Leader's Institute Team Building and Public Speaking Classes

Good is the Enemy of Great

ellenpatnaude — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:30:08 +0000

Voltaire said it first, and while many people have said it in various ways, it all means the same thing. When we try to be good at too many things, we end up being great at none of them.

Consider this scenario.

Mary is the manager of a medium-sized division in her company. She is responsible for the work that her division does for the company, as well as managing the 25 associates that work in the division. She reports to a company Vice President, and is occasionally asked to make reports to the entire group of Vice Presidents. Mary has job responsibilities that extend beyond managing the people in her division. Yet she spends much of her time putting out fires with and for them. They like and trust her, and it makes her feel important to help them with their work issues.

Mary finds herself constantly feeling like she is trying to catch up at work. She often works very long hours, staying way past everyone else, and lives with her Blackberry glued to her hand. She feels guilty for not spending more time with her family. She often misses evening or weekend family commitments to take care of something at work. Mary is totally stressed out and over extended. She feels like she can’t get a handle on the never-ending ‘fires’, and wants to quit.

Mary’s scenario may not be your own. However, I would assert that too often, many of us are guilty of getting caught up in other people’s expectations or demands on our time without taking the time to consider our effectiveness.

Are you trying to be good at too many things and sacrificing being great at just a few? Are you losing sight of the bigger picture, scrambling around, and feeling trapped on a hamster wheel?

To engage in ongoing development as a leader means evaluating these questions every so often. And to really evaluate them, you need to get specific.

Everyone, regardless of your position at work, can benefit from engaging in intentional reflection. Here are some steps to get you started:

Get it on the calendar: Decide how often you want to reap the benefits of the process and then write it into your calendar. Treat it with the same importance that you treat any other meeting. We recommend allocating two hours to this process, and scheduling it once a week, once every two weeks, or at the very least, once a month.
Problem Solving Time Goes First: Spend the first hour of your reflection time on problem solving. The focus of this type of reflection is short-term and tactical. We are inundated with problems at work every day. To address them effectively, we need to reflect on them. Make a list of problems. Pick the priorities and work them out. Do as many as you realistically can.
Think Strategically and Seek Wisdom: The second hour of your time should be spent on this longer-term type of reflection. It is more proactive and requires discipline and accountability. There will always be dozens of immediate demands! But without this type of reflection, you will find it very difficult to control your time and your situation.
Take Action!: Using what you’ve done in the two hours of reflection, make a plan of concrete steps that you can follow to get you there. Take it to the next level and find someone with whom you can share your plan of action who will hold you accountable for actually doing it.

Many of us are so busy putting out fires and responding to the immediate and never-ending daily demands of our lives that we do not carve out time to gain control. Often people refer to it as ‘taking time for themselves’. It falls again and again to the bottom of the priority list.

We challenge you to try carving out this block of time even once, and see what kind of benefits you can reap. And if you want a partner in this process, and more detailed guidance on how to engage in this discipline, we’re just a phone call away.

Roche Molecular Build-A-Bike Team Building Event near San Francisco

Lisarezac — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:09:01 +0000

Roche Molecular has a long history of charitable work so they were very excited to take part in the Build-A-Bike Team Building event at their headquarters outside of San Francisco, California near Oakland. The medical research company participates in several charitable projects for the benefit of both local communities and underdeveloped countries worldwide. 100 Roche Molecular employees gathered at their main facility to have fun and grow as a company while giving back to their local community with the Build-A-Bike team building workshop.

The Roche employees were a cooperative group throughout the entire event. Clearly they already had a great team environment. Despite their commitment to working together the human nature of competition is inevitable when people get together and try to “win”. The Roche Molecular employees worked well to overcome the challenges presented to them and succeeded in completing the tasks to build bicycles for less fortunate children. Their solid leadership skills, teamwork and commitment to giving back to their community helped the teams to complete 16 bikes that they presented to the San Leandro Boys and Girls Club. Even though Roche Molecular contributes to many worldwide charities there was something special about being able to see how their efforts were benefiting others. And the 16 lucky boys and girls who got the bikes will never forget the day a group of medical researchers got together and solved puzzles and challenges in order to build brand new bikes for them.

Roche Molecular had a great day of fun, learning and giving back to their community. The team building event helped reinforce their already strong ties and leadership skills. Thanks to Roche Molecular for taking part in the Build-A-Bike Team Building event and for making an impact on not only 16 young people’s lives but also setting a great example for others to follow.

