Blogs | Fresh Tracks

Playing with the Toy Makers – When Leapfrog came to Play

Earlier this year we worked with Leapfrog – a fast paced company making educational toys whose recent growth had brought significant changes, particularly among the leadership team.

The day focused on a colourful and fun construction exercise.

Our approach was to identify the potential of each member of the team using the Strengths Deployment Inventory, a questionnaire based on Jungian psychology that plots team members’ strengths graphically. …

Is there more to life than happiness?

Much has been written and spoken this year on the subject of ‘Happiness’. The Prime Minister wants to measure it, schools are teaching it and most of us claim that when all is said and done we simply want it.

Happiness comes from the Greek 'Makarios'...

At this time of year a similar word comes to the fore in greetings cards and seasonal songs; that word is ‘Joy’. As we reflect on the ups and downs of the year gone by it’s worth considering whether next year we should strive for happiness, or for joy….

Short Notice Team Events

January is a time for new beginnings, and many leaders will have scheduled time to review 2012 and talk through the challenges and opportunities for 2013 with their team.

If you haven’t put a date in the diary don’t worry we can provide a venue, facilitator and team activity during the first few weeks of the new year, and we even have some capacity in late December. …

Four Tips to LEAN your Six Sigma Team

A recent issue of Fortune magazine focuses on the secrets of greatness: Teamwork. It offers insights into teams past like Apple Computer’s Macintosh team and teams of Marines in Iraq…

The methods and tools involved in LEAN Six Sigma are easy.

…It also argues that “most of what you’ve read about teamwork is bunk.” While you can’t just demand teamwork, there are some simple lessons….

Does Size Matter in Teams?

This year’s Olympics saw rowing teams of eight, four and two. In handball teams of seven; in hockey 16 and in volleyball six. So should team size be dictated just by the task, or are there other factors to consider?

In teams, is size really the most important factor?

It could be assumed that the larger the team the more productive they are as a whole but the opposite seems to be true. Very often larger teams are in fact less efficient per capita. In rowing and in the workplace, overall performance is as dependent on coordination across the team as it is on the sheer effort of individual team members. …

Pat on the Back or Kick up the Rear – Good managers do both

There’s little doubt that praise is a powerful motivating force – we all feel uplifted when our efforts are recognised – and management has moved on from 19th century command and control to an era of recognise and reward.

Not always the best way to praise someone.

Equally important, though rarely used effectively, is the reprimand. Just as we need to catch people doing things right we also need to help people to identify where they are going wrong and to take steps to improve. …

Obama – Leadership by results

Having successfully won the election for a second and final term Barack Obama has just four years to deliver his vision, the re-election distraction now thankfully behind him.

In 2016 journalists will look back on his eight years in the top job and reflect on his style, character and skin colour, while historians will assess the impact his leadership has had on the world’s most prominent nation….

Derren Brown on Leadership Development

The TV star and illusionist has been back on our screens with an extravagant two part show entitled Apocalypse.

Does it really take an apocalypse to turn a person into a good leader?

In the show Derren takes a young man who apparently doesn’t appreciate his life and family and attempts to teach him a lesson. Brown’s goal is to get Stephen Brosnan to take responsibility for his life and to see how he handles himself under pressure and when put into a position of leadership….

10 Styles of Leadership – Part 3

In Leadership Styles Parts 1 and 2 we looked at how great leaders differ In their style, and how it’s important to match leaders with the tasks and conditions they are best suited to. In this final part of the series we look at the strengths and limitations of the four remaining leadership styles.

Do you think Yoda was a Motivating leader or a Coaching leader?

Directing Leader
Once the vision is established and the strategy agreed, it will be the directional leader who takes key decisions with confidence and certainty, guiding the team day to day and keeping them on track. …

Learning Through Play – Could bad management be the result of too little play?

This Christmas children will be pleading for the latest toy and many families will dust off their Monopoly sets and rediscover the simple joy of playing a game together. But should we limit our game playing to childhood and holidays, or can play help us in our work, our thinking and our leadership?

Could playing more games be key to better management?

Attitudes to play are changing and the once ridiculed video game industry is now recognised as a valuable contributor to the economy and culture. …

Conference Facilitation

Team

Catch Ups

Team Development

Sleep
Coaching

Trust Unwrapped Book

Teams: A Short Guide Book

Free Team Building Activities

Free Team Health Check

Team Articles/Guides

Conference Facilitation & Team Building Blogs

Welcome to the Fresh Tracks team building blog. This is a growing collection of team development news, opinions, tips and advice. We would love your input so feel free to comment or get in touch.