Conference Facilitation & Team Building Blogs

Making Virtual Teams Work

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, when teams had to adapt and move towards online working and working from home, this type of working has become the norm. Over the past 5 or so years, an increasing number of teams are made up of team members who don’t sit in the same office, town or even continent.

These could be project teams, virtual shared service centres or a field sales force.  There’s no doubt that, like conventional teams, the whole team can be greater than the sum of its parts.  For these remote or virtual teams to be effective, there are some critical points that they must address.

Technology

The ability to see, talk and share information across the team is the primary reason for the growth in virtual team working. It is therefore essential that all members of the team are equally able to make best use of that technology. A Zoom, Teams, or Google conference will only succeed if every participant can use the meeting platform and has a computer with a connection capable of hosting the service. Technical cognisance varies widely in most teams, and most organisations simply accept this fact, offering training but rarely insisting on minimum levels of competence.

In a virtual team, every member must have above-average awareness and confidence in the tools they will be using to communicate and keep in touch. Not just in terms of technical proficiency but also in the appropriate behaviours when using the tools. So email shouldn’t be used when an instant message would be more appropriate; and when team members have agreed to be on a conference call, they must be ‘on’ the call on time, not distracted, doing other things with the speakerphone turned up to the max.

Define the purpose of the business

It sounds obvious that a team should know why the business exists. It’s likely that if asked, each team member could answer the question “Why does this team do what it does?”. The issue is whether the answers would match. Ultimately, the leader must be the one to come up with a definitive purpose, a reason for being. It is then one of the leader’s primary responsibilities to share this with every member of the group in a way that they not only understand but which is also consistent with the behaviours expected of them. The more compelling the better, and don’t be afraid to sprinkle some imagination amongst the practicalities, drawing pictures and using visual language – this should result in a statement of Vision and Purpose: why we exist and where we are going.

Membership

A team member may have many masters. It’s common in virtual teams for members to serve multiple leaders, some functional, some by location. In these instances, it is essential that lines of authority are clear. Ambiguity leads to confusion and increases the likelihood of energy and effort being wasted on the wrong projects at the wrong time. A little time spent agreeing the parameters in which team members will work can save a project from going off the rails further down the line.  Be sure to make time for this in the early life of the team; and going forward, revisit these guidelines regularly, adjusting as necessary.

Strong leadership

Some might argue that virtual team working makes it easy for staff to hide and shirk their responsibilities, and if leadership is weak that may be true. The leader, however, is more exposed in a virtual team than in a conventional work group.  He or she can’t hide behind a busy diary or lock themselves in their office.  Leaders of virtual teams must do just that, lead their team members.  Daily contact is essential, preferably with the conversation not being entirely about task; small talk means a lot to team members that might fear being out of sight, out of mind.

Less frequent weekly face to face or at the least phone conversations about the individual’s work load, progress and development can become part of the routine.  Giving virtual teams something that few office-based teams actually achieve.

Accountability and Feedback

In an environment where team members work side by side, frustrations and differences of opinion can be worked out on the spot, whereas an ill-thought-through comment made remotely can easily fester and lead to resentment. For any team to function effectively, there should be a spirit of openness and accountability within the team. Where a culture of feedback exists, anyone can coach, encourage or critique another team member’s behaviour or work, but few groups seem to achieve this. In teams where leaders encourage openness and provide training in the techniques required to give and receive feedback safely, their teams excel.

Social interaction

Something that office-based teams often take for granted is the social interaction that comes from working alongside a colleague. The value of being able to share the troubles or successes of the day with a nearby colleague is hard to quantify, but there’s no doubt that many a long day has been shortened by the opportunity to vent about a difficult customer or laugh about the boss’s dress sense.

Importantly, it’s from this social interaction that relationships can develop, ultimately leading to a greater sense of trust which in turn leads to better decisions being taken more quickly, reduced bureaucracy and greater productivity.

It’s important for virtual teams to physically spend time together away from work than those teams where colleagues’ paths will cross as part of their working day.  At least three times a year, the virtual team should take a day or two to get to know each other, learn together, review and celebrate recent events, and adapt and agree on working practices going forward.

