Teamworks Tip
Want to get and stay inspired? Build a wall of quotes
Every time Howard Behar, former Starbucks executive and author of It’s Not About the Coffee, heard or read an insight he didn’t want to forget, he wrote it down. His office walls were covered with these quotes — which he used as both guidance system and launching pad for conversations with the Starbucks team. “Making these lessons […]
Check the team’s actions against purpose
When we talk about the team’s purpose, it tends to be abstract and aspirational. But, when it comes down to making the gritty, day-to-day choices, it’s easy to get pulled in the opposite direction. You want to reach for the stars; gravity keeps grounding you. Create a simple, gut-check question to ask in important moments, […]
Great ways to keep communication flowing
Whether you’re in leadership mode or management mode, the team needs to believe in you and your ability to guide them — and that makes trust and communication vital. Here are a three ideas to help make sure that you and the team are approaching challenges as one unit, united in understanding and purpose. • […]
Turning the critics into builders
In any decision-making discussion, it’s easy to get stuck in critic mode — picking away at every option on the table until there’s nothing left. And then you’re back to square one, which can frustrate team members and stall progress. When you notice your team stuck in critic mode, try asking questions that will get […]
How to buffer the work against the force of time
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the demands of time. As a manager, you want to ensure efficient progress — and that, funny enough, also includes routinely hitting the pause button to check in on the team’s progress. Here are three ideas, drawn from our own experience, to help the team […]
Getting time on your side
Time is a hot-button topic teams discuss when they’re using Teamworks to map the forces working for and against them. That’s probably because time can be a team’s secret weapon or its worst enemy. It all depends on how you approach it. Unfortunately, teams who feel most pressed for time rarely hit pause to think […]
How to get around unexpected obstacles
Every project begins with a great plan, but unanticipated bumps and hurdles always pop up along the way. That’s when a reframing exercise we call “the obstacle course” comes in handy. Here’s how it works: • Grab a bunch of index cards, and on each one write down an obstacle blocking the team. • Talk about each […]
A quick way to gauge the team’s belief level
Sometimes, team members have reservations that (for whatever reason) they don’t feel comfortable stating outright. Maybe they think no one else shares the same thoughts, and they don’t want to be the naysayer. Or maybe they’ve got a feeling they can’t quite put into words. Which is why we’re fans of gut checking the team’s […]
How to re-instill belief and trust
Change can be experienced as either loss or opportunity. Sometimes change can result in a loss of belief or trust within the team. When that happens, it’s the responsibility of the manager to re-instill both. Inspired by some sage advice from this Dennis Reina article on Switch and Shift, we recommend these three actions: • […]
How to delegate successfully
Every manager must delegate, but delegating successfully is an art. Frank Wu, chancellor and dean at the UC Hastings College of Law, offers six helpful tips: • Delegate work that someone else can truly own. Don’t just foist off your own to-do list. • Don’t micro-manage a project once you’ve delegated it. • Give clear […]