The Team Approach to Building Work Group Effectiveness
by John N. Younker, Ph.D.
Too often team building is one of those vague, misused terms managers call into play as a panacea for sluggish work unit performance. The building of a team requires a great deal more effort than simply recognizing the interdependence among workers and work units. It requires, instead, several carefully managed steps and is an ongoing cyclical process.

High Performing Teams
by Paul B. Thornton
Team leaders must use the appropriate management style to help the team consistently achieve its best performance.

United We Stand . . . Divided We Fall
by Gregory P. Smith
In a rapidly changing world that values technology, speed, and flexibility, teamwork unites individual efforts and is key for success, innovation, and creativity.

Getting the Right People on Your Bus
by Lori Dernavich
People are not your most important asset. The right people are. The right people are those individuals who fit into your organization and help you to accomplish your future goals.

Cost-Effective Team Building Exercises
by Jim Jenkins
Instead of trying to design a team building exercise where people play games or climb rocks to develop team spirit, explore fun, cost-effective ways to engage your team.

The True Meaning of Teamwork
by Sloan Campbell
How do we consistently achieve the type of teamwork where all team members feel the same way about a goal or a mission, they work towards that end and it comes naturally … in business?

Reach it Out! How Racing a Dragon Boat can Improve Teamwork
by Sid Smith
The same principles that make a sports team win apply to any business team, and that's where Dragon Boat racing comes in. More than simple physical strength, successful teams have three things going for them.

Masterminding Your Way to Greater Success
by Lora J. Adrianse
Mastermind groups commit to showing up and contributing to the success of each other. They become trusted confidants who rely on each other for priceless insights, candid feedback, valuable ideas, encouragement, inspiration and motivation.

Phases of Team Development: Preparing to Set Sail and Setting Sail
by Cynder Niemela
In this first phase, team members become acquainted with each other, establish ground rules, and begin to establish working agreements. Individuals will often ask themselves the following questions.

Eight Ways to Motivate Your Team
by Cheryl Cran
A team's performance is a direct reflection of the leader who leads them. Ouch! Think about it … people within a team will only perform to the level that they see rewarded or to the level that their leader brings to the table.

Why Some Teams Never Measure Up
by Steve Coats
Don't fall into the too common trap of focusing solely on the work to be done and avoiding the dynamics encircling the team itself. It might feel more comfortable, but your collective team will ever achieve what you are truly capable of.

The High Impact Teaming Scorecard
by Cynder Niemela
The HIT Scorecard objectively pinpoints areas of strength, gaps in performance, and areas for improvement. You and your can design the most strategic course for improving performance and accomplishing the team’s objectives.

Assessing the Team
by Cynder Niemela
It is imperative that all involved in the implementation of change are working from the same structured, results-driven approach. But what do we do when the team we are working with also undergoes change?

High Impact Defined
by Cynder Niemela
The first step in building a high impact team is exploring the meaning of “high impact.” Keep in mind that each team must create its own definition, based on the challenges it faces, but the following points provide a starting place.

Collaborating To Win As A Virtual Team
by Susan Schwartz
How can managers in today’s cross-functional matrix reporting structures extend organizational links to increase knowledge sharing opportunities and minimize workgroup isolation? The technology is available – how do we get people to adapt their work styles to communicate across time and distance?

The Need for Renewal
by Cynder Niemela
High impact teaming keeps teams performing at optimum levels, but even the best of leaders and team members need renewal. To maintain excellence, your team must regularly find ways to restore its energies.

Virtual Teams - Creating a Global Explosion of Productivity and Profits
by Susan Schwartz
How does a manager break out of a "central core group" mindset and begin to create a productive, profitable virtual team?

Gathering the Learning
by Cynder Niemela
Gathering the learning is an active process that precedes presenting the work. Set aside time for encouraging the team members to appreciate what they are taking away - what they have learned that they can use as their career unfolds.

Leveraging Cross-Functional/Cross-Cultural Collaborative Assets: Distance, Time Zone, and Culture
by Susan Schwartz
Virtual collaboration is becoming a standard skill requirement. So, how can organizations and individuals overcome the challenges of cultural barriers, silo-based functions, and distance to become a cohesive, goal-achieving team?

Arriving at the Destination
by Cynder Niemela
As the team reaches its destination, three completion factors add up to high impact performances. First is presenting the work. Second is gathering the gained wisdom of the individuals and the team. Last is meeting the individuals’ and the team’s need for completion or closure.

You Can't Spell Team Without an "I"
by David A. Goldsmith & Lorrie Goldsmith
How many times have you heard someone say, "You can't spell team without an 'I,'" or "There is no 'I' in team?" Please don't tell us that you say this! In every team there are plenty of I's, and without them there would be no team.

Weathering Storms - When Conflict Engulfs the High Impact Team
by Cynder Niemela
Conflict often arises from differences in values, beliefs, personality, opinions and work and communication style. That is why high impact teams should include a method for ironing out conflict in their working agreements.

Rapid-fire Inspiration for Leaders - Burnout: Cutting It Off at the Pass
by Cynder Niemela
Teams cannot perform at optimal levels indefinitely. For a team to sustain excellence over time, its leader must be alert to signs of stress and prepared to boost morale at the first signs of burnout.

Being Professional on a Team
by Leslie Bendaly
Being professional is something most people take pride in. People intend to act professionally, but occasionally they slip, or their definition of professionalism doesn't match that of their client or of their teammate.

Book Summary: The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork
by Regine P. Azurin and Yvette Pantilla
John C. Maxwell, author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership offers 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork to empower your team to great performance.

Rapid-fire Inspiration for Leaders - Fostering Relationships Among Team Members
by Cynder Niemela
We all know that rapport with clients is good for business, but how many understand the bottom-line value of rapport among the team's own members?

Rapid-fire Inspiration for Leaders - Don’t Forget to Celebrate!
by Cynder Niemela
Celebrating regularly is one of the qualities that distinguish high impact teams from ordinary teams. Make sure you have a system in place for celebrating with your team at regular intervals.

Leading High Impact Teams: Coping with Uncertainty
by Cynder Niemela and Rachael Lewis
Here are several practical "to dos" from Leading High Impact Teams: The Coach Approach to Peak Performance to help cope with uncertainty in these troubled times.

Why Distinguishing Teams from Work Groups is Critical to Any Team Development Effort
by Marie J. Kane
Before you embark on any kind of team development, it is critical that you understand the implications of the differences between teams and work groups. Then the group can proceed with appropriate planning for its own development in concert with what the organization needs it to be.

Emotionally Intelligent Teams
by Anne Riches
If you take a number of emotionally intelligent individuals and put them together, do you get an emotionally intelligent team?

Team Building for Positive Change
by Freda Turner
Managers that continuously deliver above and beyond expectations and goals are those who know how to build and take care of their teams.

Hot Groups
by Rick Sidorowicz
What is at the core of the intensity, focus, and total preoccupation of  'hot groups' with the task at hand? A refresher from the archives.

Team Building
by Martien Eerhart
If you want to win, you've got be a team player.  Team building success strategies.

Teambuilding - Keep it Simple!
by Rick Sidorowicz
Try on this very simple set of groundrules for team management and leadership for performance and results - and keep it simple!

A New Team Development Model
by Rick Sidorowicz
A 'refresher' from Richard Beckard's Organization Development - Strategies and Tactics.

Related Topics: The Leadership Imperative | High Performance Retail | Coaching

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