Decisions and conflict resolution

If a team is going to make a difference they will need to make some choices together. As with any team the danger of the opinions of the few dominating the debate is amplified when people feel unable to express their views. Teams need to agree what decisions can be taken by the leader alone, what can be decided by a few and what issues should have input from everyone. Having agreed the ‘what’ , just as important is the ‘how’. If the team have scheduled face to face meetings, these provide a great opportunity to deal with the top priority issues in an open forum, with more routine decisions either being taken by appointed individuals or democratically using email or online voting technology.

Benefits of virtual teams

When Starbucks founder, Howard Schultz talked about his coffee shops being a ‘third place’ between home and work, I doubt even he predicted the impact he would have on where we work. We have seen offices shrink over the past few years, as people now travel less to work, and can access their work and each other from wherever they happen to be.

The challenge this presents organisations is to develop leaders that can manage beyond arm’s length.

Fresh Tracks can run team days and activities for your workforce to help develop the team when you do meet up. Get in touch if you would like to find out more.

Learning from Smaller Businesses to Increase Growth

Some believe that if bigger businesses and players make a wrong move, it may be difficult for other growth opportunities to come up, so they can keep up with the pace of innovation.

One of the challenges faced by bigger companies is that they are simply too big. It is a well-worn cliché that big firms in any industry manoeuvre like oil tankers. Decision-making is slow, and attitudes to risk are conservative. For industries that are based on innovation and growth, this is more than just a frustration; it is a terminal condition.

Seth Godin, in his 2007 book ‘Small is the New Big ‘, stated that “today, little companies often make more money than big companies.” So, when an established business takes over a dynamic young enterprise, great care should be taken not to smother the youthful enthusiasm of the smaller business. In fact, the smart players know that the real value exists not just in the new entities, but in the passion and innovative drive of the team. Keep reading, as we go into a few examples of why smaller businesses are good.

Advantages of smaller organisations over large: 

More open

In an environment with fewer than 100 employees, everyone should know each other, their roles, strengths and working styles. The departmental divides that spring up in large firms don’t exist in the smaller businesses; consequently, communication is clearer, quicker and more honest.

Braver

Working for a small business is perceived to be less secure than working for a large institution, because they are thought to be at higher risk than larger companies. This bravery includes the ability to admit something is wrong. One of the greatest threats to large companies is the reluctance to call time on projects that are destined to fail.

Energetic 

A clear sense of purpose and place generates energy alongside the knowledge that every role counts. Seeing the business process from inception through to delivery is tremendously motivating and rarely communicated in large organisations.

Decisive

The closeness of relationships leads to speedy decision-making. There is no place for procrastination; leaders have to lead.

Innovative

Informality, a sense of fun and a genuine desire to serve the business all encourage original thinking throughout the entire culture.

Trusting

Gained from the sense of team that comes from having a shared goal, combined with a small community of employees. Essential if an organisation is to function efficiently.

Taking risks

Another thing larger companies should know is that entrepreneurship is not a skill that can be taught in business schools; it is an attitude that must be modelled and encouraged by leaders. It requires space in which to operate, freedom to take risks and a culture that accepts failure not as a threat but as a sign of progress.

Leaders must choose between staying big and becoming increasingly less efficient or finding new structures that encourage innovation and are places in which the brightest people want to work.

10 Tips To Stop Being A Busy Fool

I thought smartphones, Microsoft Outlook and open plan offices were all supposed to save us time and make us more efficient. Yet most of the middle managers I come across seem to be busier, more stressed and consequently more indecisive than ever before.

Perhaps it’s time to challenge the status quo. After all, a packed diary might fool some into thinking we are successful, but in truth it simply says we have no time to seize new opportunities, think creatively or sit down with a colleague in need. I’m always impressed that most CEO’s I deal with can make time to meet within a few days. Not so with the majority of ‘rising leaders’ who can rarely consider scheduling a meeting until “next month at the earliest.”

You might argue that the former benefit from personal assistants to help them manage their time, but I’d suggest it’s a matter of priorities and techniques. Here are 10 of the tricks I’ve picked up from those that seem to have got the balance right:

1. Be clear about your priorities

Know what your role requires of you and where you want your career to go; eliminate any activity that doesn’t relate directly to these objectives

2. Avoid committees

Committees rarely make good decisions; they spend far too much time discussing minutiae, and they steal time from your diary way into the future

3. Learn how to close a phone call

With a few well-chosen phrases. My favourite is ‘don’t let me keep you any longer ’. This way you can politely terminate the call without ending the relationship

4. Don’t get comfortable

Some of my most productive meetings have been conducted standing up and the worst, in unventilated meeting rooms in comfortable chairs

5. Break habits

Just because meetings normally start at 10 am and last for 60 minutes in the conference room, it doesn’t mean that’s the right formula. Try different durations, locations, and times depending on the urgency and desired outcome.

