You’ve spent a lot of time interviewing, training, and working with the members of your team. I wonder, though – what characteristics did you look for as you chose your team?

There are five main characteristics that have a huge influence on the way your team performs when working together and they will make or break your team when it comes to successes or failures. They are:

• The level of desire your team has to do well combined with their skills and competence levels;
• The way the team has been designed from a geographical, functional, or hierarchial standpoint;
• Whether or not you have a leader (elected or appointed) or left the team without a leader;
• The way each person was assigned a role and the level of contribution each makes; and
• Your organisational culture (aka, diversity) – race, genders, etc.

Each of these characteristics is important on its own but, when put together, will blend to make a team that either works well together or has difficulties communicating or getting along.

Where does your team stand right now? Do your team members get along well or constantly argue? Is there anything you can change (from any of these standpoints) that will change the way your team works together?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Courses

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

You’ve spent months interviewing applicants, hiring new employees, and training each one to become an effective member of your team. You’ve spent a lot of time looking at each employee as an individual, but now it’s time to take a step back.

Are all of the members of your team working together well – as a team?

That was the point, right? Forming an effective team?

So now you have to determine whether or not your team is working effectively and there are three main things you should look for:

• Are we, as a team, hitting our targets and reaching our goals?
• Do we need to improve our workflows, procedures, and processes?
• Does everyone on the team get along on a personal level?

If you answered YES to all three questions than it’s safe to say you’ve done an excellent job with your team building efforts. If you answered NO to any of those questions than you need to figure out why and make changes to your goals, procedures, or even to the team as a whole.

How effective is your team?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Putting the right group of people together as a team can be a difficult task, but it is certainly not impossible. Today I’m going to go over a few things you should think about as you’re building your team. Building your team not only means choosing the people who will participate, but communicating with and training those you choose.

It is one thing to be a member of a group, but feeling as though you’re a member of an actual team is completely different. Every member of your team needs to feel as though he is making a contribution to the big picture – not just contributing his small part without knowing what the other members are up to. Here are a few tips for helping your team members feel like they’re actually working together.

• Do your team members clearly understand their goals? Upper management has likely given you a clear set of instructions but have you passed those on to your team or have you only given them what you think they need to know in order to complete parts of the project? The members of your team should always know not only what is expected of them, but why they’re on the team at all.

• Make sure your team is clear as to whether or not they have all of the skills present in order to complete a task. Survey the skills you’ll need to complete a task, determine if they’re represented in your current team members, and ask your team if they feel as though they need additional help or resources.

• Communication skills are just as important in team environments as they are anywhere else. Are your team members clearly communicating their needs, plans, priorities, and actions? The members of your team should be able to communicate on a level that allows them to resolve conflict, make plans, and complete their tasks effectively.

Part of the team building process involves being able to let go – realising you can’t be in charge of every step of the process at any given moment. Your team members need to feel as though they have control over their project and, honestly, if you didn’t trust in them you wouldn’t have chosen them as your team members to begin with!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Let’s have a little bit of fun today. Those of you in the office aren’t likely excited about being there anyway, so why not brighten things up a bit?

Gather your team together and try a team building activity or two. They’re fun, and your team will be learning to work together without even realizing it!

The Helium Stick

The helium stick exercise is one of my favorites. Gather your team put them in two lines facing each other. Have them hold out their arms and extend their index fingers. Take a lightweight rod (wood or metal is fine) and place it across their extended index fingers.

The trick is to get the team to work together to move the stick from the horizontal to vertical position and then lower it to the ground. They must do so without anyone ever removing their fingers from the rod. For some reason, most groups participating in this exercise tend to raise the stick before they lower it. Make sure to point out this trick if it occurs. If anyone moves their finger (or adds extra fingers) from the stick the game has to start over again!

Mouse Traps

This is a true trust exercise. Take some of the old fashioned spring-load mouse traps and set them on a table. Participants will work in teams of two. One person must be blindfolded and extend his open hand. The other team member (aka the coach) will lower the blindfolded person’s hand until it is hover one inch above the set mouse trap.

Once the hand is in position the coach will count down from three to one, at which point the blindfolded person must very quickly slam his hand down on top of the mouse trap. If he slams his hand quickly the mousetrap won’t be able to snap because the hand is holding it down. Remove the blindfold and allow the individual to see he is not hurt. Just as quickly as he slammed the mousetrap he should raise his hand. The mousetrap will snap and he’ll be free and clear.

Don’t participate in any trust or team building exercises your team isn’t ready for. If they’re grumbling, complaining, or showing a lack of willingness to participate it might be best to avoid games like Mouse Trap and lean towards safer alternatives.

Always end on a positive note and let your employees feel good about what they’ve accomplished. Make sure there is open dialogue and that they have an opportunity to discuss what they’ve learned.

Otherwise, just relax and have some fun!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

When I was in high school, I dreaded team projects. I was the one who usually ended up doing all of the actual work, only to have another team member insist on giving the final presentation and, essentially, stealing all of the credit. Looking back, I realise that there was one major flaw with the team presentation concept – none of our teachers taught us how to work as a team. They just threw us together an expected us to know what to do.

Effective team building means more than finding a group of people who will work well together on a regular basis. A real team can work together and everyone will contribute equally when it comes time to give a presentation.

In preparation for a team presentation, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Will everyone participate in the main presentation, or will one person be responsible for this task?

2. If the answer to the first question is one person, are you able to identify one person on your team who has the skills necessary to give an effective presentation?

Regardless of the route you choose, your team must still work together. Giving the main presentation doesn’t make one person responsible for its success or failure. Every other member of the team must understand the entire presentation, be on hand to help support the speaker, be prepared with supporting documents, and help to respond to any inquiries the audience may have.

Effective team building involves knowing the answers to these questions in advance. A good team will be able to quickly and easily make these decisions, without developing feelings of jealousy or animosity towards each other. Your team will always work together as one unit, and your presentations will always run smoothly!

Thanks again,
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”