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A Few Notes From Cheryl
Catching
up: Greetings!
The past month flew by without my connecting with you via
InSights, and I'm sorry for being out of touch a bit longer than
usual. September was filled with team building and strategic
planning sessions with many of you, which was a tremendous amount of
fun and results oriented, as evident from your glowing feedback.
September also brought with it some personal joy and loss,
as my partner and I experienced the excitement of a wonderful baby boy
in our home for a few weeks as adoptive parents, and then the sadness
when his birthmother decided that she wanted to parent
him. This experience reminded me of the importance of being
present and really enjoying every moment that we have in life, because
things can change in just a moment. We're now back again in the
adoption
process and look forward to the opportunity to be parents for the long
term and, in the meantime, work on enjoying each moment as it is.
This month's feature
article is on a topic that many of you are contemplating
right now as we enter the last quarter of the year -- how is your team
being rewarded and recognized for its accomplishments? Hope you
enjoy it!
New resources for you! We've been enhancing our
audio
CD and workbook products in order to provide better self-study products
for
you. These are now available for you, your employees, friends and
family -- be sure to check out our introductory web p'rices at http://www.goalsinsight.com/products/index.html
. Now is a great time to start your holiday
shopping for g-i-f-ts that will make a BIG difference in someone's life!
Warmest regards,
Cheryl
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Feature Article: How Are You Rewarding Your
Team?
Many of you are leading teams to be more cohesive and more
productive. In fact, some of you have worked with my organization
to assess both the "positivity" and "productivity" of your team, and
then held a workshop to review those results and create an action plan
for "next steps" that the team sees it needs in order to function at a
higher level and gain better results.
During this process,
one of the topics that often arises is "what happens when the team does
achieve its goals -- how does the team celebrate those successes and
how is the team rewarded for those results"? Think for a
moment about the team that you lead or the team that you participate
in...when your team achieves its goals or hits its quotas, what does
the team do to celebrate? How does the team get rewarded for its
achievements?
Unfortunately, more often than not, there is no celebration or
reward. In fact, what I see with teams and what I know from my
own experience back in my "corporate America" days, is that what
typically happens is that the team completes a particular project or
milestone, and then goes immediately on to the next one! Teams
often do not pause, or take time to reflect upon the accomplishments of
the team because the "to do" list is never ending and teams just move
on to the next task or project. The long-term impact of this is
that teams burn out, because they cannot sustain the fast pace
indefinitely.
The importance of
celebrating successes can't be overstated. First, it's
important to celebrate successes because celebrating acknowledges your
team for their actions and their results -- and who doesn't want to be
acknowledged for these things? While you're acknowledging them
for a job well done, providing some sort of reward that is meaningful
to your team members will help them feel even more appreciated.
And, remember that Success Breeds Success! In other words, the
more successes a team achieves, the more the momentum kicks in and
encourages the team to be successful again! One way to keep this
momentum going is to help your team acknowledge all of those wonderful
things the team is doing well, and reward them with something that is
meaningful to them.
If you are already
helping your team celebrate its successes, congratulations!
That's wonderful. And, don't stop there...I would encourage you
to ask yourself these questions:
- How often does our team celebrate our "wins"?
- Does the frequency of our celebrations need to
be adjusted?
- How are we currently celebrating our "wins" -
what do we do?
- Are these current methods the types of
celebrations my team members really appreciate? How do I know
they appreciate them?
- When was the last time I asked my team members
how THEY want to celebrate our successes?
If you are not yet
helping your team celebrate its successes to the extent you'd like,
here are a few places to look:
- What's getting in the way of helping my team
celebrate our successes?
- What's getting in the way of my team being
rewarded for a job well done?
- What would a meaningful reward look like for my
team?
- How often would my team like to be rewarded?
- Do I know the answers to these questions?
If not, how can I find out?
- Do I know how each team member prefers to be
acknowledged or rewarded? If not, how can I find out?
So, how do you
reward your team? Every team does it differently.
Because it depends on how the team likes to be rewarded, I would
suggest starting with finding out how your team likes to be
rewarded! The best and easiest way to find this out is to ASK
THEM! Yes, it's that simple -- ask your team how they'd like to
celebrate their successes. In addition to asking the team as a
whole, be sure to also ask each team member individually, because
different rewards are meaningful to different people.
Here are some
examples of rewards/celebrations my clients use:
- Time off (e.g. half-day off or full day off
with pay)
- Take team out to lunch or dinner
- Fun activity outside the office that the whole team can participate
in (e.g. going to a baseball game, or going bowling or out for a picnic)
- Fun game or activity inside the office that gives everyone a break
from their regular work (e.g. board games or card games)
- Handwritten thank you cards (remember to be specific about what
you're thanking them for and what you most appreciate)
- Gift certificates (for dinners, spa treatments, movies, favorite
stores, etc.)
- Team building retreat at an off-site setting that feels like a
"treat" (e.g. at a winery or a spa setting or a hotel they wouldn't
normally go to)
- Team workshop on personal topics like "work-life balance" so they
feel supported in having a life outside of the hard work they do for
the team
- Tools and products for professional and personal development (e.g.
books, audio CDs, etc. - if you'd like ideas, we have some
recommendations for you on our web site at http://www.goalsinsight.com/free/index.html
and http://www.goalsinsight.com/products/index.html
.
These are just a few ideas that our clients have used with great
success, but the possibilities are really endless! The real key is finding out what motivates
your team members individually and as a whole team. Taking the
time to do this will show your team that you care about them and that
you appreciate them!
Investing time, energy and financial resources in your team can be
simple -- it doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming.
The important thing is that you do something on a regular basis to keep
your team motivated, engaged and productive so that they can produce
the results that you and your organization desire!
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Upcoming
Workshops and Teleclasses
Public
Workshops
We're in the process of scheduling more public seminars, so feel free
to check back on our web site, as updates are made once workshops are
booked.
November 2,
2006 6:45 to
8:15 pm - Midlife and Beyond: Are You Ready?
Are you :
-
A man or woman in your
late 40's, 50's or early 60's?
-
Concerned about what this next phase of
life will bring?
If
you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, this workshop is
for you! Men, you are invited to this seminar, too!
John Muir Women's Health Center - 1656 N. Calif. Blvd. - Walnut Creek,
CA.
No charge. Details and registration: www.goalsinsight.com/speaking.html
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Team
Building Events and Off-Site Meetings:
Could your team use some help to be more cohesive?
Is it time to enhance your team's relationships and
productivity?
Now is the time to
plan for end of year 2006 and beginning of 2007 events!
Many organizations are holding team building
seminars and offsite employee retreats to enhance their teams
productivity and relationship. If you
haven't already contacted us to discuss your needs, be sure to do so
soon to see if we have a good fit while space is available, as our
calendar often fills up 1-2 months in advance.
We offer a variety of programs to enhance the performance of your teams
as well as improve the ways in which your teams interact, so we invite
you to visit http://www.goalsinsight.com/programs/team_training.html
. This is a great
way to
show appreciation for your team and enhance their productivity,
thereby improving the bottom line for your organization!
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About Goals InSight Coaching, Inc.
Goals InSight
Coaching, Inc. helps organizations and individuals achieve your desired
goals in the following ways - click on any of the links for details:
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October
2006