Topic: team-development
Our bookmarks on this topic are also at pinboard.in/u:unison/t:team-development/
How you think is how you lead
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 · Topics: command-and-control, leadership-development, leadership-styles, team-development
From Roger Schwarz: You’re probably undermining what you are trying to accomplish with your team – and you don’t know it. · Go to How you think is how you lead →
How unilateral control undermines team results and relationships
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 · Topics: command-and-control, leadership-development, leadership-styles, team-development
From Roger Schwarz: If your leadership team isn’t getting the results it needs, the cause may be your (and your team’s) mindset. Mindset is the set of core values and assumptions from which you operate. It is your way of seeing that shapes your thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
The research and my more than thirty years working with leaders and their teams reveal that in even moderately challenging situations virtually all leaders use a mindset that undermines team results—what I call a “unilateral control” mindset. When you use a unilateral control mindset, you try to achieve your goals by controlling the situation. You try to influence others to do what you want them to do while not being influenced by others. When you’re working with people who see things differently from you, the essence of your mindset is simple: I understand the situation, you don’t; I’m right, you’re wrong; I will win. · Go to How unilateral control undermines team results and relationships →
Genes, themes and memes — quickly forming relationships so people speak up
Saturday, June 16, 2012 · Topics: anecdote, group-forming, team-development
From Shawn Callahan at anecdote: A forming exercise were group members share something that’s happened in their life that’s really shaped them (genes), tell something that’s a repeating theme in their life (theme) and recount a story they often tell (meme). The session can take two to three hours but at the end everyone has an insight in what makes the others tick and from that point on they are less likely to slag off at each other. They know each other as people not just roles and companies. · Go to Genes, themes and memes — quickly forming relationships so people speak up →
Establishing rules of engagement
Saturday, March 24, 2012 · Topics: startups, team-development
From Jeffrey Cufaude: In order for us to do anything with each other, we first have to understand how we want to be with each other. Having stated and understood rules of engagement, shared agreements for participation, helps create a safer climate for individual participation. Defining norms for a conversation, community, or organization helps people understand “this is who we are and how we will do things here.” As Margaret Wheatley has said, “To create learning organizations, we must understand the underlying agreements we have made about how we will be together.” · Go to Establishing rules of engagement →
Build capacity to accomplish more
Saturday, March 24, 2012 · Topics: emotional-intelligence, facilitation, team-development
From Jeffrey Cufaude: Effective facilitation is not just concerned with the immediate task. Its definition of success also includes helping a group or team learn together so they might be more productive in the future. Similarly, when coaching an individual employee, a facilitative leader focuses not only on dealing with the employee’s immediate need, but also with laying a foundation for future strong performance. · Go to Build capacity to accomplish more →
Strengths-based goal setting
Saturday, March 24, 2012 · Topics: personal-growth, strengths, team-development, teams-high-impact
From Gallup: Whether the economy is good or bad, most organizations are constantly looking for ways to increase productivity. For managers who are looking to do more with less, a key first step is for them to know their employees individually. This helps managers position workers for success, motivate them, and keep them focused on actions that are essential for the continued health of the organization.
Employees who intentionally apply their strengths to their work increase the odds of their success.
But it’s difficult for managers to do any of this if they are not attuned to the strengths of the people on their team. And it’s just as difficult for workers to use their strengths if their managers don’t understand, appreciate, or maximize those strengths. · Go to Strengths-based goal setting →
Employee silence: The cost to business
Saturday, March 24, 2012 · Topics: emotional-intelligence, employee-engagement, team-development, teams-high-impact
From Interaction Associates: Do employees at your company speak up and regularly engage in dialog that helps to shape strong results? And when they do, does the dialog go beyond merely ratifying what you as the leader have shared? If the answers are no, you might be experiencing employee silence — where employees withhold information because they perceive a threat. Dr. Rob Bogosian, an authority on employee silence, discusses the issue in this podcast and explores how facilitative leaders are best equipped to address it. · Go to Employee silence: The cost to business →
A presentation of the progress principle
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 · Topics: emotional-intelligence, team-development
From Bret Simmons: A talk about the concept of inner work life from Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer’s fantastic new evidence-based management book. We can’t stop change, but the best way to “manage” it might be to make sure we take care of each other by choosing to focus on helping others make daily progress in meaningful work and to be catalysts for our organization and nourishers to our colleagues. · Go to A presentation of the progress principle →
