Team Building: Transforming
a Dysfunctional Group Into a Cohesive High-Performance Team
This unique customized team building intervention is designed
to get an ineffective team experiencing distrust, poor interpersonal
skills, personality conflicts, pride, politics, or lack of accountability
to openly address dysfunctional behaviors and achieve consensus commitments
that serve as the foundation for building a cohesive high-performance
team.
This intervention is facilitated by Dr. Wolf J. Rinke who has more
than 30 years of hands-on management and leadership experience and has
conducted numerous interventions like this with a wide variety of companies
from established Fortune 500 to start-up entrepreneurial companies.
It is typically limited to small teams of 5-21 executives, managers
or other critical team members; is conducted in a retreat type setting
and takes one to 11/2 days. It consists of unique team building exercises
and experiential learning activities that are tailored to the specific
needs of the team. These needs are identified using a variety of individual
pre-assessments and team assessments including a unique system that
protects team members anonymity so that they can identify the real issues
that interfere with team performance.
The outcome of the intervention is a series of specific commitments
that will govern future team behaviors. All team members prior to the
conclusion of the intervention sign these commitments. This "contract"
is used by team members to hold each other accountable. As a result
participants buy into a new reality, which enables them to take team
performance to the next level.
More specifically as a result of participating in this team building
intervention participants will be able to:
Communicate more effectively
Enhance trust
Reduce conflicts
Improve morale
Take ownership and assume responsibility
Recognize and build on each others strengths
Build a positive team culture
Destroy "we-they" perceptions
Decrease politics, egos and other dysfunctional behaviors
Build rapport
Increase satisfaction
Celebrate accomplishments
Achieve laser like focus
Be more receptive to change
Improve leadership skills
Enhance interpersonal skills
Focus on results
Eliminate self-destructive negative behaviors
Sustain high levels of energy and motivation
Hold each other accountable
Achieve dramatic improvements in performance and productivity
Function as a cohesive high-performance team
SAMPLE Intervention PROCESS:
Note: intervention is customized to the specific needs of the team.
Phase 1 Diagnosis
What: Conduct interviews with key decision makers and each member of
the team (approx. 12 individuals)
How: Face-to-face in-depth interviews to identify strengths, weaknesses
and learning opportunities (1½ hours per interview).
Why: Identify the "real" needs and challenges of the team
Structure a customized retreat that produces lasting results, is memorable
and fun.
Phase 2 Intervention
What: Deliver a customized transformation intervention (1 day)
How: Interactive learning session in a retreat setting (details attached)
Why: Build the foundation for team effectiveness
Phase 3 Follow-up
What: Follow-up and reinforcement
How: Conduct at least one follow-up session 3-6 months after the retreat
(½ day)
(Optional-depending on team progress, additional follow-up session may
be required.)
Dr. Rinke will be available via phone or e-mail to all team members
for 12 months after the completion of the initial retreat.
Team members will receive a free monthly eNewsletter
Why: To assess compliance with commitments and reinforce newly learned
behaviors
To achieve lasting behavior change and dramatic improvements in team
performance.
Executive coaching (optional)
What: Coaching sessions on as needed basis for individuals who decrease
team effectiveness
How: Conduct one-on-one coaching sessions (more
details)
Why: To help individuals build powerful new habit patterns that support
and sustain team effectiveness.
SAMPLE Team-Building Intervention OUTLINE
Note: Every intervention is customized to the specific needs of the
team. This outline describes an intervention of a management team that
was hampered by a lack of trust.
Introduction
Mental warm-up exercise
Overview
How to get the most (least) out of this TB exercise
How to achieve team consensus-the Ground Rules
"The Story"-are teams more effective than individuals?
(Unique experiential learning activity.)
Review stages of team development
Characteristics of high-performance teams
Assessment of the management's current level of team "maturity"
What stands in your way of performing as a high performance team?
(Unique anonymous assessment process that makes dysfunctional challenges
public so that they can be addressed.)
Trust vs. mistrust - what's in it for you?
Trust traps-what we do to "trap" our team members
The eight "Cardinal Principles of Trust"
How to build a solid foundation for trust
What we need to do to get to the next level of team performance