6. Say no if you need to

Say no, not ‘I’ll consider’ it or ‘Come back to me, next week’. Busy fools allow their mouths to operate independently to their brain, just say what you mean.

7. Ignore emails in the morning

At the very start of the day, begin by mapping out what you really need to achieve rather than allowing your Inbox to dictate your day.

8. Improve admin efficiency

If Microsoft Outlook or similar handles your email and diary, then set aside half a day to improve your knowledge of its functionality and the settings you use. Most people don’t use these systems efficiently and an hour invested in training could save you days over the next year.

9. Take action quicker

Reply, file or delete every email and letter at first sight; don’t let them loiter around, take action immediately.

10. Tell the world how you operate

If you find it best to check emails at defined times, say before 10 am and after 4 pm include a note to that effect in your email signature. Do likewise with ‘out of office’ and voicemail.

In the future, there will be yet more gadgets that need our attention; managers must take back control so that the technology doesn’t manage them.

Written by Dan Collins, founder of Fresh Tracks.

 

Trust in your team

We often take trust for granted when it’s there, and don’t realise. When that trust isn’t present, it can actually create more work for the team. This blog goes into the importance of trust and how this can affect productivity levels.

What is trust?

Trust means you communicate without hidden agendas; you share information and resources; you rely on your colleagues to help out when required and put your hand up when you get things wrong without fear of huge recriminations.

Can a successful team function without trust?

Although our session included event managers, admin staff and senior managers, it was fairly informal and allowed participants to look at their own views on trust –  how and why trust is important at work and at home; what does trust mean to the individual and to the team; what would happen if there was little or no trust in colleagues.

In our team at Fresh Tracks, we have quite a lot of trust; everyone seemed to take it for granted that they would be trusted and that they would in turn trust their colleagues. For us, that makes for an easy and friendly work environment, part of the reason we choose to work here at Fresh Tracks. But it also made me realise that trust is ultimately at the heart of this office culture….

The Relationship Between Sleep and Productivity

Our relationship to tiredness is paradoxical, a source of shame, indicating our inability to cope; but also a badge of honour, signifying the importance of our work. For some its become an ‘affordable’ status symbol. In reality, tiredness leads to irritability, either bad decision-making or worse, procrastination and low productivity, poor concentration and reduced creativity. Fatigue also reduces our immunity, leading very quickly to ill health.

The dilemma of sleep today

In our 24/7 world, time spent sleeping is in decline, so it’s little wonder that some of us find it hard to wake up in the morning.  It’s reported that we sleep at least one hour less each night than we did a half century ago.

An American study found that during a two-week period, 40% of workers reported fatigue. Of those, 65% reported health-related lost productive time. According to the researchers, workers with fatigue cost US employers $136.4 billion annually in health-related lost productive time.

Two-thirds of adults report frequent sleep problems; however, only one in eight say those problems have been diagnosed.  The ‘sleep deprived’ are also more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, psychiatric and gastrointestinal disease, and impaired immunity.

Sleep quality and quantity matter

So it’s not just the quantity of our sleep that matters but also the quality; snoring loudly, daytime dozing, trouble falling asleep or waking unrefreshed are just a few of the signs that a person could be ‘sleep deprived’

“Sleep is sort of like food,” says Robert Stickgold, a cognitive neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School.  He adds, there’s one important difference: “You can be quite starved and still alive. But many of us live on the edge of sleep starvation and just accept it.”…

The History of Team Building

The theories behind team building could be much older than originally thought.  In fact, Plato may have been the first ever team building expert!

Is team building over 2000 years old?

For some years we’ve been saying “teams that play together, work together” and it seems that although team building is thought to be a comparatively new addition to business training Plato, one of the world’s most influential philosophers, had a similar view over 2000 years ago; “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” Plato

So we’d encourage you to make time to play with your colleagues this week, take a ball to the park, eat ice cream in the afternoon or play darts at lunchtime – whatever you think would be fun.  We spend most of our waking lives with our colleagues so let’s enjoy it.

