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Article:

Teambuilding Leadership

Conquering The Challenge of Change

By

Teambuilding Expert  Bob Lancer

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Leading teams into team building conquers the challenge of change. Change is the one constant of life; change undoes the way things are. A team, for instance, is either building or falling apart.  An essential aptitude for true leadership, then, is leading the team into building on a continuous basis.  Team building leads a relationship into a higher levels of caring, cooperation and communication. Since relationships either grow or die, you have responsibility for leading the relationship toward continuous improvement. Keep that as your conscious intention, so that when problems in the relationship occur, which they must, you will relate with it as an opportunity to improve the relationship instead of regarding it as a sign of failure.

See every relationship as an opportunity for team building; that is, relating with the other person as a team mate relative to both of your objectives. Be clear, then, about the outcome you want.  Also, be clear about what the other wants the relationship to accomplish.  Do this by engaging in conversation about this.

To have the cooperation of another, that other person needs to perceive you on his side.  You cannot fake this.  It has to be real.  You need to remember that caring about that other person equals caring about yourself, and opposing that other person equals opposing yourself.  The goal in team building is to work with, instead of against the other person, because conflict produces friction that wastes energy.

When conflict does occur, the energy released by the friction can be channeled to further your objectives.  The key for doing this is to focus on what you are for instead of what you are against.  Think about what it is you fear to be in jeopardy.  Then, concentrate on protecting or supporting that instead of attacking or controlling the other person.

Here is an example. The team of husband and wife is perhaps the most important team in an individual's life, because so much is at stake. The wife was concerned because her husband seemed to spend money recklessly, when she was feeling concerned about the family's financial stability.  When she addressed the issue with him, she regarded his responsive as overly personal and defensive, and she left that conversation believing that he was not going to do things differently.  Naturally, she felt tempted to permit her insecurity to turn into anger and drive her into conflict with him.

Instead, though, she applied the wisdom of team building and clarified for herself exactly what felt threatened. What felt threatened was her family's economic well-being.  To respond for what she wanted, instead of against the person she saw as a threat to what she was for, she realized that she needed to commit to more effective financial management.  This is what a leader does.  A leader leads the team by doing more of what he or she wants the team to do, being more of what he or she wants the team to be more of.

It's easier to blame others for not fulfilling a higher potential than to really commit ourselves to fulfilling a higher potential.  But only as we grow can our relationships grow.  Human beings are contagious.  By rising higher yourself, you automatically lead others to rise higher.  As a result of the wife committing to becoming more masterful when it comes to money, instead of pitting herself against her husband, to her delight her husband eventually came to her to express his commitment to be more economically disciplined.    

Make Enhancing Teamwork An Essential Goal

Keep in mind your conscious intention to enhance, deepen and strengthen the bonding and to raise the level of efficient and effective coordination, of your team. The more you operate from conscious intention, instead of automatic, knee-jerk reaction, the better you lead yourself, your life, your team.

Routinely envision of the level of team spirit and teamwork that you want. This will help you to remain consciously aligned with that vision during your daily interactions with your team.    

Thought is a self-fulfilling prophesy. You relate to others in line with how you think of them. If you fall into the common mental habit of thinking of others or your team with a condescending attitude, your belittling attitude manifests your belittling reactions, which directs your team to live down to your negative expectations.

How you think about a person or group is the real "head" of your relationship By leading your own thoughts with awareness and discipline, thinking of what you want more than what you don't want, you begin leading in the most subtle but significant way.  So discipline yourself to think about those you are counting on, not as your problems, adversaries or competitors, but as your golden opportunities.  Mentally let go of derogatory visions or notions of others. Focus your thinking on the strengths, abilities, opportunities they offer, and on how you can make the most of those in line with your objectives, for the good of you both.  

The Leadership-For-Team-Building Approach

Here is another example.  Let's say that your department is currently experiencing a disturbing and potentially costly spike in interpersonal conflict. People are misunderstanding one another, forming into cliques with adversarial stances; there seems to be more blame than problem-solving going on.  Let's say further you know the individuals responsible for this growing air of contention. You might be tempted to feel insecure and think of them as being against you, rather than for you.  But try this  leadership-for-team-building approach instead.    