World Acceptance Rescue Bear Team Building Gives Stuffed Animals to Hospital in St. Louis

Craig Wagganer — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:01:52 +0000

World Acceptance, one of the largest small-loan consumer finance companies in the United States and Mexico, had its Missouri Managers together in St. Louis for a Rescue Bear ®Team Building Event. The Rescue Bear is a fun team event in which the end result is that stuffed animals are contributed to local charities that will use the animals in their work with children. In this case the end result was that 43 stuffed animals were donated by World Acceptance to the Barnes-Jewish-Children’s Hospital System in St. Louis, Missouri. The event was fast-paced and fun as teams had to work through situations and complete activities to gain the materials to make the animals.

The Rescue Bear Team Building Event participants from World Acceptance learned that cooperation is an important ingredient to team success. Individual team members need to learn to cooperate with each other as well as being able to contribute according to their specific talents and abilities. Team leadership is best when it is able to evaluate the members and help each grow in their specific areas of expertise so that they con offer the very best of their individual possibilities. Team leadership is not about control, but rather it is about being able to help each individual member do their best and make the most of their talents and abilities for the greater effort of the entire team. Team building is team member growth.

Thanks to World Acceptance for a great event and for making a significant contribution to the St. Louis area hospitals through their Rescue Bear Team Building Event.

Craig Wagganer

Sodexo Bike Team Building in Atlantic City New Jersey

Craig Wagganer — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:03:59 +0000

10 employees of Sodexo came together for Team Building in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for a great Build-A-Bike Team Building Event which ended with 4 children from the New Jersey Boys and Girls Clubs receiving new bicycles. The event was filled with fun activities that had the participants learning and laughing. Throughout the 2 hours there were communication and team building ideas presented both overtly and subtly. The fun activities were filled with applications that will help each of the individuals and their leadership abilities. The ideas presented weren’t theories but skills that throughout the activities the participants had opportunity to put into practice.

During the Build-A-Bike Team Building Event there were many opportunities to learn great team building and leadership skills and put them into practice. It is stressed from the start of the program that it is not a competition. The idea is to support and work with one another. It is a hard concept, especially when you’re divided into groups. By dividing into groups competition is almost automatic, even if it is discouraged. The problems that needed to be solved to get the bike parts were most easily solved when working with other teams. The most effective and efficient way to solve many problems is to ask others for help, but it is a hard thing to do, especially if you view it as a competition. But divisions, different locations, any thing that segments one company into many parts, can create unhealthy competition that keeps them from sharing vital information with other groups. Ultimately, the 10 participants from Sodexo realized that they were one team, not 3 teams, but one team- made up of 3 sub-groups, with one goal- to build bikes for kids. They did a fantastic job and not only did the 4 children that received the bikes benefit but so did the communities they live in.

Thanks, Sodexo, for a great Build-A-Bike Team Building Event and for making a generous contribution to families in New York and New Jersey.

Craig Waggganer

Add Fun Team Building Events to Any Meeting

Doug Staneart — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:28:15 +0000

Ask your team how they would describe most meetings around the office, and most likely (even if you are a really good leaders) you will still hear words like…
LONG and
BORING…

It’s not your fault. We live in such a busy world that we often have to try to fit a bunch of information into a short period of time (or even worse, a long period of time). As a result, we begin to fall into what folks in the industry call “data dumping”. Below are a couple of quick things that you can do to add fun team building events to any meeting.

Add Fun Team Building Events to Any Meeting

Cut Down on the Content: A little content covered really well is much, much better than a lot of content that everyone forgets by the end of the day. I know time is short, but if you cover a little content in an energetic and fun way, you will create building-blocks with your team so that in future meetings, you can build on the past successes. If you cover a bunch of stuff, and your team only retains a small percentage of it, you will be frustrated as the retention drops over time.
Give the Team Free Time: If your team is booked for a convention or annual meeting, and they start at 7:30 AM and end at 9:00 PM, they will absolutely hate it (no matter how beneficial the content and the meetings are). If you have a jam-packed schedule, it doesn’t matter how many “fun activities” that you add to the agenda, they will hate the meeting. Instead of having every meal with the entire group, give them a per diem and let them get outside of the hotel. If you are at a resort, make sure and give them some time to enjoy the pool or the beach.
Speed Up Your Speeches: I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but the old tip to “slow down when you are in front of a group” is something you should always disregard. When you speak faster, you are pushing energy into the room. Think about the way that presenters on infomercials speak. Are they slow and methodical covering tons of data, or do they speak quickly and with energy and enthusiasm? The do the latter, because the faster speech and energy captures attention and holds the attention of the audience for longer periods of time.
Insert Professional Team Facilitators: The bigger your group, the more difficult it is to deliver a high-energy, fun team building event. So, it is a good idea to bring in a professional facilitor if the outcome is important. Limit the team activity to a couple of hours at most, and the group will be able to stay enthused throughout the entire time period. You’ll also want to schedule the fun event late afternoon and at the very end of your meeting if possible. If you schedule the team activity too early in the day, then anything that you do later in the day will seem pretty boring in comparison. If you schedule it too late, then the group will be tired and the energy of the event will suffer. Schedule the team activity as the last thing that you do, and your team will leave the event having the fun, high energy activity in the front of their minds. That warm feeling will transfer over to the entire meeting.

