Is it possible to deliver effective team building in one day? The short answer to that question is no. It is impossible to deliver a fully fleshed out team building simulation with all of the ingredients required for a fully effective team building initiative. Something has to give. What steps can be taken to deliver effective team building despite shorter and shorter lead times for planning and increasingly condensed timeframes for delivery? Here are few ideas.
Is there is danger in the use of simple team building tools and models? There is definitely a risk in selecting the simple rather than the complex. Some individuals dismiss simplicity as fluff and perceive it as an indicator of a lack of depth and bench strength on the part of a consultant. This can undermine credibility if a new client is left asking “Is that all there is?”. While I agree that there is a place for complex models, they are often used inappropriately. Here is what I mean. If teams and organizations are avoiding the discipline of rigourous analysis and opting for obvious solutions that fail to create breakthroughs, it is time to go deeper. By contrast, in the midst of turbulence, it’s important to simplify rather than complicate an intricate or emotionally charged situation. It’s time to apply the brakes, slow things down and give team members a chance to develop a clearer picture of the dynamics at play. Why complicate a situation that is already too complicated to the point of creating tension and friction?
Whether you’re looking for a fresh experience to help your team generate breakthrough solutions or you just want to reward your team, look no further than a luxury desert team building retreat in Dubai. Stay at a luxury Bedouin camp, enjoy 5 star cuisine, gp sandboarding, have fun with dune buggies, and enjoy an outdoor cooking challenge. I just got back from Dubai and I captured some of these experiences in photos and videos. Enjoy!
With increasing frequency, there is pressure to cut team building short on the last day. Suddenly there is pressure to wrap things up shortly, end the session early to let people go back to the resort early or have more free time for shopping. Cutting short the debiefing will guarantee that the analytical learners never have an opportunity to tie up loose ends. I have some ideas about why this is taking place but I want to hear from blog visitors first. Any comments that would shed light on some of these dynamics and propose solutions would be great.
Team Building: When Reality (TV) Hits Reality TV. Almost everyone denies watching it but the networks don’t keep airing programmes that aren’t making money. If you’ve ever thought it might be fun to be a contestant on Survivor, The Apprentice, the Amazing Race, or one of the myriad of reality TV cooking shows, it’s
Team building that isn’t customized for your business is likely to end up being just another entertaining corporate event. There is a place for corporate events but social activities are never a replacement for reall team building. Companies can improve the impact of team building with relevant, customized projects.
What a week! First the debt ceiling crisis kept the world at the edge of its seat. Then, financial woes in Europe and concerns about the Euro and the Yen. Now stock markets around the globe are spiraling downward. In the midst of this, I uncovered more incidents of wasteful spending on playtime for executives and employees by companies with declining performance. Have some executives learned nothing from the events of the past 3 years? No amount of playtime, golf, jamming in a rock band, or other placebos can substitute for good old fashioned brainstorming to tap into the collective wisdom of your team.
What a week! First the debt ceiling crisis kept the world at the edge of its seat. Then, financial woes in Europe and concerns about the Euro and the Yen. Now stock markets around the globe are spiraling downward. In the midst of this, I uncovered more incidents of wasteful spending on playtime for executives and employees by companies with declining performance. Have some executives learned nothing from the events of the past 3 years? No amount of playtime, golf, jamming in a rock band, or other placebos can substitute for good old fashioned brainstorming to tap into the collective wisdom of your team.
It’s happened before and it seems to be happening with increasing frequency. It’s the focus on instant results. “Hurry sickness” is a disease that is now plaguing corporations all over the globe. It is not surprising that this has been showing up in team building sessions in North America for well over a decade and it’s not getting any better. It’s spreading. Companies are pushing and burning out employees and expecting them to produce results in ridiculously short timeframes. When team members try to set realistic boundaries, they are branded “inflexible”. As a result, companies are losing some of their best people and experiencing alarming short-term disability costs due to the number of people on stress leave. It is not surprising that this is showing up in the approach to team building. Why spend a fortune on team building and allocate a timeframe in which it is virtually impossible to achieve results? Why pay top dollar for an expert team building consultant, fly them half way across the world and ignore their advice? I hope that every CEO reading this who expects “instant results” from their people will seriously re-think their orientation.
Is decision-making a dying art and a disappearing leadership competency? I believe that it is. It shows up in many ways. Scenario: A Canadian company sends out a bid for a major equipment acquisition. The process drags on for months. Eventually, they decide to stick with what they have. Why do companies seem to have so much difficulty making decisions these days? Why do some CEOs put their teams and suppliers through weeks of work that is then scrapped? Is decision-making a dying leadership competency? Is so why and what can be done about it? What is behind some of the poor judgement that is showing up in executive suites? Perspectives from CEOs, suppliers and consultants would be greatly appreciated.