Deliberately think of the problems they demonstrate as symptomatic of the real, invisible cause of the team's breakdown.  Regard these individuals as being helpful, like the warning lights on the dashboard of your car.  They have too much integrity to conceal and repress the underlying problem in the organization.  They are not bringing the team "darkness", but rather shedding "light" on a core-problem that you need to address.  This turns feelings of resentment into gratitude.

Then, look at yourself as that core-problem. Do not do this as a form of personal self-attack, but as a form of personal growth.  Consider how you are actually demonstrating, or how you have demonstrated, the problem you are observing in another.  How have you been feeling against others instead of feeling for them?  How have you been blaming someone for your problems instead of focusing on solving those problems.   

You will probably discover right off the bat that you have been feeling frustrated with those whom you have been blaming for this problem.  So now, you can shift.  Focus instead on changing how you relate with the problem and with those you have been blaming for it. As a consequence, you will begin demonstrating more of what you want, relating in a more supportive manner with those who have been problematic, and providing them with a higher level of leadership that helps them to lead themselves and others more effectively.   

Regard any team problems that arise as an inevitable aspect of life's law of change.  The songwriter Bob Dylan wrote, "He not busy being born is busy dying." We can apply this to our relationships. The team leader that is not busy being born is busy allowing the team to die. Regard every relationship challenge as sort of birth pang, reminding you to lead the team to a higher level, from a higher level.

One Application

Here is how one manager put the above approach into practice. She met with those who were displaying contentiousness and began by thanking them for bringing to light the fact that there is obviously an underlying problem in the department.  She then invited them to help her to identify the underlying problem. They raised the issue that they were being given too much too do in too little time, and they felt frustrated by the lack of clarity in the communication they were receiving regarding their job-description.

She took their issue to her supervisor, and the enlightened supervisor came up with this solution. "Let's demonstrate more of what we want.  You and I will work together to provide them with a clear message of what we expect, and why we count on them for it.  Let's also come up with a reward system for hitting goals, because we are now expecting more of them after the recent layoffs.    

Problem solved.  

Maintain A Team Building Attitude

To lead most effectively, expect change and the problems that come with it. Bob Dylan wrote another line that applies here: "You always have to be prepared, but you never know for what."  Regard relationship problems as signs of progress, that the relationship is graduating from its former level.  Encountering a difficulty in a relationship means its time for you to grow.

Rather than relating to a relationship problem as a hindrance or as a threat to your objective, relate to it as a gift revealing how you need to grow to lead your team to a higher level.

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Article:

TIME MANAGEMENT MASTERY:
 A Forgotten Element Of Great Team Building

By Bob Lancer

An element of team building often overlooked is the time management skills of team members.  In any operation requiring more than one individual, each one counts on the promptness of the other.  What follows then is key to great time management that can lead to great teams.

The Making the most of your time requires making the best possible decision in the present moment regarding what to do or to focus on now.  You cannot make the best decision possible while feeling pressed for time; you are then most prone to jumping to hasty conclusions and making choices using poor reasoning, based on superficial observation.  

Practice instead, Patient Efficiency, as way of making the most of each moment without rush or overwhelm. Patient efficiency involves making the most of each moment without wasting a moment worrying about not having enough time.  In includes the practice of what we can call Focused Relaxation, meaning working efficiently within a calm, unrushed pace. Ironically, the more you rush the more time and energy you waste with inferior decisions.  

For instance, while feeling pressed for time you might react with harsh criticism when your young daughter interrupts your train of thought while you push yourself to complete a work assignment at home.  Under the influence of time pressure, you hurt your child's feelings and end up feeling badly about it afterwards.  The pain you caused the two of you lingers, distracting you from your best work.  And now you have to spend time in an effort to repair the damage.  Had you considered the situation more calmly, you could have found a loving way to deal with your child and get back to work more quickly and effectively.  

