True Teambuilding
What is a “true team”?
It’s what teams were before they became the management flavor of the decade. A team works together, assisting each other rather than fighting amongst themselves for resources or recognition. A team is self-governing to whatever extent is allowed: forming their own expectations and agreements that are much stronger than any dictated from “above”. A team is what you have when one member has an emergency and can’t come in the week a huge presentation is due, and the rest of the group makes it happen, cheerfully and effectively. That’s a team.
How do teams happen?
True teams don’t just happen. They need to be defined, guided, led, and then left alone in specific ways. The easiest way for a team atmosphere to form is to have a common enemy (accounting down the hall, or a country halfway around the world). However, a common enemy does not make for an effective long-term team. As in many things, the easiest way is not always the best.
Ms. Abbott is an expert at creating teams that thrive. She utilizes methods that are designed to create an environment of mutual trust, support, and clear understanding of specific responsibilities between team members. She also works with you to help you understand how to effectively manage a real team, and makes sure you understand how your actions affect team dynamics.
So does this mean another “Teamwork Retreat?”
Yes and no. While the group definitely needs to work together to define a multitude of things, having a nebulous retreat is not the answer. Ms. Abbott’s seminars and retreats are based in pragmatism: everything about the time spent is focused on having a product when you walk out the door. That product may be an improved work procedure or the beginnings of a work team - but there will be a product. Nothing irritates staff more than retreats for the sake of retreats. Not to mention the cost involved - if the results of any workshop, training session or retreat don’t improve business or lower costs, it’s not a good investment.
Testimonial:
“I was told by management that we were moving to Workteams for Success. Of course, I wasn’t really told how to do this - just that I had to implement it within six months, and prepare a handbook on teams. With Ramona’s help, we are now divided into three multi-disciplinary product teams. We have specific production goals, individual responsibilities that are clearly defined, and are starting to move toward peer reviews within the work teams. I am pleasantly surprised at the results, and my boss is now bragging about me to his boss." Kris L., Line Manager
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