The 5 Be's of Motivation

It’s not true in every organization, but it is true in many. Managers often don’t understand their employees. They don’t know how to motivate, inspire, and correct people effectively. As I work with my clients, I hear the same questions repeatedly: “How do I get my employees to … …quit complaining?” …do more than the bare minimum?” …contribute in meetings?” …show up on time?” etc....

Team Building Seminars: Why New Teams Struggle

An effective team building seminar will clarify the various roles of team members and prevent stereotypes and assumptions from determining the group’s behavior.

Why Is Teamwork Training Important?

Many of our teamwork training activities are instruments that allow participants to observe and unmask the common enemies of teamwork.

Marche, or How Teams Work.

In this story of sled dogs in Northern Canada we see how the conditions created by the driver, or manager, of the team have a significant effect on the ability of their team to perform. The louder the manager shouts the worse becomes their performance. There are many managers who could benefit from understanding the above through this simple story.

You are Excused from Training

Trainers, please picture this... You are presenting in a new location to a new group. You are prepared for a one day workshop. Your materials are ready and you are “on”. Things seem to be going well. You are building a nice rapport with the class and the pace of the training is right on schedule. About two hours into your day one participant starts to demonstrate disruptive behavior...

Constructive Group Dynamics: How to Go from the S.N.I.P.P.Y. Syndrome to a C.L.E.A.R. V.I.E.W.

If asked to look at your work calendar for the week, the odds are pretty good that you have a few if not several meetings already scheduled. Now, if asked how you feel about attending some of those meetings, the odds are even better that you may either roll your eyes, groan or mutter something under your

The 'Low-Down' on Team Development, Part I

The process of team development is neither complicated, nor impossible. Many new and previously inexperienced team leaders are able to build a team with proper training and coaching.

Danger... Never Hire Until You Profile!

When hiring, many employers set themselves up for failure because they do not understand how critical profiling is. Learn how profiling can significantly improve your hiring process...

The Horror of WorkZilla (Or, How To Handle A Nightmare Employee)

Although self-employed for many years, I have been a regular visitor to workplaces small and large as a Business Consultant, Staff Trainer or Special Event Speaker. When the purpose for my visit has to do with business consultation, it doesn’t take long for me to locate the biggest potential problem in any office. It’s WorkZilla!

Workplace Conflict - Facilitating a Peaceful Outcome

The workplace often requires us to adopt a ‘role-play’ approach which can lead to behaviours that conflict with adult best practice. When disagreements arise, the consequences can result in ongoing stress and low morale: the answer may lie in a facilitated discussion.

Surviving a Business Project

In a perfect world, any business team assembled to take on a project would be a competent group of professionals who seamlessly act as one entity. In the real world, it’s a bit different. People tend to act in their own best interests and play the blame game regardless of the outcome. Here are some ideas that will help you and your team keep their eyes on the prize.

Leadership & Teamwork

How your team works together is contingent upon your leadership skills. Do you have the skills to motivate and inspire your team members towards their goals and visions?

MBA Research Project - Creativity, Innovation and Effective Teams

Defining creativity as problem identification and idea generation and innovation as idea selection, development and commercialisation, it becomes easy to see how team structures can vary according to the specific area of the creativity and innovation process. There are essentially four possible structures:

The First Leadership Reality: Everybody Wants to be on a Good Team

The first leadership reality, “Everybody wants to be on a good team,” applies to all levels of leadership. It is the underlying paradigm with which to make your organization productive. Whether you run a company or a small department in a large corporation, those working for you expect you to do what it takes to make your organization a good team. Once you realize this, then you understand that all the leadership skills that you work on, whether they be traits, principles, practices, etc., are geared toward making you influence your employees in a positive manner to get the assigned job done.

Nine Ideas for Sustainable Team Growth - with Ease!

You have worked hard at it, and you’re at last acheving successes. Yet, it’s still hard work and unless you keep your own foot on the gas, it keeps slipping away. So what do you do to make sure that high standards, great performance all equate to making it easier to deliver. Here are some ideas that might help…