Feeling pressed for time has nothing to do with your situation.  Rather, it is a way of responding to your situation, and it's a way that works against you.  Time flows like water.  The harder you push against it, the harder it pushes against you.  Learn how to trust working with time instead of against time by easing up on yourself when you sense the feeling of pressure or conflict, of fighting against the flow, building up in you.

The more you hurry, the more you worry about having too little time, and then the less time you actually have, because hurry and worry are unhealthy modes that eat away at your wellbeing.  They also make you impatient in your relationships, creating more conflict just when you want more cooperation to support you.

So a key to the best possible time management is, ironically, to slow down and ease up enough to clarify your priorities, consider the situation facing you in the present, and then choose your way of dealing with what is happening based on the integration of those two factors.  A major component of this is learning to take total responsibility for what you do with your time.  Stewing over how someone else is wasting your time is actually a way that you yourself are wasting your time while engaged in that reaction.  Every moment is your opportunity to enjoy and to use creatively. So concentrate on functioning in line with what truly matters most to you in the present moment.  

The practice of Patient Efficiency takes you above time management, into time mastery, as you function with more mastery in the present instead of feeling like the slave of time's imaginary limits.  When you really look at your mind, you see that all time limits and deadlines are imaginary, in the sense that they only exist for you as long as you think of them.  When you are really in the flow, you do your best work, produce your best results, enjoy your time the most, while your mind remains free of any thought of time constraint. 

It is a waste of time to worry about not having enough time, because in that moment you could be making better use of your time than that.   

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20 KEYS FOR

BUILDING TOP TEAMS

1. How Great Teams Happen... To Win: Each individual is dedicated to bringing his/her full potential to the actualization of the team's mission, and to relating with team members in a way that supports their ability to do the same.  

2. One key difference between achieving a goal and not achieving it is the level of skill of the people that you have on your side.  

3. You bring out the best in another by bringing your best into the relationship.     

4. The attitude that you express toward another is an experience that you give to yourself. When you disrespect another you give yourself the attitude of disrespect that you share.  

5. No one but you is responsible for how you think of them, feel about them, or speak about them.  If I cannot let go of my resentment toward someone, it is not that other person that has to change.  

6. Relationships begin falling apart when we begin blaming others for how we react to them. As our relationships fall apart, we lose power. The more people you have on your side, the more support you have to reach your goals.  

7. Do not waste energy trying to get someone else to trust you , to like you, to respect you. Live true to your core values and forge relationships with those who appreciate you for that. Let go of those who choose to hold onto a negative attitude toward you.  

8. Waste no thought thinking about someone putting you down. When you think of someone putting you down, you are really putting yourself down in your own mind.  

9. Think of your reactions to others' actions as a cause rather than as an effect.  Consider what you are about to cause by your response.   

10. One of the toughest challenges to being a positive team member is to respond appropriately when someone seems to be behaving inappropriately to you. You can do this, though, if you focus on self-examination when you feel tempted to worry about what another is up to.  

11. Don't get distracted by too much concern over what others are up to.  You do not reap what others sow; you reap what YOU sow.  

12. A difficult person comes into your life when it is time for you to grow.  

13. Human beings are contagious: your attitude radiates and those around you absorb and re-express it.  

14. Holding onto a grudge uses energy you need to meet your challenges with total effectiveness.  

15. When another's performance let's you down, it often means that you relied on his weakness to support you.  Take it as an educational experience, showing what you can and cannot count on.

16. An encouraging and respectful attitude toward others when they make a mistake helps them to do better, more than reacting with harsh criticism and impatience.  

17. Notice how you feel while you think.  If you feel anxious, discouraged, or frustrated your thinking reflects that with ideas that reinforce those disturbing feelings.  Get yourself back into emotional balance before attempting to evaluate people or circumstances.  

18. When you encounter conflict with a team member, take it as a learning opportunity, rather than taking it personally. Every conflict gives you the opportunity to learn how to deal with it.

