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Teamwork Lessons from the NFL
With the NFL season upon us, players and coaches are focusing on the ultimate goal, a Super Bowl championship. By analyzing past Super Bowl winners, it is clear that great players are just one component of a championship team. As stated by the late, great Vince...
Creating Team Rituals (Part II of Defining Your Teams Culture)
Creating Team Rituals is the second blog in a series of blogs to help you create a team culture of excellence. The first of the series is Defining Your Teams Culture. Once the desired “behaviors” are created and defined (discussed in Defining Your Teams Culture), it...
Defining Your Teams Culture
By Jeff Backal Having a great team culture is the foundation of any high performance team. This goes beyond just having smart and talented team members, nor is it about what the team produces. Team Culture is about how the team works together as a cohesive unit. There...
Thanks Really
When was the last time you genuinely thanked someone on your team? I mean sincere appreciation, not, “Can you pass the stapler? Thanks.” So many of our co-workers do an outstanding job, day in and day out, that it becomes a matter of routine, something that is taken...
What is Team Building?
by Kerry Fillmores “So, what do you do?” I both love and hate this question. I love this question because I love my job and I love what I do, but I hate this question because my answer, “I work for a team building company,” is inevitably followed by either, “Team...
It must be perfect where you work
Those of us who work in the team building world help people improve their work environment. Most people call us when they realize they’re starting to have a problem or when their problems get out of hand. We then conduct a team building training program or process to...
Collaboration Movement Alive and Well
by Peter B. Grazier This article originally appeared in EI Network April 1,1998 What began simply as quality control circles in Japan in the 1970’s has blossomed into a full-blown trend toward greater collaboration in the workplace. In reality, the movement began much...
Conduct Entrance (Not Exit) Interviews
by Merrick Rosenberg, MBA The Saratoga Institute recently reported that 85% of people are dissatisfied enough to change jobs in the next year. Is it just me, or wouldn’t it be better to ask people what you need to do to keep them working for your organization, rather...
Conflict
by Peter B. Grazier Last August I taught a weekend course on team building to about 25 people participating in A Systems Approach to Quality Improvement at Madonna University in Detroit. Sponsored by the Association for Quality and Participation (513-381-1959), the...