The Language(s) of Love – for Teams

As we celebrate St Valentine’s Day it brings to mind Dr Gary Chapman’s theory that there are five Love Languages.

What is your team's language of love?

These are the different ways in which we show and receive appreciation, not just from our nearest and dearest but also from colleagues in our teams and our managers.  Dr Chapman suggests that each of us favours one particular Love Language over the other four and whilst his work is focussed towards married couples, his theory can be applied in part to those leading teams….

This Isn’t What I Signed Up For

A friend recently retired early from a successful career as a risk manager in the City.

We can adapt our priorities to fit our changed world or we can change our career to one that matches our values

He sent this farewell note to friends and contacts:

“After 37 years in the City I have decided to call it a day. I’ve enjoyed my career immensely, and …

The end of email? 5 tips for reducing email overload

James Murdoch must be wishing News International had stuck with printed memos as the Leveson enquiry threatens to pin the blame on him for the phone hacking scandal.

Having a problem with too many emails? Some solutions to this will be part of our next event "How to be more Productive with Less Stress" on Friday 16th March 2012

The rest of us face the daily battle to select the important from the apparently urgent, as we try to spend time on the priorities that will drive our organisations forward and not fall into the trap of our Inbox becoming our To Do List. Some solutions to this will be part of our next workshop “How to be more Productive with Less Stress” on Friday 16th March 2012.

The Financial Times recently reported that…

Five Top Tips to Take your Team into 2012

It’s not much fun waking up early and joining the crowds to return to work on a cold January morning.

So here are five ideas to welcome and motivate your team at the start of the New Year:

1. Restate the vision: the best teams share the same goals and values, so be sure your team knows where they are headed and why.
2. Shout about the good news: don’t let the January blues get to your team, publicise all the good stuff that’s happening in your organisation, sector and city.
3. Celebrate what’s good about 2012: the Olympics in London, Spring getting closer, new products in the pipeline.
4. Innovate together: after a break our minds are fresher and the ideas will flow. Create some time to be imaginative as a team before the routine takes over.
5. Book a team away day in the diary: now that the Christmas party is a fading memory set the date for your next team event.

Resolve not to Regret – 5 Reasons to seize the day

As we consider what resolutions we will make in 2012 it is sobering to reflect on the regrets of those that have gone before us.

What will your new year's resolution be?

Bronnie Ware was a palliative nurse who cared for many people in the final weeks of their life. Over time, she compiled a list of their most commonly held regrets. Interestingly in each case people don’t regret things they have done but in fact regret things they have not done.

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

So as opportunities arise in 2012 let’s not be put off by the consequence of our actions but instead seize each day.

Five Ways to Resolve Conflict in Your Team

From time to time most teams experience a falling out among team members. If not quickly resolved this can have a significant impact not just on the people in dispute but also on their colleagues.

If not quickly resolved conflict can have a significant impact on the people in the dispute and also their colleagues

Here are a few thoughts to help your team to deal with the discord:…

Manners versus Productivity

When I was a boy my dad used to frequently remind me of the adage: “Manners maketh the man”. Now as a parent myself I see why he did this – good manners give a child a distinct advantage over their contemporaries.

So, if manners can maketh the man, are they good for business?

Adults are more inclined to listen to the opinions of a well-mannered child, they more readily submit to their requests on hearing a sincere ‘please’ and are more likely to remember the birthday of a child who always sends a thank you note.

Despite our determination to instill these habits into the next generation, many of us seem less inclined to maintain the same degree of good manners in the workplace….

Five things a leader should do to get the best out of their team

In the numerous obituaries that have been published for Steve Jobs, the word visionary seems to be the most quoted adjective in an attempt to define his leadership style.

Steve Jobs always had a vision, even in the early days, and he knew how to inspire people with it.

There’s no doubt that teams need their leader to be clear about what they are aiming for, but it takes more than a vision to get the best from a team in the long term.  So here are five things a leader should do to get the best out of their team:…

Team Briefings – Boring or Brilliant

On 21st October Fresh Tracks hosted a seminar entitled “How to Deliver Tremendous Team Events”. In preparing the programme we’ve talked to several team leaders and one of the greatest areas of concern currently is that regular Team Briefings are lacking and ineffective. This is particularly the case in organisations undergoing change.

A good team briefing can make all the difference

In pondering how to add value to Team Briefings in the workplace I couldn’t help but wonder how Martin Johnson approaches the half time team talk he gives the England Team playing in the Rugby World Cup. These short pep-talks can make all the difference as brilliantly illustrated by Al Pacino’s character in the American Football movie: Any Given Sunday (YouTube clip).

Sometimes a pep-talk isn’t appropriate – perhaps an open discussion is a better way for the team to air their feelings; or an energising activity can be used to illustrate an important team behaviour.

Whatever the approach, it’s important that these opportunities for teams to come together aren’t wasted. In a world where most of our conversations happen via a screen we really need to make the most of face to face meetings.

This workshop has now happened so if you are interested in finding out how to deliver tremendous team events do call us on: 01920 822 220.

Feedback for the Facebook Generation

Team performance depends on a number of factors but ultimately people do their best work when they are getting regular feedback

Facebook Story from Rypple on Vimeo.

Ideally a weekly one to one with a line manager should ensure that goals are being met. The challenge in this is organising the conversation so that the right issues are discussed and that recent successes are acknowledged.

As you’d expect from the leaders in social networking, Facebook have found an online solution, see how they do it, click play on the video above.