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers: A Metaphor for Energy Levels

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

What is the mayonnaise jar and 2 beers?

The mayonnaise jar and two beers is an old story, which provides a good metaphor for energy levels, and something we can take a lot of learnings from.

The Story

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was….

The relationship between competiton and productivity

We all try harder when there’s a prize at stake, no matter how small.  The desire to win is in all of us to a greater or lesser extent, and even those who wouldn’t be described as ‘competitive’ still enjoy playing. Here, we look at the potential benefits of adding a bit of friendly competition within your team.

How can competition improve productivity?

By adding an element of productivity, like giving a prize to the person who has performed the best on a certain task, or praising people who have achieved a particular outcome, you might be helping create a motivated workforce. Having an element of competition can:

• Boost motivation
• Provide clear milestones
• Encourage communication between peers to reach a certain goal
• Break down set barriers in an organisation
• Prompt creativity

Example 1: Sales

In business, sales teams have included competitive measurement and reward to drive productivity for generations with such great effect that very few sales roles exist that don’t have some form of prize built into the remuneration package.  So it’s strange that other departments haven’t created their own ways to combine play with productive working….

Volunteering: team building from a different angle

We often call volunteers in a team ‘volunteam’. We know it isn’t a real word, but the principle of it is an interesting one, and can often be a good alternative way of looking at team building.

What is the value in volunteering in a group?

Volunteering in a team can often leave you with higher energy levels, whether you are volunteering with your colleagues or some people outside of work. When you volunteer, you aren’t getting paid; you’re giving back to the community and are helping to achieve something good.

Working towards this end goal with other individuals who want the same outcome can make you feel part of something bigger, which is a positive feeling. Working in a team also means you have to communicate to others about what role each person has, and how they contribute.

What are the benefits of corporate volunteering?

For corporate teams, volunteering as a team on a project outside of work can help bring the team together and improve communication skills. It can help increase motivation and develop a cohesive team.

In addition, you are having a positive social and environmental impact, so you are contributing to these values and targets.

What can we learn from Moroccan builders?

A while ago, we visited a relief project in Morocco that was building new homes for widows and the very poor, following the earthquake in 2004.  Incredibly, over 5 years later, 12,000 homes had been destroyed, and an enormous number of people were still trying to survive without a home in the hills around Al Hoceima….

A guide to Belbin team roles

Fresh Tracks often uses ‘Belbin Team Roles’ to help develop teams and allow them to learn about one another’s strengths and weaknesses. But what are they and what do they do? Keep reading as we delve deeper.

What is a Belbin team role?

A Belbin team role, as defined by Dr Meredith Belbin, is: “a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way.”

What Belbin team roles are there?

There are nine different Belbin team roles that you will be scored against. These are

1. Resource Investigator – likes researching and finding ideas to share with the team
2. Teamworker – is a key team player and identifies ways to support the team
3. Co-ordinator – is able to play on the team’s strengths and delegate work if necessary
4. Plant – is very creative and is one of the ‘ideas’ people in the team
5. Monitor Evaluator – someone who is quite logical and can weigh up different sides and views
6. Specialist – has more detailed knowledge about specific areas that can be valuable to the team
7. Shaper – can maintain momentum and drive change within a team
8. Implementer – likes to work efficiently and create the necessary plan of action
9. Completer Finisher – gets satisfaction out of completing and finishing tasks to a high quality

Check out the Belbin website for more information about the strengths and weaknesses of each role.

How do you find out your Belbin team role?

When we run team development days and events, we ususally request that teams fill out a Belbin test on the Belbin website, and then once this data has been collected, each person will be sent a report. It is often useful to print this out so you can easily turn between pages and discuss it with your team.

At our team days, we usually take the team through the report, explaining what it is, what each role is, and how you can start to make use of these. You can split off into different teams depending on who you work more closely with, to see how you can play on each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

What are the benefits of Belbin roles?

If you understand the different roles within the team, you know who likes doing what kind of work. For example, if someone scores higher in Plant, but doesn’t like actioning their ideas, another person in the team who is an implementer and a co-ordinator will help make that idea happen. Knowing this allows you to work most efficiently in a team.