Enhancing The Teamwork Experience: Three Hands-On Exercises

Dr. Lori Baker-Schena, MBA, EdD Welcome Dr. Lori Baker-Schena, MBA, EdD

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” -- Michael Jordan

Teamwork Exercise #1 Finding Commonality* *From thebalance.com

Step One Divide the meeting participants into groups of four or five people by having them number off.

Step Two Tell the newly formed groups that their assignment is to find 10 things they have in common with every other person in the group that have NOTHING to do with work.

Step Three Give participants 10 to 15 minutes to complete the exercise. Have someone record the list.

Ask each group to share their completed list with the entire group. Step Four Ask each group to share their completed list with the entire group.

Step Five Participants love to compare their list of items with the lists generated in the other small groups. You will want to allow a free flow of conversation, laughter and sharing.

Benefits When team members find commonalities, they begin the process of building trust. And no matter how far apart they are in their opinions, it vividly demonstrates they share common ground.

What Does A Successful Team Look Like?

Five Elements Of Successful Teams Strong team leadership Common goals and objectives Agreed upon processes for getting things done Trust among members Accountability systems in place

Why Teams Collapse Absence of trust Fear of conflict Lack of commitment Avoidance of accountability Inattention to results

Building Trust Relying on other people builds trust. You are establishing the foundation of a relationship that can endure minor conflicts. Trusting your teammates provides a feeling of safety that allows ideas to emerge. Team leaders must create an environment that does not punish vulnerability (to make mistakes). Like a good relationship, trust must be maintained.

Mastering Conflict Good conflict is about unfiltered, passionate debate around issues. Conflict will at times be uncomfortable. Conflict norms must be clear. The fear of personal conflict should not prevent productive debate.

Achieving Commitment Commitment requires clarity and buy-in. Clarity requires avoiding assumptions and ambiguity, and reaching a clear understanding about decisions. Buy-in does not require consensus — team members can disagree and still commit to decisions.

Embracing Accountability Accountability on strong teams occurs directly among peers. Peer pressure and distaste of letting down colleagues will motivate a team player more than fear of punishment or rebuke. Team leader must demonstrate willingness to confront difficult issues.

Focusing on Results Great teams accomplish the results they set out to achieve. Team members must prioritize the team’s collective results over individual or departmental needs. Teams must publicly clarify desired results and keep them visible.

The Power Of Team Exercises Improves group morale and promotes team bonding amid adversity. Accelerates process of team roles and forming of a shared vision. Develops creative problem solving along with time and crisis management skills.

The Power Of Team Exercises Illustrates advantages of cooperation over competition. Inspires better conflict resolution skills and communication. Improves decision making and individual leadership skills.

The Power Of Team Exercises Relieves stress levels through activities that inspire laughter and learning. Increases self-confidence and problem- solving skills. Develops ability to find opportunities in change and overcome challenges.

The Power Of Team Exercises Promotes individual and group growth with fun and memorable experiences.

Teamwork Exercise #2 Winner/Loser* *From https://www.wrike.com/blog/team- building-games/

Divide the meeting participants into groups of two. Step One Divide the meeting participants into groups of two.

Step Two Partner A shares something negative that happened in his/her life with Partner B. It can be a personal or work-related memory, but it has to be true.

Step Three Then Partner A discusses the same experience again, but focuses only on the positive aspects.

Partner B helps explore the silver lining of the bad experience. Step Four Partner B helps explore the silver lining of the bad experience.

Afterward, they switch roles. Step Five Afterward, they switch roles.

Benefits Participants discover how to reframe negative situations into learning experiences together. They also learn the importance of shifting into positivity.

Ideas As Building Blocks* Teamwork Exercise #3 Ideas As Building Blocks* *From https://www.wrike.com/blog/team- building-games/

Step One Create a fictional problem that must be solved. It could be a theoretical product, a brain teaser, a riddle, a design challenge — anything that needs a solution.

Step Two Assemble your team (or teams if it is a larger gathering), and have one member write down an idea to tackle the problem on a large sheet of paper. He/she only needs to write a sentence or two.

Step Three Have that individual pass the paper to the person on his/her left, and instruct that person to use the new idea to start building a solution. That person should then write a new idea.

Continue for several rounds, and then see what the results are. Step Four Continue for several rounds, and then see what the results are.

Step Five Revisit the original problem together as a team and identify the best strategy from the ideas presented to solve it. Share out with other teams (when gathered at larger meetings).

Benefits This exercise shows the value of everyone’s ideas. As you work as a team, brainstorming sessions often sway towards the vocal and dominant personalities even though other team members have valuable ideas, too. By creating a situation where these ideas have equal footing, each team member’s ability to contribute is established.

Questions? ???

A Final Thought … Teamwork Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford

Dr. Lori Baker-Schena bscomm@ca.rr.com www.doctorbs.net Thank You Dr. Lori Baker-Schena bscomm@ca.rr.com www.doctorbs.net