Do these things, and you will add fun and energy to any meeting!

Cloud Mark Build-A-Bike Team Event Creates Strong Bonds in San Francisco

Lisarezac — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:12:36 +0000

At the headquarters of their international internet security company in San Francisco, California Cloud Mark employees from across the globe participated in a Build-A-Bike Team Event. Cloud Mark makes it’s home in San Francisco but also has offices in Europe and Asia. Being spread out among several offices, communication and creating team can be challenging. Coming together to work through the team building exercises of the Build-A-Bike ®Team Building event can help any company get to know each other better and build a stronger team. Sixty Cloud Mark employees gathered for this event and were committed to working together and using all of their unique and individual talents.

The software technicians were an energetic group with distinct personalities. Bringing their employees together for a challenging and exciting event helped them to bond as a company and develop their teamwork and leadership skills. As they worked through the challenges offered by the Build-A-Bike Team Building event, they learned how to rely upon each other, break down any walls that hindered communication and find the most efficient ways to complete the challenges. They learned that coming together as a team has everyone winning in the end.

On top of learning valuable teamwork and leadership skills, employees were also able to help out the San Francisco Boys and Girls Club through their efforts. The team succeeded in building and donating 10 bikes that will go towards helping children to enjoy their youth. Reinforcing the lessons of the workshop, donating the bikes taught Cloud Mark employees the value of giving back to their community. One of those lucky kids might grow up to work with Cloud Mark as a software technician!

Just like the challenges in the Build-A-Bike Team Building event the charitable aspect showed employees how helping out their community benefits the company as well. Cloud Mark was able to strengthen their company bonds while having fun and making a difference. Thank you Cloud Mark for a great time!

Sabre Holdings Build-A-Bike Team Building Event in Dallas, Texas Adds Energy and Fun

ellenpatnaude — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:58:08 +0000

Sabre Hospitality Solutions, a division of Sabre Holdings, included a Build-A-Bike team building event during their two-day conference in Dallas, Texas. The workshop added energy and fun to the conference while giving back to local kids in need. Sabre Hospitality Solutions provides the most comprehensive set of hotel distribution and marketing services in the industry. They provide hoteliers with many tools for reaching more customers and increasing their effectiveness in the marketplace. It was a group of these hoteliers plus the Sabre Hospitality Solutions staff that came together for the large bicycle team event in Dallas.

Build-A-Bike is a fast-paced, high-energy workshop that gives participants the opportunity to interact, compete and ultimately work together to solve a series of challenges. Due to our competitive human nature, there is typically some skepticism at the notion that the teams need to collaborate to solve the challenges more efficiently. While this group of people don’t necessarily work together in their day-to-day businesses, they did rise to the challenge and help each other, ultimately making everyone successful.

By the end of the event, they had built 30 bikes! Local kids from the YMCA of greater Dallas came at the end of the event to receive the bikes. There was not a dry eye to be found! As businesses that mostly cater to travelers, this was a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved to extend a hand to the community around them.

“The event was so well received from our team and our customers, and it was a big success! I really appreciate your working with us. It was a lot of fun and so rewarding! I hope we have the chance to work together again soon.”

– Carol Levitt, Sabre Hospitality Solutions

Everyone likes to give back to the community, especially to kids in need. Including Build-A-Bike team building in your next conference gives those you’ve brought together the opportunity to do just that while adding energy, enthusiasm and fun!

InfoComm includes Build-A-Bike Team Building Event near Washington, DC

ellenpatnaude — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:50:58 +0000

InfoComm International held their regular Executive Committee meeting near Washington, DC and included a Build-A-Bike team building event as a way to give back to the community and have some fun together. InfoComm International is the leading nonprofit association serving the professional AV communications industry worldwide. Founded in 1939, the association offers industry expertise and market research serving press and others seeking information about the industry. As a small group of 13 people, the leadership of the team wanted to make sure that the group would still have a great experience of the event. We were able to customize the agenda to fit the size of their group, as we can do with any size group, and give them the same great experience on a smaller scale.

