In these times, we are finding people are more inclined to look after themselves first and the team they’re in second. It’s not meant as a detrimental statement and there will be arguments against this, however, in light of what I’m seeing in the ‘uncertain’ job market, this is becoming apparent.
The important thing is though, is that we are pack animals and work so much better in a pack or a team to produce results far greater than doing them alone. There’s a simple statement used in coaching which reads:
INEFFECTIVE TEAMS: The output of the team is MUCH LESS than the sum of the individuals
EFFECTIVE TEAMS: The output of the team is FAR GREATER than the sum of the individuals
Or if we go back a few years, this philosophy gentleman called Aristotle quoted “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” So, based on this a vision for the future would be a great way to start and an exercise that will help bond people together to (a) understand as a group and not individually what the company vision is and (b) to get them working together to build that image, literally!
It’s a little bit of fun but with dramatic outcome.
FIRST – Grab all those magazines around the office or ask people to bring them in from home. Doesn’t matter what the magazines are (actually, scrub that, there ARE some that may not be wise to bring in!).
NEXT- Set a time that the team you are in can all get together and book anything between half an hour to an hour to allow some feedback and discussions.
NEXT- Make sure you have scissors, glue, flipchart or large sheets of paper & marker pens. It is believed we are inclined to move towards what we ‘think’ about most and this is frequently a ‘visual’ representation. So, create that ‘vision’ that we want the workplace to look like in order for our ‘team’ to function at its peak performance.
NEXT- As a TEAM, set to with scissors and glue to cut out letters, words & images from the magazine and glue them to the paper. Fill in spaces with your own artistic flare using the pens if needs be.
NEXT – Spend just 15 to 20 minutes on this masterpiece and, one by one, sign your autograph so the collage is a clear representation of what you and your colleagues see as the future. Once this exercise is complete, place the collage somewhere that everyone in the team can see it on a daily basis.
NEXT – Print off the following questions, ask them of the team as if someone outside was asking them so everyone can speak freely.
1. How did you ‘feel’ about cutting up magazines and gluing them to a piece of paper?
2. As you got into it, how did you then feel about it?
3. How was the relationship between each member formed?
4. How did it relate to other methods of working together?
5. How much does the collage differ from the present reality?
7. How can you work together to bring this image to reality?
8. What is your own personal role in helping to achieve this vision?
9. To ensure you reach it, what steps do you individually and harmoniously need to take to start on the route towards it?
10. Once on that track, how do you stay on it?
11. and how do you monitor the progress?
12. What rewards and at what intervals are these rewards taken, finally
13. How many of you noticed there wasn’t a question ‘6’? No reason other than to test observation which will have an impact on your relationship within teams if you are unaware of things that are around you as well as things that are missing!
Coaching to Success is all about working together and should you be in a team, know of a team or are about to create a team to move towards the desired goal and feel that you could benefit from an external expert, all you have to do is call Neil on 07761 187238 or send an email to neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to book a free consultation and see how reaching the stars isn’t as farfetched or reaching as you may have first imagined. Working together, teams outperform organisations that are just made up of numbers!
Having read this, why not check out Neil too by watching our YouTube video HERE.
