Team Development

Questions to ask yourself about developing your team:

• Do you want to become fit for purpose?
• Could your team do better at getting things done?
• Could your team do better at choosing the right things to do?

If so, let's work together to make that happen.

Just as you can identify the content expertise of each member of the team (WHAT the team knows) I can coach you in how to identify the process expertise of each member (HOW the team works). Then your team will be both effective (doing the right things) and efficient (doing things right).

You and your team have a project to do. You and your team know a lot about the content and the details of your task. You and your team know less about how to work together effectively, how to make the best use of each person's skills, experience, and information. That's where I come in.

We can work together in various ways. Recently I’ve been working with four teams—in four different ways.

1. With a team of consultants, I sit quietly and notice the interactions. At the end of each session, I share some observations of what seems to be helping and what seems to be getting in the way.

2. With a small team of publishers, I help them identify the process preferences in the team. We discuss what skills are missing so that they can look for those skills in the next people they bring into the team.

3. With a large global team, we set up four sessions for the year. I work first with 40 people from headquarters and then with 40 people from the field before bringing them all together. We use the Appreciative Inquiry process [Zvonimir, link this to the Appreciative Inquiry submenu] to build on past successes and create Serious Dreams that will make the team fit for purpose. Our next step is to focus on influencing skills.

4. With a small global team of engineers, we do an intense three days (and nights!) of Appreciative Inquiry. We move from success stories to images of Serious Dreams that bring forth a burst of creativity and commitment to becoming fit for purpose. This team includes people who already know my influencing skills work—and they are encouraging the others to join them in learning more.