The Build-A-Bike team activity is a high-energy, really fun workshop that gives the participants a chance to engage together in “play with a purpose” exercises. As high level managers, this team collaborated naturally and were quickly successful in every activity.

At the end of the event, the group had built four bikes and had a really great time together. The excitement in the room ratcheted up another notch when the YMCA of Fairfax County arrived with four local children who were the ecstatic recipients of the bikes! While most of the participants in this Bicycle Team Building Event were from outside of the Washington, DC area, they had deep appreciation for the difference their contribution made locally.

“This was a great exercise – exactly what the team needed to get us out of the conference room and away from our computer screens for a little while!” – Ann Brigada, InfoComm

No matter what size your group, Build-A-Bike team building is the perfect way to add spark and fun to your retreat or conference while giving back to your local community. It can help your group gel together while reinforcing important team building lessons.

Johnsonville Sausage Ace Race Team Building Workshop in Sheboygan Falls, WI

ellenpatnaude — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:32:51 +0000

Johnsonville Sausage recently included an Ace Race golf team building workshop in an off-site team meeting in Sheboygan Falls, WI, not far from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Johnsonville Sausage has been around as a company since 1978 and is known for their quality meat products. They have around 1,300 employees, and now export their products to 30 countries around the world.

The workshop involved about 40 members of their MIS team. The goal was to give them a fun experience that got them up and moving from their normally more desk oriented jobs! The Ace Race Golf Team Event began with a couple of quick warm-up activities that get at some of the fundamentals of good team communication. The group shared some laughs and the competitive spirit was high! Moving into the golf event itself, each team created a mini putting green for themselves using non-perishable goods. Each green had a unique design and some included very tricky obstacles! All of the teams then had a race to see which team could get around the entire course first, making a hole-in-one on each green.

This group started out a little low-key, but very competitive! There was a lot of laughter and cheering as they created and then played their course. At the end of the event, they invited The Salvation Army to accept their donation of half a ton of food. While a representative was unable to attend the event due to a last-minute conflict, the organization was very grateful for the generous donation and will use it in the eight food pantries it helps supply around the greater Sheboygan area.

Team building workshops that are composed of activities that have a point, coupled with a lot of fun and the opportunity to give back to the community are a great way to get people having fun together. Consider including an Ace Race Team Activity in your next conference and give your team a memorable experience!

Presentation Skills Checklist

Doug Staneart — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:34:01 +0000

When folks go through our presentation skills classes, they are often surprised at how simple we make designing and delivering fairly complex presentations. In fact, one of the things that we cover in the Fearless Presentations class is how to design an entire presentation, from start to finish, complete with a slide deck in fifteen minutes or less. Class members are often shocked at how fast they can design presentations that would have typically taken hours (or weeks) to complete. Below is a simple checklist that you can use when you design PowerPoint presentations in order to speed up the preparation time and reduce your fear of public speaking.

Presentation Skills Checklist

Step One: Start with the Presentation (what you want to say) and finish with the slideshow. Most people start with the visual aids and, eventually, realize they have too many slides or too many points and start cutting content. So they end up with a Swiss-Cheese presentation. Start with the presentation first, then choose slides that help you better explain the content.
Step Two: Choose a Compelling Topic (Title). Pretend that you are an audience member, and ask yourself what you’d what to hear about related to the topic. This is more difficult than you might think, because, since we know so much about the topic, we tend to want to tell the audience EVERYTHING that we know. However, that is not practical, so you have to give the audience only what they need, right now. For instance, if you are giving a financial report to the board, they are going to want to know about profit, but if you are giving a report to the sales team, they will be more interested in revenue compared to prior years. think of your audience when you choose your topic.
Step Three: Choose three to five key points to expand upon. Literally… three, four, or five points… TOTAL. Thinking about your topic, choose your key points by determining what are the three to five most important concepts related to the topic that the audience needs to know about. If you cover more points, the audience won’t remember them anyway, so focus on the most important points.
Step Four: Insert Proof for each Point. Insert a few stories, examples, facts, analogies, demonstrations, or samples that prove that your key point is true. If you prove each point along the way, then the group will very easily agree with your conclusion at the end of the presentation.
Step Five: Now Create Your Slides: Once you have the speech designed, now go back and choose visual aids to better explain your content.

Follow this checklist, and you will be able to create any presentation very quickly.