten minutes —  a worthwhile investment to the team’s work.

Since we are currently watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC, see how one school is teaching team skills by using Olympic style activities.

Question:  Do you have a system that works for your team?  If so, please share with us.

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Relax, no need to hog all the work!  Try “sharing the wealth” in small pieces.  Ask yourself, “What function can I ask someone else to do that will help me and develop that person’s abilities?”  Give team roles to others on the team:

Gatekeeper.  Make sure everyone has a chance to speak and that one person doesn’t hog all the airtime.

Timekeeper.  Have someone else accountable for helping the team start on time and end on time.  Ask them to give the team a warning before the end of each agenda item.  When the time is up, the team may decide to 1) move toward immediate closure of the discussion, 2) “park” the issue for another time, or 3) to renegotiate the timetable and continue the discussion (but at least you won’t be trapped and unable to escape!)

Scribe.  Rather than taking notes on a yellow legal pad, ask someone on the team to keep the team’s “minutes” to remind the team of past agreements and future work.

Recorder.  Ask another person (or if on a small team, ask the scribe) to record people’s ideas on a flip chart for all to see.  When people’s ideas are recorded, they feel as if they have been heard.  Also, by posting the comments, you don’t have to keep repeating the same points.

Process Observer.  Rather than launching into a conversation, the process observer makes sure the team has a process in place and stays on track.  If the team doesn’t have or follow the process, the observer lets the team know.

Spokesperson.  Whenever the team needs to report out, consider having someone else (or the entire team) report out key features.

If you are nervous about giving up some control, you might want to give the team member some “on the spot” coaching about how to perform their team role.  With a little bit of forethought and preparation, your team will be more involved and you won’t have to work so hard!

Question:  Are you working too hard as a team leader?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

A funny thing happens when the boss suddenly wants input.  The team freaks.  Employees wonder why the boss isn’t telling them what to do – like the boss usually does.  At first, team members either welcome or resist the idea.  Many will watch the boss to see what happens with their ideas.  Will the boss smile?  Grimace?  Favor one person over another?  Over the long term, will the boss accept the team decisions?  The team will watch the boss carefully to see how committed hr or she is to the team concept.

Beware of the “rock phenomenon” where the boss asks the team for a “rock” and they bring back a different rock.  So the boss says “wrong rock” and tells the team to search for another rock – with little or no guidance.

To avoid the “rock phenomenon,” the boss should take time to explain the reasons for asking for input, any parameters or constraints, as well as how the decision will be made.  Is the boss simply getting team input and then making the final decision?  Or is the team aiming for consensus where the boss is but one voice and the team agrees to live with and support the decision?  The key to a consensus decision is that anyone on the team (including the boss) has an opportunity to voice their opinion. 

Keep in mind that if the team cannot come to a consensus, then the decision will fall back to the boss (or a majority vote).  So don’t worry, the boss still has input and if push comes to shove, the final say.  Over time, the team will trust that their ideas are truly valued and are important to achieving a team consensus.

Recognize that it takes a lot of guts for a boss to open up and ask for input.  The boss may not like what’s said and may feel compelled to justify each comment.  And the team may feel uncomfortable being open and honest.  So watch out for the “dashboard dog” effect where everyone on the team just repeats what they think the boss wants to hear.  The best thing a boss can do is sit back and actively listen.  Try not to judge and evaluate what’s been said.  Then add your idea as one among all the others.  Challenge others to discuss the issues openly.  And don’t punish them for speaking up.

Question:  How does your boss handle input from your team?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Many team leaders feel it is their responsibility to create fun in the workplace.  So they create the “fun” committee with representatives from each department.  They schedule the “fun” around birthdays, the company picnic, and other significant events.  Team leaders make sure the balloons arrive on time, the banners are up, and the production is ready to go.  And the rest of the team feels obligated to attend and smile throughout the entire ordeal. 

To put it bluntly, team leaders suck the spontaneity out of fun.  They can’t be the ring masters because they are compelled to organize, schedule, and manage everything around them.  It’s in their job description to manage and control the fun. 

Fun and playfulness has to come from within the team rather than the top.  To allow an environment that encourages fun:

Talk About Fun.  Have a great discussion within the team about what fun and playfulness is all about.  Allow the team to kick around ideas that might work.  Give them verbal and non-verbal cues to encourage their involvement.

