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Team Building:
There's an old story about the man who wanted to know the difference between
heaven and hell. So he was given a chance to tour both places.
At first he was confused. In both places he saw great banquet halls filled with
the finest foods. But an angel said, "Wait until the people come in. Then you'll
know the difference."
The folks in hell came in looking skinny, gaunt, and sickly. Each of them had a
long pole attached to each of their hands, and at the end of the poles were
knives and forks. It was obvious, when these folks sat down, that they were
angry and starving.
By contrast, the folks in heaven came in healthy, robust, and happy. They had
the same long-poled knife-and-fork attachments stuck to their hands, but the
difference was -- they were feeding each other.
That's the way it is in teams. If the team members are trying to take care of
themselves, or if they're refusing to serve one another, the team will be
ineffective. But if the team members look out for one another, they can achieve
some awesome results.
In fact, that's the premise of my program on "Teams That Win: Tips and Tactics
for Scoring Major Victories." All you have to do is
click here
if you'd like an outline of the program. And if you'd like to have me
deliver the program in your organization, give me a call at 952-492-3888.
To get you started, let me suggest a few tips that will move your team towards
"heavenly" results. First, MAKE AN HONEST SELF-ASSESSMENT. In other words, look
at your attitude, and look at your behavior on the team. And then ask yourself,
"How good would your team be if everyone on the team was just like you?"
I don't know what your answer will be, but I do know this -- you are not a
neutral. Your attitudes and your actions make your team more or less effective.
You make it a better or poorer place to work.
Second, HOLD OCCASIONAL ROLE CLARIFICATION SESSIONS. Bob Fisher and Bo Thomas
talk about that in their book, Real Dream Teams. They recommend meeting with
each person you depend on and depends on you. That would include your team
members at work and your family members at home.
Each person comes to the session with a detailed definition of his "role" on the
team. He simply writes down what his job is -- as he sees it. Then the other
parties share their information with one another.
Once that is done, each person needs to ask for feedback. He asks the other team
members about any changes he might need to make in his attitude and behavior so
he can be more successful in his "role."
Fisher and Thomas found that this simple process was rarely used, but the teams
that did so were handsomely rewarded. In more than 80% of the cases, the team
members provided completely positive responses to one another's requests. The
other 20% of the time the team members had to renegotiate how they could work
together more effectively in the future.
In essence, it was all about clarity. It was all about who would do what by
when.
It's like the time newscaster Sam Donaldson was traveling with President Jimmy
Carter outside of New Delhi, India. They were there to see how a particular
village solved its energy problems in a most creative way. The villages threw
all their cow manure into a pit, and they siphoned off the methane gas to light
the village lamps.
As they were standing on the edge of the pit, Donaldson asked, "If I fell in,
you'd pull me out, wouldn't you, Mr. President?" "Certainly," Carter replied,
pausing a bit, "after a suitable interview." They achieved role clarity.
As I work with teams in various organizations, one of the most common complaints
I hear is the lack of communication. And it is a problem. No team can ever
achieve its full potential if there is a lack of clarity.
That's what Mrs. J. Ward found out. After her father had been treated in the
doctor's office, the doctor asked him to call in the next patient. So her father
opened the waiting room door and dutifully called, "Mr. Colchester, please."
With that her father walked some 200 yards down the street towards his car. It
was then that he heard a small voice behind him. It was Mr. Colchester, asking
him, "Where are we going?" They obviously didn't have role clarity.
Third, DO A FEW FAVORS. Dr. Robert Cialdini documented the power of this
strategy in his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
In simple terms, we try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.
If someone has done us a favor, given us a gift, or invited us to some event, we
feel obligated to give something back. It's a big part of any effective team or
relationship. And it's a big part of the cooperation process.
So go out of your way to do thoughtful, helpful things for your teammates. Help
others, and when you need help, they'll be more likely to help you. It's the old
Biblical principle of sowing and reaping.
Two neighboring farmers learned that. Farmer Brown asked if he could bring his
12 female pigs over to farmer Jones' to mate with his male pigs. Jones agreed.
So farmer Brown loaded his sows into his truck and drove them over to farmer
Jones' pig pen to spend the day. "I've never raised pigs before. So how will I
know if it worked?" asked Brown. "Just look for unusual behavior," said Jones.
The next morning, farmer Brown looked at his pigs, but he didn't see anything
unusual. So he reloaded the sows in his truck and brought them back to Jones'
farm.
It was the same on the third day. Back to Jones' they went.
Being a bit disheartened, farmer Brown asked his wife, "Honey, are the pigs
doing anything unusual?" "Well," she said, "There are 11 of them in the back of
the truck and the 12th one is honking the horn."
Action on Team Building:
Invite your team members in for a role clarification session. Describe your
roles as you understand them. And then ask your teammates how you could be even
more successful in your role.
For complete information on all of Dr. Zimmerman's speaking programs, seminars
click here.
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