Team development might not be as bad as you expect it to be
I recently ran a team workshop for a customer who I provide a monthly package of development and coaching support to.
I’d already spent some time with the owners helping them to clarify the purpose of their business and identify and define the values that are important to them.
The objective of the team session was to help them define a set of behaviours that they would work to. These behaviours would bring the values to life in the business and make them meaningful to the employees.
The team had received a limited amount of development in the past, and certainly not really experienced a team workshop before. Prior to the event, many individuals were apparently concerned that they were going to be expected to take part in activities such as icebreakers, trust exercises and so on. There was definitely a level of trepidation.
It was the first time I’d met them and from the outset I made it clear that no one would be put in an uncomfortable situation. They wouldn’t be asked to do anything that would cause any embarrassment. I also pre-warned them that I would look for volunteers to feedback to the business owners at the end of the session. However, if no one felt comfortable doing that, I would deliver the feedback on behalf of the team.
They were one of the most engaged teams that I’ve worked with. There was a real buzz in the workshop, with loads of energy and contribution. The team developed a great set of behaviours that they will work to so that the values are brought to life and the business can start to move towards its vision.
The level of engagement, and the pace at which they worked, meant that we agreed the set of behaviours more quickly than I expected. That allowed us time to move on to begin to generate some improvement ideas that would help to take the business forward.
Three team members volunteered to feedback the set of behaviours and the improvement ideas to the owners. They did a great job.
Apparently straight after the workshop the team asked one of the owners when the next one was going to be. A team member also emailed me and said “Thanks for a great session”.
I’ll be working with them again in a few weeks to keep up the momentum and build on the work we did.
Get in touch if you’d like to talk about how I could work with you your teams to improve their performance and help to grow your business.
Image by Mihai Surdu from Pixabay
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