TrainingZONE’s theme for March: Developing Teams
Any organisation’s success depends almost entirely on its capacity to function as more than a bunch of unconnected individuals. Formal structures can only do so much, you also need to engage people. So how do we make a crowd into a team? This month we are looking at any and every aspect of team development, […]
What makes for a successful team?
Jan Bailey, Marketing Manager of the Leadership Trust examines the qualities that make a team successful. What makes for a successful team? How many organisations throughout the UK and across the world have pondered this question? And it is not only business organisations. In the world of sport, for example, teamwork is frequently crucial – […]
How to choose a training provider
Outsourcing training to a specialist provider is an increasingly popular choice in today’s organisations. There are a large number of training providers to choose from, each offering different training solutions, so how do you find the provider to suit your needs? Robinne Collie, Managing Director of The Gourmet Challenge, outlines the questions and issues managers […]
Surviving change
In the current climate of global and economic uncertainty, the stresses and anxieties of individuals within the workplace are often overlooked with dire consequences for business. Julie Heavens, director of Sages and Wise Women explains how to minimise the damage to employees and to the employee relationship. Companies which are downsizing and restructuring may find […]
Thinking the same… differently
Globalisation and changing demographics in the UK mean that most organisations have staff who need to be able to work cross culturally. In addition, there is growing competition for talented people – businesses need to recruit from every possible pool to increase their chances of recruiting the best. It is clear that organisations need to […]
Teams benefit from emotional engagement
Jim Welch, programme director at Pera explains how emotional intelligence contributes to team effectiveness. How can organisations meet the challenge of getting people to work together more openly and honestly? Is emotional intelligence the answer?Research suggests that it is. A study by Yale University, for example, found that teams with high levels of emotional intelligence […]
Understanding teams
Roy Davis, Head of Communications at SHL, answers our featured questions about what makes a team work. What special qualities does a manager need to be a good team-developer?Given that job analysis projects show time after time that up to 80% of job content is personality related i.e. soft skills, it is the developing of […]
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). […]