Helping Teams Navigate the Maze of Change
I have conducted my "Navigating the Maze of Change!" program for hundreds of organizations. In this program, teams must cross an electronic maze, a checkerboard-like carpet where I have programmed one safe path that will get them across without triggering an alarm. Very similar to their changing work environments, there are many unknowns and risks involved as team members try to identify the safe path. Here are a few key lessons the participants discover about dealing with change and uncertainty that you can use to help your organization reach its goals:
1. Teams are more effective when everyone understands the plan. Almost without fail, teams step on the maze without having a shared plan. They tell me they did this because "time is money," but employees who don't understand the organization's strategies and lack confidence in decision-making are much more costly. How well informed is your group? Ask them!
2. People need support and trust to take reasonable risks.When someone triggers an alarm on the maze, most team members look disappointed, and some even walk away in frustration. How eager will someone be to try again after experiencing that reaction? If you desire employees to be creative and take reasonable risks, reward their positive behavior, NO MATTER WHAT THE RESULTS, and reassure the person that he or she is still a valued member of the team. If you don't reassure the person, their willingness to take risks and continue trying will certainly diminish.
3. View “failures” as valuable lessons for everyone.Stepping on unsafe squares on the maze and triggering the alarm is a necessity in order to discover the safe path to success. When failure is feared, it is avoided at all costs and kept secret when it occurs – only serving to harm the organization. A reporter once questioned Thomas Edison, “Mr. Edison, I heard you failed nearly a thousand times before inventing a light bulb that worked.” Edison replied, “I did not fail 1000 times. I learned 999 ways a light bulb will not work!” How does your organization view "failure"? Ask them!
4. Celebrate all success.When someone finally crosses my maze, the team typically gives a thunderous applause. But where was the applause for the person who made it only to the first row, the person who made it only to second row, and so on? We must reward all successes, for they make it possible for someone to make it all the way across. Who gets the recognition in your organization and how could it be improved? Again, ask! Oh, and listen closely, too.
PS: Visit our main website for lots more great teambuilding ideas, teambuilding games and teambuilding exercises that can help you and your team to be more successful: http://www.teambuilding123.com
1. Teams are more effective when everyone understands the plan. Almost without fail, teams step on the maze without having a shared plan. They tell me they did this because "time is money," but employees who don't understand the organization's strategies and lack confidence in decision-making are much more costly. How well informed is your group? Ask them!
2. People need support and trust to take reasonable risks.When someone triggers an alarm on the maze, most team members look disappointed, and some even walk away in frustration. How eager will someone be to try again after experiencing that reaction? If you desire employees to be creative and take reasonable risks, reward their positive behavior, NO MATTER WHAT THE RESULTS, and reassure the person that he or she is still a valued member of the team. If you don't reassure the person, their willingness to take risks and continue trying will certainly diminish.
3. View “failures” as valuable lessons for everyone.Stepping on unsafe squares on the maze and triggering the alarm is a necessity in order to discover the safe path to success. When failure is feared, it is avoided at all costs and kept secret when it occurs – only serving to harm the organization. A reporter once questioned Thomas Edison, “Mr. Edison, I heard you failed nearly a thousand times before inventing a light bulb that worked.” Edison replied, “I did not fail 1000 times. I learned 999 ways a light bulb will not work!” How does your organization view "failure"? Ask them!
4. Celebrate all success.When someone finally crosses my maze, the team typically gives a thunderous applause. But where was the applause for the person who made it only to the first row, the person who made it only to second row, and so on? We must reward all successes, for they make it possible for someone to make it all the way across. Who gets the recognition in your organization and how could it be improved? Again, ask! Oh, and listen closely, too.
PS: Visit our main website for lots more great teambuilding ideas, teambuilding games and teambuilding exercises that can help you and your team to be more successful: http://www.teambuilding123.com
posted by teambuilding at 4:32 PM
8 Comments:
What i found interesting in "Helping Teams Navigate the Maze of Change" is that View “failures” as valuable lessons for everyone. , in general failure can shake the confidence of any individual and can be enough to de motivate in most of cases. while we design team building activities this must be taken under consideration.
PS: Visit us for sveral great team building ideas, teambuilding activities and teambuilding exercises
through corporate drumming that can surely help your organization for strong team bonding.
For some meetings that you are having problems with, especially the boring ones, you can do it outdoors with a different method and a different style. This way, the members of the meeting won't just participate but also will be interested about the meeting.
Team Building Events
I really liked the point you made about how the last person crossing the finish line is often the person who gets the applause -- neglecting all the people along the way who made this possible. It's sort of like the CEO at the annual convention, receiving all the kudos while the line operators get nothing. What impresses me is when an executive calls the most ordinary line worker and says, "I hear you just saved us $100. Thank you!"
Hi,
Thank You Very Much for sharing this informative article here.
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I really like your ideas and thoughts on this issue. In a rough economy Team building is critical. Many businesses do not have the luxury to find and pay for training of new employees.
"Teams are more effective when everyone understands the plan." This is the most crucial element of your article. Getting everyone to understand the game plan is critical for the 'buy-in' processes. Everyone does not need to agree on the plan, but everyone needs to feel like their voice is being heard.
On my Teams we've commonly used the Myers Briggs Personality Test to discuss communication patterns on the Team.
Team building is definitely effective when all its members actually understand its motive and plans.I am completely with Janice in his viewpoint that its not required that team members do understand everything, the important thing is that all should feel like they have some importance and there voice is not going unheard.
I know of a great company that really help you in developing great teams. They use well known profiling instruments such as FIRO-B and can crate a great learning environment in the outdoors and well as indoors. They work in India Sri Lanka and Nepal and are led by highly experienced facilitators who not only have excellent academic credentials, but are also experienced in the outdoors.Check out their site here
Team building activities are important to enhance employee working skills as well as their relationship skills. It's also a good break from all the stress in work.
We had a great experience with Ripe Stuff. They were able to help us with our communication skills as well as conflict resolution .
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