Welcome to Partnerwerks Collaboratory!
November 15, 1999
For everyone who desires to accomplish more with others,
Collaboratory promotes TeamAbility(TM) -- the individual mental
skills and behaviors that create highly responsible and
productive relationships at work.
In this issue:
1. 10-Second Collaboratory
2. Welcome Notes
3. Check It Out at http://www.partnerwerks.com
4. Master Context to Leverage Content
5. 5-Minute TeamAbility(TM) Stretch
6. Index to Collaboratory Archives
_________________________________________________________________
1. 10-Second Collaboratory
To master your own context, observe your surroundings and ask
yourself "What's supporting me/us? What isn't supporting me/us?
And what context can I/we create?"
_________________________________________________________________
2. Welcome Notes
If you've just subscribed after attending Partnerwerks corporate
seminar Project Team Leadership, after reading about Collaboratory
in Work Team Coaching Bi-Weekly, or because someone who cares
about you forwarded Collaboratory to you, welcome! And enjoy.
_________________________________________________________________
3. Check It Out at http://www.partnerwerks.com
Want to know more about who/what Partnerwerks is and does? Check
out this summary of what we do, who we serve, and what we believe:
http://www.partnerwerks.com/What_s_Here_/Jump_In/Reception/reception.html#CompanyPurpose
_________________________________________________________________
4. And now for this week's Collaboratory...
MASTER CONTEXT TO LEVERAGE CONTENT
Context? What's context? You know, that set of circumstances that
shapes an event, as in, "You've got to understand the context."
In meetings, most of us react blindly to context. But people with
TeamAbility(TM) craft it!
Here's an example. I've just come from a team meeting that had
abundant opportunities to fail -- yet it didn't. The participants
(who traveled from different cities) hadn't met together for six
weeks. Each was involved in major organizational transitions.
Each had significant and interdependent "fires" to fight in the
organization. Their meeting time had been halved by the leader
due to a change in his schedule -- despite the fact that team
members had previously agreed they needed the full time. And, to
top it off, three members announced that they had to be absent
for portions of the meeting for other urgent business.
So, how did this team keep their meeting from failing altogether?
Well, first off, instead of diving hurriedly into content, they
spent the first 20% of their meeting time ritually crafting a
context -- a supportive vessel -- within which to succeed! Here's
what they did:
1. Pre-meeting shared reality. This team had already established
task clarity and agreements, a meeting history with action items,
and a list of left-over agenda items. Via e-mail, prior to
meeting, they circulated and reviewed a "living document" which
included all these these.
2. Environment. One member brought treats, a couple arranged the
furniture in the meeting room, and two more prepared the shared
displays for recording -- all just the way the team liked things.
3. Meeting start: Check-in. In turn, each member summarized what
was on his/her mind coming into the meeting that needed to be
cleared in order to be mentally present for this meeting. Each
ended this ritual by declaring, "I'm in." Others responded,
"Welcome!"
4. Meeting process: Wins! Each member reported his/her wins since
their last meeting. (A "win" is an intention that has been met;
it can be of any magnitude. Wins signal progress and offer
valuable perspective.)
5. Meeting process: Outcomes. Participants flipcharted their
desired outcomes for the meeting. Whatever results anyone wanted
went up on the chart. Once completed, this chart put their
immediate motivations "on the table."
6. Agenda. To the leftover content from the last meeting, and the
previously submitted content for this meeting, individuals added
new content in the form of agenda items. Then they prioritized
the agenda and budgeted available time across items they agreed
HAD TO be accomplished in order to "ship" the meeting.
And "ship" the meeting they did, with great satisfaction and time
to spare. What do you do in team meetings when you're under
pressure with tons of content to get through?
Get started with this week's 5-minute TeamAbility(TM) Stretch.
agenda and budgeted available time across items they agreed HAD
TO be accomplished in order to "ship" the meeting.
And "ship" the meeting they did, with great satisfaction and time
to spare. What do you do in team meetings when you're under
pressure with tons of content to get through?
Get started with this week's 5-minute TeamAbility(TM) Stretch.
_________________________________________________________________
5. 5-Minute TeamAbility(TM) Stretch
On a personal basis, consider all the opportunities you have to
be the master of your own context.
- Do your physical surroundings support and please you?
- Does your car, appliances, equipment and tools improve your
effectiveness?
- Do your daily habits and rituals propel you forward?
- Do your relationships work for you?