Be Spontaneous.  Encourage the team to seek out ways to play “in the moment.”  Fun is all around us.  We just have to take advantage of those moments.  For example, a team keeps a digital camera in their workspace so that anyone can take a picture of something fun and share it with the rest of the team.

Have a Kitty.  Let’s face it.  Some fun things cost money.  Not a lot of money, but a few bucks here and there.  Let others know that they can be reimbursed when they create fun.  For example, on “Eat Your Green Vegetables Day,” two women on the dietary team served lunch in rented green artichoke costumes.  It was a small amount of money that had the entire organization laughing for days!

Keep Your Preferences to Yourself.  As a team leader, you might prefer to go to an Admirals hockey game.  If you mention it (or anything else) they might go along with your idea – and you have the huge potential to start coordinating the fun.  Back off.  You have lots of other things to do.  Let the team figure out the fun.

Question:  What is the last fun event that you team enjoyed?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

To read entire article click below:

Business Leaders Thrive with the National Speakers Association

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

My hope is that you appreciate the fundamental importance of objectives and agenda, and that each time you get an email requesting your attendance, an agenda is attached.  If not, you go back to the team leader and request more information on the purpose and agenda for the meeting.  By being persistent, you increase the probability of team success during your limited time together.

If you would like to further increase team success, ask your teammates to come prepared to the meeting.  Preparation can take many forms:

Reading.  Suggest certain documents, articles, or books to read.  Send these suggestions out in enough time for the team to read and digest the information.  For larger packages of information, include summaries or key points for those who may not have enough time to read the entire package.

Ask Questions.  Pose questions to consider as they reflect on the meeting objectives and agenda.  You can ask rhetorical questions to stimulate thinking on a topic or send out a small survey, collect the answers and use the collective wisdom to launch the topic discussion.

Watch a Movie.  Many movies have wonderful scenes/stories that relate to the team’s mission.  Recommend watching a movie and then discuss its implications as an icebreaker.  For example, if you will be talking about team building, recommend they watch “Camelot,” The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain,” or “The Dirty Dozen” for ideas.

Interview Folks.  Meet one on one or with a few team members to ask specific, probing questions around the meeting objectives.  This will allow you to get a sense for the diversity of opinions that may exist over a controversial topic.

When you assign prework, make it clear what you want them to do and what you will do with the information.  For example, you might write in the meeting agenda, “Please think about…. and/or come prepared to discuss…so that we can…”  When your teammates do their prework, you’ll get a head start on the team’s work.

Question:  Do you prepare an agenda for each and every meeting?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Take a moment over the next week to contemplate your team’s work.  What worked well for you and for your team this year?  What do you want to do differently or “upgrade” for next year?

As Jim Blasingame, the Small Business Advocate says, “Write this on a rock.”  Make a commitment to your team to:

Be Timely.  Start your meetings on time and end on time.  Your teammates are depending on you, so resolve to finish your work assignments in a timely manner.

Share Airtime.  The currency of team work is airtime.  In order for your ideas to be heard, others must provide a space to share the ideas.  Do you hog too much of the airtime or do you use your “fair” percentage?  Are you too quiet and you aren’t speaking up enough?  Your ideas are just as valuable, and you might not be as quick to voice the idea.  Resolve to share airtime equally by monitoring your own usage and asking others for their opinion.

Respect.  Aretha Franklin had it right.  All your teammates want is a little respect.  Now, you don’t have to love each other, but you do need to respect your other teammates and their contributions.  Resolve to respect your teammates by giving your undivided attention to the person speaking and not interrupting, by recognizing and considering others’ ideas and suggestions, and by supporting and encouraging the team’s work.

Leverage Conflict.  All teams will disagree from time to time.  Conflict is a normal and natural part of the team process.  The key is to manage conflict constructively, looking for areas of agreement and building on the “common ground.”  Resolve to look at disagreements as a gift, working through the issues and building agreements rather than avoiding or escalating the conflict.

Stick By Your Guns.  Once you make a commitment to the team, follow through.  Once your team has agreed on a plan of action, do your part to ensure successful implementation.  Otherwise, your plan is merely “credenzaware.”  Resolve to hold each other accountable to individual and team commitments.

