It’s true that TEAM stands for Together Everyone Achieves More, but only if team leaders and members are both willing and able to “achieve more.”  Those on high-performance teams value and leverage each other’s strengths, commit to an overarching mission and vision, build trust and commitment through a sense of shared vision and purpose, and work collaboratively to generate innovative solutions. 

The following courses build the skills which help people create and maintain winning teams and achieve exceptional results. Participants learn how to develop and harness the productivity and creativity of teams, both as team members and team leaders.   

Jeanne also frequently designs and facilitates team-building retreats. (See “One Plus One Equals Three.”) 

For more information, complete course descriptions, or consultation, please click on the Contact Us button.

Creative Problem Solving and Decision Making

People often think they've found the root of a problem, only to have it crop up again somewhere else. Or they feel frustrated by constraints; they're too busy “fighting the alligators” to “drain the swamp.” At this workshop, participants learn a logical, systematic, and yet creative approach for solving problems and making decisions. They develop and practice new skills in using a risk analysis matrix, force-field analysis, cause and effect diagram, idea-generating questions, many new ideation techniques, and other valuable tools. It is especially beneficial for teams aimed at making improvements and solving problems. (1½ days)  

 

This training program gives participants the knowledge and skills to make teams work. It explores six important conditions to create and maintain a collaborative culture and a commitment to high achievement.  It focuses on the “people part” of team endeavors— on what team leaders can do to produce consistent winning results. This 2-day program includes units on the following:

 The four stages of team development and how to maximize each stage

 Why and how to articulate an inspiring vision and mission  

 How to recognize personality styles and “flex” to bring out the best in all styles

 How to manage team dynamics and difficulties such as feuding, floundering, fragmentation, and fear

 How to work through four (C.A.L.M.) steps to resolve conflict

 How to choose and use various decision-making alternatives

(If your organization feels it would like to expand one of the learning units above, Jeanne can custom-design a training program for you, or you can supplement this workshop with other training programs. For instance, while “High Performance Teamwork” includes a one-hour unit on resolving conflict, “When Worlds Collide” {see below} gives participants additional information and practice in this critically important skill.)

 

As team members are generating proposals or solutions the ability to negotiate with each other is essential. This seminar uses an excellent video produced by Harvard University which dramatizes a management team trying to work together to agree on and implement a huge company-wide change. Based on a real-life corporate situation, it illustrates how managers can use the power of consensus to produce effective corporate change and winning solutions. (2 to 4 hours) 

 

In a world where speed and and multitasking make for superficial interactions and frequent misunderstandings, an off-site retreat is an excellent opportunity to build relationships grounded in authenticity, openness, and respect. 

Jeanne has been facilitating team-building retreats for teams and boards for nearly 20 years. Her experience enables her to create just the right mix of intensity and reflection, so that participants remain energized throughout the retreat. 

Each retreat is custom-designed to fit the group’s needs and time-frame. (Some groups want to focus on getting acquainted, others on understanding their strengths and roles, and still others on resolving conflict, for example.) 

Jeanne always leads interactive activities which spark important insights among participants. She can also conduct training in negotiation skills, conflict management skills, problem-solving and decision-making skills, or other skills the team has chosen to focus on. 

In short, Jeanne creates informal, relaxed opportunities for people to have real conversations in which they laugh, learn about each other, and re-commit to their mission.

 

Good creative ideas have always been in demand, and they’re more important than ever in today’s competitive environment. At this workshop, participants get a “treasure chest” full of tools to use alone or with teammates, to generate new ideas and improve present ones. They discover how to harness creative energy to tackle old obstacles and develop new, innovative solutions. 

Topics include how to recognize and capitalize on flashes of inspiration; why and how to adapt other organizations’ ideas; 9 ways to turn old ideas into new ones; and many others. At longer workshops, participants have more time to “plug in” these techniques and build skills in using them. (1 hour to 1 day)

 

When Worlds Collide: Coping with Conflict

How team leaders and members handle conflict can spell the difference between serious disagreement that cripple the team and healthy disagreements that improve it. In this training program, participants learn the most common causes for conflict, a C.A.L.M. approach for coping with conflict, and proven strategies for producing “both gain” results based on an exploration of interests versus positions.  (2 to 4 hours)