Nurturing team spirit
Tim Drewitt, Director of Balance Learning looks at what we should expect from team leaders. Trainers who are looking to help others develop team-working skills, to maximise the effectiveness of teams, should realise that the requirement for team training goes much further than just discrete courses for team members. It extends into other areas such […]
The great Myth of Teamwork
Kim Coe, CEO of the The How2 Group, sees successful group working as a matter of removing internal competition. Many speakers and writers have done a much better job than I ever could in illustrating team work and team building in the worlds of sport, great exploration and even war, so I am going to […]
Workplaces provide a sustaining community to employees – research
New research by Penna Sanders and Sidney explores the social and commercial advantages of workplace friendships. The context for the study was the breakdown of the traditional networks that support individuals – family, neighbours, the church and so on – and hence the importance of the workplace as a source of social community and friendship. […]
Leading teams on the high seas – research
Jane Cranwell-Ward, Director of Henley Learning Partnership at Henley Management College and co-author of “Inspiring Leadership: Staying afloat in turbulent times”, describes some of the lessons about leadership and teamwork that emerged from research during the BT Global Challenge Round the World Yacht Race. The research was conducted by Henley Management College and Inspiring Performance. […]
Team Building – what does it really mean? A provider speaks
Do managers know what they mean when they look for team training and building? Julian Dodson, Director of Active Learning Events Ltd and the 7 Seas Challenge, looks at definitions and at the expectations of clients, and suggests what to look for. Has the term ‘team building’ become diluted and confused?At briefing stage we always […]
How do you get through meetings? – Research
Office workers spend an average of 15 hours per week in meetings and as a result are devising quirky and ingenious ways to break up ‘meeting monotony’, according to a survey by the latest survey from Office Angels.The survey of 1,500 office workers suggests that over two thirds (68%) admit having a pre-meeting routine where […]
Steps in successful team building
The Chartered Management Institute provides some principles to rely on when setting out to work with a team. This checklist explores the essential aspects of planning, setting up and maintaining an effective team for specific projects or assignments.DefinitionTeams are not the same as other groups; they need to be planned, built and maintained. A number […]
What do you want from a team?
David Archibald, Senior Consultant at ukIdea shares his analysis of the qualities common to the best corporate teams. These comments are simply based on personal experience of teams, ranging from the mediocre to the dazzlingly effective. It’s my summary of 20 years in the corporate and multinational environment.The best teams normally have: 1. Members of […]
Developing teams – a fire officer’s view
In this contributed member feature, an experienced operational Fire Officer looks at the issues involved in running a successful team in critical situations. As an experienced operational Fire Officer (of some 24 years), the main aspects about a strong team that come through at every incident I attend or command are: 1. Effective communication2. Sharing […]
Special Exclusive offer to TrainingZONE users
TrainingZONE author Bryan Edwards has put together a fully designed one day course for a trainer or line manager to pick up and deliver to develop team working skills. The Team Leadership Skills course contains tutor course notes, full colour overheads / Powerpoint slides, a delegate manual, exercises and role plays – everything you need, […]
Management development monthly feature: Teamwork technology for results
Leading teamwork and management expert and co-founder of the CPD Business School Charles Margerison looks at the uses of technology products in teams. Team CommsWe increasingly take it for granted that any important information will be held on a computer server. If we go to an airport, our travel details will be on the computer […]
Management development feature: What about team competencies and learning?
This month sees the second in our monthly series of features on the subject of Management Development. Leading teamwork and management expert and co-founder of the CPD Business School Charles Margerison will be producing a series of these features over the coming months. Do we pay too much attention to academics instead of practitioners when […]
Team Development Programme: a training manual – Review
Author: Joan WaltonPublisher Russell House PublishingPublished: February 2002Price: £29.95Buy this bookWhilst team development has been an issue ever since people started to organise their work within collaborative groups, the first seminal book on the subject for me was the classic ‘Team Development Manual’ by Mike Woodcock and Dave Francis (versions of which are still available). […]
Interview of the month: Dr Meredith Belbin
Dr. Meredith Belbin has been renowned for his work on teamwork in the workplace for many years. His research into what makes for a successful team began over 20 years ago and included nine years study at the Henley Management College. During this time, Belbin and his team of researchers studied the behaviour of managers […]
Organisational Training Plans
I have used a simple but effective organisational training plan format successfully for several years. However, I was recently told by a client that it was not `sexy`! Has anyone out there got any ideas or suggestions to liven up the plan or perhaps for s/w products that would help? Thank you. J LindleyJennifer Lindley […]
Managing performance virtually: issues with ‘teleworkers’
An article from Human Resource Development Quarterly on the Zigon Performance Group website looks into factors affecting the success or otherwise of undertaking evaluation with teleworkers, and finds that assessing whether the individual is suitable for this type of working first will have a significant influence on their subsequent performance. The study finds that the […]
Is there any point in building teams?
On the back of the recent poor team performances from England’s football and cricket teams, Simon Caulkin, writing in the Guardian this week says that the importance of teamwork often prevents rational discussion about it.Caulkin argues that team working has yet to establish itself properly as a ‘management concept’. David Butcher of the Cranfield School […]
‘Learning from without’
From the MCB University Press ‘Action Learner’ column today:Members of the National Society for Quality through Teamwork (NSQT) who operate in the Eastern region of the UK met last week to explore the theme “we learn from without not from within”. Among points that emerged: – if you look at the normal problem solving tools […]
‘All together now’ for Beatles-themed teamwork training
Liverpool-based Maverick Training have come up with a novel approach to team working training – ‘with a little help from their friends’ at the Cavern Club.The Beatles are being used as a role model in a new training programme based around their phenomenal success. The programme will draw on Beatles-related examples to examine topics such […]
Self-managed teams can create greater productivity
A feature article on the hrzone.com website focuses on some of the ways in which self-managed teams can be helped to work most effectively.Researchers have found that a manager’s attitude about teams is even more important to creating self-managing teams than the first line supervisor’s attitude and that problem solving teams thrive on adversity.The article […]
