Catalyst for Collaboration—Achieving Astonishing Results.
I am often asked, “what’s the best number of people to put on a team?”
Basketball teams have five, baseball nine, and soccer 11. But when it comes to the workplace, what is the optimal number?
According to Evan Wittenberg, director of the Wharton Graduate Leadership Program, while …
Is something wrong with your team? Things aren’t going as well as you’d like, and you just can’t put your finger on what could be causing the problem. It’s similar to coming down with the flu. You know the symptoms all too well — a few …
In a survey conducted by the Association for Quality and Participation (AQP), managers were asked why teams fail. The number one answer cited was the insufficient training of teams. Number two was resistance from supervisors and mid-level managers. Supervisors resist team efforts because they:
Fear Job Loss. Supervisors …
You need the right people on the team to be successful. This seems to be intuitively obvious, but many teams fail because the person with the money, control or interest wasn’t included. Whether you are trying to solve a problem, improve a process, implement a …
As I travel about the country, I meet people who are part of a “team.” Perhaps they wear a “team” button, hang a picture proclaiming teamwork, or cheerfully answer the phone “Team Blue. How may we help you today?” These are the front line workers …
Are you working too hard as a team leader? You are very busy leading your team, establishing goals, setting direction, managing discussions, and keeping folks on task while documenting all this teamwork! It’s exhausting!
Relax, no need to hog all the work! Try “sharing the wealth” in …
If you are sick and tired of trying to accommodate everyone to create a work schedule with continuous coverage, 24 hours, seven days a week, it sounds like you have been the scheduling sovereign for way too long. You need to give the responsibility over to the …
When your company reorganizes and assigns everyone to a team they can’t simply rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. You don’t just put people into teams and then expect them to act like a team. New job titles such as “team leader,” “facilitator,” and “team …
As my kids were devouring Harry Potter books, I was devouring Frank Pacetta’s book, Stop Whining–and Start Winning. Frank is committed to making the workplace a great place to work, versus being “ho-hum.” Are you just going through the motions in a ho-hum world? Or, …
Do you believe there is strength in numbers? Teams are based on the notion that two heads are better than one.
I agree, most of the time. But when it comes to team-based negotiations, you need more skill than asking a couple of people to represent the …