19. When someone seems difficult to get along with, focus on how you contribute to the problems between you, and look for ways that you can change for better results.    

20. See how you create what happens in your relationships to discover how you can change to produce more positive and productive relationships.  

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Notes taken from a Teambuilding Seminar
designed to focus on the aspect of integrity

1. We can define integrity as the commitment to self-awareness, self-honesty, the highest standards of conduct and continual self-improvement in every area of work and life.

2. The opposite of integrity, pursuing a self-serving path at the expense of those who count on your honesty, has its roots in dishonesty with oneself.

3. A factual perspective reveals that nothing is more profitable to the success of the individual, the project, the team or the organization as a whole that a steadfast commitment to integrity every step of the way. 

4. In contrast, nothing undermines success more than a weak or lack of commitment to the highest standards of conduct. 

5. A poor attitude and dishonest behavior are contagious;  they leads to a lowering of the level of performance in all aspects of the project or organization.  

6. Leading with integrity starts with demonstrating value of the worker.

7. Relating with individuals in a way that helps them to feel respected and cared about instills in the motivation to relate with others with care and respect.  

8. The simple and most profitable solution to even the toughest problems can be found by asking this question: what does integrity dictate here?

The Law of Reflection: Read an individual's lapse in conduct as a reflection of a lapse in leadership.

9. If others are not doing what a leader wants done, the eader needs to do more of it first.  This does not mean that leaders need to do the same tasks they require of others, but that they need to contrubute to the ultimate objective of that task at a higher level.

Conscious Communication Is Essential:

1. Whether it's a marketing campaign, a sales proposal, development of a new product, or installation of a new information system, effective work demands clearly defined and communicated goals and expectations.

2. You bring about what you speak about. A derogatory mode of communication functions as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Importance Of Maintaining Peace and Poise (Balance): 

1. In extreme situations the temptation is strong to violate codes of integrity. Maintaining a culture of peace and poise supports the choices that express higher character.  This culture needs to begin at the top, but sometimes it needs to be upheld "at the bottom".  That is, even when an individual of higher rank loses emotional balance, you facilitate that individual's return to balance, and to the sound judgment that follows, by maintaining peace and poise in response.

2. Whenever possible, choose partners who share your core values.  From that foundation of unity, diversity can be harmonized to function as an asset.

Some basic rules to follow and keep in mind:  

1. Be Non-Adversarial
2. Relate in a way that expresses to others "I am on your side"
3. Make agreements explicit, but be prepared for misunderstanding anyway.
4. Confidences are (almost) always broken:
   When you tell someone something in confidence, expect it to get around. 
5. When others don't live by your rules:
   Make it your rule to you with the issue in a non-adversarial way.  
6. You encourage what you do.  Encourage Trustworthiness by practicing self-awareness and self-honesty.  
7. Appearance counts - but not not as much as reality:
   The appearance of inappropriate behavior can be damaging. However, doing what you really believe is best, living consistently with your core values, makes you more valuable and brings about results that you will value most.
8. Persistently pressuring others tends to prove counter-productive.  The more you push, the more resistance, rebellion, retaliation you are likely to incite. Rare spurts of pressure can push individuals to a spike in productivity, but if sustained, the pressure brings diminishing returns.

Six Ways To Succeed With Integrity: 

1. Provide leadership support by modeling integrity

2. The better you connect, the better you direct and correct. Therefore, when giving feedback or directions, pay close attention to the impact of your mode of communicating on yourself, the other(s), and the relationship between

3. Make victory with honor (internal, not dependent upon public recognition), not just victory, your goal.

4. In relationships, particularly when hiring, managing or leading, communicate clearly your definition of integrity and and explain that you value that most of all.

5. Support employees who demonstrate a commitment to integrity, even when their results fall short . 

6. Examine your own motives so continuously that you have no time to speculate on the motives of others.

Individuals who are treated with dignity and respect within an organization tend to demonstrate more respect for the assets and interests of the organization. Equally essential for this is clear communication of rules, expectations and consequences.