A Few Notes From Cheryl

Happy February! This month, we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day – a day which has many different legends and historical explanations, but the common theme is that the day is focused on celebrating and appreciating relationships. This month’s feature article is related to this theme – tips on how your team can improve their relationships with each other.

Also, for those of you who would like some support on your leadership and personal goals, there is a new coaching group starting March 10. Details are below and on our web site.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you, your loved ones and your team members!

Warmest regards,

Cheryl

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Feature Article: 4 Steps to Improving Your Team’s Relationships, Especially During Challenging Times

As we celebrate Valentine’s Day this month, a holiday focused on celebrating relationships, it seems fitting to talk about camaraderie, one of the top three team development concepts focused on relationships. Anyone remember the other two? If you guessed Trust and Respect, you’re right! This topic of camaraderie is particularly important right now, where globally many companies are in the midst of various states of change.

I want to be very intentional as we discuss this, because the media tries to convince everyone that it’s all doom and gloom these days. We know, of course, that not all industries or organizations are experiencing doom and gloom – in fact, there are many organizations that are holding steady, as well as many organizations that are continuing to grow during these times. At the same time, some organizations are facing more challenging times than ever before.

So, what can your team do during this month of celebrating relationships and during this time of whatever your team and organization might be experiencing? Many things, including:  Focus on your team’s relationships (and, therefore, results) by improving camaraderie!  The Team Diagnostic Assessment™ methodology we use with teams defines camaraderie as “There is a strong sense of belonging to the team. The team celebrates and acknowledges accomplishments. Empathy, playfulness and humor are present.”

Camaraderie is critical for all teams, and even more so for teams experiencing times of change or uncertainty.  Here are 4 easy steps to improve your team’s level of camaraderie:

Step #1: Help your team have fun!

Bringing more fun into your team’s daily life together can help your team get better results and be more productive. If your organization is in the midst of uncertainty, it is even more important to have fun as a team – being serious is not going to help the situation. Teams who have fun see a big difference in morale and enjoyment of daily work life!

One team that we work with puts “5 minutes of Fun” into their weekly team meeting agenda and the team members rotate the responsibility for the fun activity (it’s a virtual team, so sometimes they send a video link, sometimes they share a joke in good taste, etc.). They love doing this…it’s a weekly time to be playful, learn more about each other in a relaxed way and remember that it is possible to have fun together as a team!

Step #2: Celebrate your team’s successes!

Teams that are high performing take time to hit the “pause” button of their daily work lives to celebrate their successes (big and small) along the way. Remember to celebrate and acknowledge ALL of your team’s successes, as these celebrations along the way help a team maintain their positive energy and momentum.

Particularly during challenging projects and/or challenging times, we see far too many teams who just keep going from one project to the next without taking time to celebrate. But, those teams who do celebrate their milestones along the way see the positive benefits of higher energy and momentum for their next milestones. One virtual team we work with has created a virtual ice cream social to celebrate their successes – so anything is possible! We all know the saying…success breeds success!

Step #3: Create a sense of belonging on your team!

One of the most effective ways that we do this with teams is to invite the team to create a common vision of success. Talk with your team about what success looks like, feels like, etc. and how each team member can contribute to turning that vision into reality.

For the virtual teams that we work with, creating a sense of belonging is even more critical because the team members don’t interact frequently in person. So, we connect those team members via phone or web technology, and ask each team member to bring elements of who they are into those team meetings, and help them get to know each other in order to create that sense of belonging.

Step #4: Talk with your team about what they want and need in their relationships together!

Your team knows what they need and want to enhance their camaraderie – they just need a time to talk and brainstorm about it. Many leaders of the teams we work with believe that they, as leaders, “should” know exactly what their team needs…but the reality is that most leaders are not mind readers, and can’t be expected to know all of their team’s needs. So, give your team the gift of some time to talk as a team about what they want and need, come up with a plan together and the benefits will be tremendous!

As you can see, these are four easy steps to help your team develop more cohesive relationships together. Remember to have fun with implementing these steps! And, as always, if there is anything we can do to support your team or help them get “unstuck” in their current dynamics, feel free to contact us. Enjoy!

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Upcoming Workshops

"Conquering Chaos & Distractions: The key to achieving all you want through structured support and focus"

Achieve Your Goals Coaching Group

March 10 to May 19, 2009

12 noon - 1:30 pm PST

You’re a professional, goal-oriented person and you’ve achieved a lot!
But somehow, it feels like so many aspects of work and home life still aren’t “firing on all cylinders.” Elements are missing for complete fulfillment.

This coaching program is designed to help provide focus - a mechanism to sort it all out and bring it all together -- to guide you through the process of attaining that ideal state of bringing all the elements of your life to the next level.

For complete details click HERE

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"The New Leadership Paradigm: Using Team Dynamics to Maximize Productivity"

Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) - Annual National Institute

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Seattle, WA

Business leaders are constantly challenged to achieve greater results with fewer resources. To achieve this, teams must function at full capacity! Leaders must strategically connect and align individual talent into a cohesive collective effort to tap the full potential of their teams.

Complete details at  Speaking Schedule

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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?

Some teams know that something isn't working, but they don't know exactly what that is or how to improve it. Some organizations hold team building seminars and employee retreats because they know it's time to enhance their teams' productivity and relationships. Do either of those statements describe you/your team? If so, and if you haven't already contacted us to discuss your needs, feel free to give us a call to see if we can help you.

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 our Training and Seminar page.   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

Goals InSight helps organizations achieve their desired results in the following ways - click on any of the links for details:

• Team / Department Coaching to help your team achieve its goals with focus and accountability
  
  
• Team Development Seminars / Diagnostic Assessment to measure the productivity and positivity of your team and help your team improve these factors to yield their desired results
  
  
• Strategic Program / Meeting Facilitation to increase the effectiveness and value of your meetings
  
  
• Seminars / Workshops to help your group learn new tools, practice new skills and start taking action
  
  
• Audio CD / Workbooks to create what you most desire using self study, step-by-step guides

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