Subject: [Partnerwerks TeamWisdom Tips] MYTH-BUSTING PART 2 of 3
>Last chance this year! Only 2 weeks away. Don't miss It!
Attend Being Powerful In Any Team. Dec. 2-4, 2002. Learn all
my best tools and strategies. Bring your teammates. It's
guaranteed. Your performance and reward depends on it.
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--
Welcome to Partnerwerks TeamWisdom Tips!
by Christopher M. Avery, Ph.D. (http://www.partnerwerks.com)
November 18, 2002
Read by 3127 professionals in 48 countries.
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TeamWisdom(TM) Tips promotes individual mental skills and
behaviors that create highly responsible and productive
relationships at work.
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This week's line-up:
1. 10-Second TeamWisdom
2. Welcome Notes
3. MYTH-BUSTING PART 2 of 3
4. 5-Minute TeamWisdom Stretch
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1. 10-Second TeamWisdom
If you refer to an activity as team building, do so with
awareness and intention of how it will move people's
collective work forward, otherwise call the event something
else.
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2. Welcome Notes
Thank you for caring enough about responsible relationships
at work to read TeamWisdom Tips. Forward this issue to
everyone you know who could be more powerful in teams.
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3. MYTH-BUSTING PART 2 of 3
Last week we challenged two common team building myths:
Myth #1. You must hire a consultant. (Not true. Any
professional can learn and apply basic TeamWisdom skills to
boost a group's performance by 50% to 100% or even more.)
Myth #2. The first agenda in team building is to get people
to like each other. (Nope. In fact, the first agenda is for
the people to discover what they are to accomplish
collectively as a team!)
This week, let's examine one of the most damaging and
expensive myths about team building. It is damaging because
it keeps managers misinformed. It is expensive because
businesses spend millions of dollars on meetings and
consultants as if it is true. Want to know what it is?
Myth #3. Team building takes time away from real work.
This false assumption completely permeates every industry we
have served. Most new requests received for team building
assistance sound like these:
"We have a very busy agenda but want to reserve some time at
the off-site for team building. We were thinking about
golf..."
"I want you to do some team building for us, but we also
need to get real work done."
"Do you have some team building exercises that won't turn
people off or take too much time?"
Sound familiar?
This myth sustains so well because of its collusion with
Myth #2 -- a powerful pair! We agree that if we are focusing
on getting people to like one another then they probably
aren't addressing their work together.
Another reason for the myth is the common practice of
labeling as team building any joint non-work activity
organized by the manager. In our experience, such activities
may or may not build the team though they serve important
purposes as celebrations, stress relievers and opportunities
to know each other. We agree that if we are calling every
collective non-work-oriented event a team building activity,
then it is difficult to think of team building as getting
work done.
In our experience, when high performance teamwork occurs
naturally, the members have reached certain understandings
together. So team building means engaging one another in
fruitful conversations about (1) what the group is going to
accomplish together, (2) how each member is going to win
from the collective accomplishment, (3) how the group is
going to work together for maximum mutual performance, (4)
exciting stretch goals, and (5) what each member brings to
the effort. When these conversations occur, real work gets
done AND the team gets built.
Wouldn't you like to have people leave your team building
meetings surprised at how much REAL work they got done?!?
Get started with this week's 5-Minute Practice Tip.
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"It contains more practical information and advice about the
conditions under which we humans optimize our work together
than any other book you are likely to have read" (Terry
O'Keefe, Executive Bookshelf). Buy "Teamwork Is an Individual
Skill: Getting Your Work Done When Sharing Responsibility" at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576751554/partnerofficeont/
For 35% off orders of 50+ books contact info@partnerwerks.com
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4. 5-Minute Practice Tip
Reflect on your definition-in-practice of team building.
Have you historically seen team building as "not addressing
work?" Why? How can you reframe it in a way that will
increase your TeamWisdom? Finally, what should we begin to
call all those social events that we used to call team
building?
I wish you a world of responsible and productive
relationships at work.
Faithfully,
Christopher
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FREE! Introduce me to meeting planners and leadership
development managers and I'll send them a marketing kit full
of testimonial letters that will make you proud. Then I'll
send you my book ($18.95 list) or the print version of the
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below and cc us at teamwisdom@partnerwerks.com.
http://www.partnerwerks.com/ServProd/ca_talk.html
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Christopher will be traveling to and speaking...
- December 2-4, Being Powerful In Any Team, San Antonio, TX
(http://www.beingpowerful.com)
- December 12-13, ProjectWorld, Santa Clara, CA
(http://www.ProjectWorld.com)
- January 14, Denver, CO
- February 17-19, Being Powerful In Any Team, San Antonio,
TX (http://www.beingpowerful.com)
- March 11, Denver, CO
- May 5, PMI/NJ Chapter Regional Symposium, Edison, NJ
- May 13-15, Being Powerful In Any Team, San Antonio, TX
(http://www.beingpowerful.com)
Is Christopher coming to a city near you? Want him to speak
at your company or association? See
http://www.partnerwerks.com/Servprod/ca_talk.html
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