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"As commerce becomes increasingly global and complex, the bulk of modern work is more and more team-based."
Charles Duhigg, author of
The Power of Habit
and
Smarter Faster Better
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A
recent study published in the
Harvard Business Review
found that "the time spent by managers and employees in collaborative activities has ballooned by 50 percent or more" over the last two decades. At many companies more than three-quarters of an employee's day is spent communicating with colleagues. In fact, studies have shown that people working in teams tend to achieve better results and report higher job satisfaction. Business schools have taken notice - and have updated their curriculums to emphasize
team-focused learning to better prepare their graduates.
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NYT Article by Charles Duhigg |
Google took notice too. In 2012 the company set out on an ambitious quest...
building the
perfect team. These internal researchers on Project Aristotle studied 180 teams across the organization to "figure out why some stumbled while others soared".
And you would be amazed at what they found. Click here to read the always-compelling Charles Duhigg's New York Times article, or simply read on for the highlights
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After looking at more than 100 groups for over a year, Project Aristotle researchers realized that understanding and influencing group norms was the key to "perfect teams".
Here are their surprising findings related to these norms of how teammates treated each other:
- "We had lots of data, but there was nothing showing that a mix of specific personality skills or backgrounds made any difference. The 'who' part of the equation didn't seem to matter... There were, however, two behaviors that all the good teams generally shared."
- "First...members spoke in roughly the same proportion...'conversational turn-taking'...As long as everyone got a chance to talk, the team did well...but if only one person or a small group spoke all the time, the collective intelligence declined."
- "Second, the good teams all had high 'average social sensitivity'...they were skilled at intuiting how others felt based on their tone of voice, their expressions and other nonverbal cues...People on the more successful teams seemed to know when someone was feeling upset or left out."
In my next several newsletters, I will share with you specific techniques I have effectively used with teams to help them build these powerful norms into their daily
team interactions, including...
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The team ground rules (aka "norms") I use for every session I facilitate, to ensure "
conversational turn-taking"
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- How I use Whole Brain® Thinking and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI) to understand and capitalize on their team intuition - and overcome any team blind spots.
- The "Walk Around the Brain" technique to tap into the collective wisdom of the team and solve their critical business challenges.
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- Learn how a group of CEO's engaged in truly productive dialog...page 39
- Read about my own experience at Coca-Cola with the best team I ever worked with...page 41
- Discover how breaking bread together can bond a team at a milestones dinner...page 42
- Test out a simple technology for bonding on a team called "Getting on the Grid"...page 43
- Check out one of my most successful techniques for building trust which I learned from the amazing Marshall Goldsmith - the Feed Forward process...page 46
- And for those leaders who would like guidance on how to comfortably "manage by walking around", you will find specific tips and techniques...pages 47+
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Let's get started with a complimentary 30-minute consultation!
Would you like to spend 30-minutes, cost-free and obligation-free, tapping into 25+ years of experience with teams? Kimberly is passionate about helping every leader bring out the best their team has to offer. Let her help you today.
Contact Kimberly Douglas today via
email
or call
678-636-3100
to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation so that you too can receive the benefit of over 25 years of team facilitation experience.
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Click here
for a brief overview of Kimberly's team effectiveness expertise, a client list, and testimonials.
Or read below what a few clients had to say about Kimberly's work...
"The Firefly Effect is a must-read for anyone who manages teams or is a member of
one. Author Kimberly Douglas literally shines a light on the importance of appreciating differences, recognizing
accountability, and embracing conflict as a force for change. Implementing the techniques in this book will allow any business-big or small- to thrive."
Laura Grams, Director, CDO Global Learning Solutions, Cisco Systems
"Kimberly gives groups a vocabulary for understanding commonalities and differences,
and a context for learning how touse them to solve problems, communicate and discover. She creates learning that is meaningful both for groups andtheir individual members."
Shirley Powell, SVP, Corporate Communications, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
"Through Kimberly's abundant energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge, we realigned several
disparate IT departments with a common focus to significantly improve internal and external customer relations."
Rodger Overton, CIO, Regions Bank
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Kimberly Douglas
678-636-3100
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