In sum, do you recognize what sort of context puts you at your
best? And, do you take responsibility for crafting that context
and placing yourself in it?
What context do you create (consciously or unconsciously) for
your team? To what result? What will you do?
I wish you a world of productive relationships.
Faithfully,
Christopher M. Avery, Ph.D.
P.S. Does this week's Collaboratory stir your pot? What
relationship issues face you at work? Dialogue is a powerful tool
for clarification! Please write me at cavery@partnerwerks.com to
share your insights. Or post your question about this tip on
Partnerwerks' message board, The Team Advisor at:
http://www.partnerwerks.com/What_s_Here_/Jump_In/Offices/Partnerwerks_Associates/_Christopher_Avery/team_advisor.html
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dr. Avery looks forward to speaking about TeamAbility(TM) at
your conference, company or group. To schedule a presentation
or consultation, contact info@partnerwerks.com. A list of
presentation topics is available at:
http://www.partnerwerks.com/What_s_Here_/Jump_In/Reception/Courses___Custom_Services/Talks_by_Christopher_Averytalks_by_christopher_avery.html
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
_________________________________________________________________
6. Index to Partnerwerks Collaboratory archives on the web.
These archives are at the URL of
http://zip.mail-list.com/archives/collaboratory
11/08/99 Team & (not or) Individual
11/01/99 Breakthrough! (Not Down)
10/25/99 Three Parts Trust
10/18/99 Rich Connections
10/11/99 Going Fast By Going Slow
10/04/99 Notice And Amplify All Wins
9/27/99 Protect Others' Boundaries
9/20/99 Build a Gratitude Practice
9/13/99 Report Problems to Potential Solutions
9/06/99 Expand Your Reality
8/30/99 Flawless Rapport
8/23/99 Unity is Plural
8/16/99 Appreciating Conflict
8/09/99 Protect Others' Interests
8/02/99 It's In Your Interest to Be Helpful to Others. For Real.
7/26/99 Dual -- Not Dueling -- Values: Task AND People
7/19/99 Master Your Intentions
7/12/99 Celebrate Others' Successes
7/05/99 Integrate to Expansion. Expand to Integration
6/28/99 Living On Purpose
6/21/99 Intentional and Reactive Relationship Outcomes
6/14/99 Competitor or Antagonist?
6/07/99 Reach Beyond a "Common Enemy" for a Sustainable Goal
5/31/99 How Do You Know if Your Team is Built?
5/24/99 The Miracle of Efficient Gifts
5/17/99 Conceive New Relationships As Avenues of Contribution
5/10/99 End With The Beginning In Mind
5/03/99 All Teams Need Closure
4/26/99 So, What is "TeamAbility?"
4/19/99 The Gift of a Present Hero
4/12/99 Recommit After Making Amends
4/05/99 Ask How You Can Make Amends
3/29/99 Apologize So Others Get It
3/22/99 Acknowledge Mistakes
3/15/99 What About Their Integrity? Use Tit-for-Tat
3/08/99 Relationship Integrity Sanctions Collaboration
3/01/99 The Collaborative Leader's Most Powerful Tool: Expansion
2/22/99 The Bedrock of Collaboration
2/15/99 Keys to Extraordinary Collaboration
2/08/99 Team Power Theory of Relativity
2/01/99 Honor Differences
1/25/99 Velocity Decision Making
1/18/99 Consensus
1/11/99 Is Your Silence Consent?
1/04/99 Teammates Don't Have to Like Each Other
12/28/98 For Energy and Direction, Reorient!
12/21/98 Clear Judgments When they Come up
12/14/98 Distinguish Criticizing from Feedback (Don't Speak Until
You Do!)
12/07/98 The Benefit of Showing You Can Be Provoked...
11/30/98 Talking About Trust Breaks
11/23/98 How to Trust Just Right
11/16/98 Trust Reflects Responsibility
11/09/98 What's In It For You?
11/02/98 Stop Trying to Motivate
10/26/98 Come Together Over Commitment and the Skill Will Follow
10/19/98 Who is the Most Powerful Member of Your Team?
10/12/98 Are You Playing Too Small A Game?
10/05/98 An Upset is an Opportunity to Learn
9/28/98 Agree to Response-Ability
9/21/98 Calling Others on Broken Agreements
9/14/98 Clean Up Broken Agreements
9/06/98 The Formula for Building Trust
8/31/98 Clarity: The Source of Power
8/24/98 Teamwork is an Individual Event