Write these resolutions on a rock…and follow through on your commitments!

Question:  What is your most important resolution involving your team for 2010?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

I suggest sharing these general guidelines for office potluck lunches:

Pick a Day.  Don’t wait until the last minute.  Schedule the potluck at least three days in advance, a full week before is even better!

Have a Theme.  What would otherwise be chaos becomes organized around themes.  For example, a Christmas Holiday potluck is more fun than a boring, regularly scheduled potluck.  People will hook into something fun, unique and creative.

Strike a Balance.  While sign-up sheets are helpful (especially if everyone typically brings potato chips), balance the need for structure with others’ need for spontaneity.  Many teams post a sign-up sheet with categories and people adjust their contributions by noting what “holes” in the menu need to be filled.  Regardless, do what works for your particular culture, ensuring that people enjoy the process rather than resenting it.

Dish It Out.  Let people bring what they want to bring, preferably homemade.  Here’s the opportunity to try out that new recipe or bring in your favorite dish.  Let people be creative and don’t slam them for trying something new!  (By the way, have you ever noticed that most people eat their own food at potlucks?)

Be Gracious.  Recognize that not everyone can cook or has the time to bring a homemade casserole.  Prepared foods are fine as long as they don’t bring in the same thing time after time and/or bring in gacky chow you wouldn’t even feed to your dog.  Then again, we all know some people who are simply food-impaired; let them bring the paper products or soft drinks.

Drift Away.  Allow team members to participate within a window of time, usually an hour or so.  This allows people to drift in and out, depending on their schedules for the day.  No need to stay the entire time, but feel free to come back to help clean up!

Enlist Others.  Success is directly proportional to the number of people involved and energized in creating a festive event.  From picking the date, theme and dishes, make it a team effort and let others coordinate the activity as much as possible.

If you are looking for an outside-the-box idea for promoting teamwork, check out what Steve Priest, Senior Vice President of DaVita Inc., is doing.

Question:  What is the most outside-the-box idea you have had for building teamwork?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Over the last few years, more and more teams are using IM as a way to connect – especially “virtual teams” of geographically dispersed team members.  Like the telephone, IM is a “synchronous” method of communication, which means you get instant responses to the information you share and questions you ask.  Email, on the other hand, is “asynchronous.”  There is a time delay from the moment you press “send” to when the message actually lands in the receiver’s inbox, especially if the receiver is using a dial-up connection.  Some IM programs also allow you to share documents, graphics, video clips or voice clips, just like email. 

If used correctly, IM can increase the fluidity of discussion, encouraging collaboration among team members who are not within arms length of each other. 

To get the most out of using IM:

Be Picky.  Just like your cell phone number, don’t hand out your screen name to everyone.  You may want to limit those who can access you in real time to your assistant, your spouse, your boss, your project team or your departmental team.  Unlike email, if you carefully control who has access to your IM screen name, you won’t be constantly copied (cc’d) on messages you don’t care about.

Tailor Your Options.  IM has the potential of being really distracting with useless pop-up boxes chiming in.  Most instant messaging software allows you set your options to allow messages to come through (or not) and to alert you (or not).

Master Multi-Tasking.  These days, everybody multi-tasks and IM just makes it easier.  For example, IM is useful when you are talking with a customer on the phone and need to get some information internally.  Check to see if your teammate is online, then “ping” an instant message their way.  Even if that person is also on the phone, they can read your IM and get back to you.  And you can have an immediate answer for the customer.

Sidebar:

IM Acronyms.  In instant-messaging, spelling and grammar are not as important as swapping information quickly.  A eubonic shorthand has emerged to include standard business shorthand (FYI, ASAP, OK), traditional email acronyms (BTW, LOL, F2F) and IM code:

BFN or B4N: Bye for Now

BRB: Be right back

Convo: Conversation

CU: See you

GFC: Going for coffee

HAND: Have a nice day

IC: I see

JK or j/k: Just kidding

JW or j/w: Just wondering

NP or n/p: No problem

OTL: Out to lunch

OTP: On the phone

Ping: To send an IM

SB: Stand by or wait

SN: Screen name

TTYL: Talk to you later

You can find a comprehensive list of IM abbreviations at http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp

Question:  Do you find IM more useful than email?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com