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A very brief look at the Myers Briggs personality test

Fresh Tracks uses the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to develop teams but what is it? For this months video blog Vancover Film School have produced a very simple explanation.

Wikipedia explains that Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.  These preferences were extrapolated from the typological theories originated by Carl Gustav Jung, as published in his 1921 book Psychological Types (English edition, 1923). …

What leadership style are you?

Whether you are managing a team at work, captaining your sports team or leading a multi national organisation your leadership style is crucial to your success. 

Was Spartacus a visionary or diplomatic leader?

Consciously, or subconsciously, you will no doubt use some of the 10 leadership styles featured below, at least some of the time.  By understanding these leadership styles and their impact, you can become a more flexible, better leader. …

How To: Motivate your team ready for the New Year

It can take several days for your team to really get back into the full swing of things after the Christmas break so it’s imperative that you are already thinking of novel employee motivation ideas to kick start 2010.

January is a great time to motivate the workforce

Although the right attitude, application and work ethic are important throughout the year, we’ve assembled some employee motivational events that will inspire and invigorate your personnel during a gloomy January….

Fresh or Foolish? – A motivated workforce the Ricardo Semler way

The idea that staff set their own pay, come and go from the office as they please, all within a business that has no written strategy sounds like a recipe for disaster. Not the story of a company that’s gone from $4m to $160m.

Is this man a management genius?

Semco is no ordinary workplace, despite the fact that it operates in an industry as ordinary as engineering….

Don’t cancel Christmas – do some team building

The recession may not be officially over yet but most managers appreciate that Christmas needn’t be cancelled again this year.

Be creative this Christmas

Boozy parties are probably not the best way to mark the end of a tough year but that doesn’t mean there’s not value in gathering everyone together.

As we enter an era when return on investment is at the forefront of our minds the annual celebration needs to deliver more than just a few laughs and sore heads the next day.

So, while everyone is together in celabratory mood here are a few suggestions that will turn a turkey dinner into a turning point:…

What are Belbin team roles?

Fresh Tracks uses ‘Belbin Team Roles’ to develop teams but what are they? For this months video blog actor Andy Taylor explains.

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

Volunteam – team building from a different angle

Its not a real word I know but the principle of a ‘volunteam’ is an interesting one.

What can we learn from Moroccan builders?

I’ve been visiting a relief project in Morocco that is building new homes for widows and the very poor following the earthquake in 2004.  Incredibly over 5 years after 12,000 homes were destroyed an enormous number of people are still trying to survive without a home in the hills around Al Hoceima….

Learning a lesson from TV land

If I think back to when I’ve seen people most stressed in my working life, the majority of instances were immediately before and during conferences.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...

Very often it’s not the speakers who’s nerves are showing or the AV technicians that are flustered, its the conference organiser.  These people know they are in the firing line if the lights go out or the timmings go aray.  They can often be heard to say “My job is on the line if this isn’t a success”.  Leaving unfair dismissal to one side the truth is there is little benefit in allowing the strain to show.

Earlier this week I was part of a live TV show in which the decision was made to rebuild the set 45 minutes before going on air, while rehearsals were still underway and the lighting and camera angles were far from set up.  Additionally the script was being adapted requiring changes to the autocue and the need to re-brief the presenter and guests….

Fresh Tracks live on Channel 4 again!

It’s always gratifying to be asked back and repeat business is the best measure of a job well done.  So we are very chuffed to be back on Channel 4’s Paul O’Grady show at 5pm today.

We're back on Channel 4 with Paul O'Grady on 22nd Sept

This time we have created an exercise that will have X Factor runners up JLS competing against Paul & Co to see which group can perform best as a team under pressure.  In a matter of minutes the two teams will have to first understand the task, before coming up with a plan that will utilise their strengths and earn them maximum points.

Being an entertainment show today’s challenge will involve lots of water and a fair amount of chaos but the essence is the same as in any other sports or business team – Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

Do tune in to Channel 4 at 5pm tonight but if you can’t get to a television do come back to the blog in a couple of days or follow us using your RSS feed because we’ll upload a video of the team building activity!

What’s your game?

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.

The plan to increase productivity by canceling coffee breaks flopped!

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….