CorporateCoach eNewsletter
Issue No. 73, 4th October 2004
CONTENTS
- Editorial:
Team building
- Book
review : Change Your Life in Seven Days
1.
Editorial: Team building
 When
I got into the lift (elevator) on Friday, there were two youngish males
already there. One asked the other why he looked so glum. "We have
got this team building thing tonight. Lots of silly games, I expect."
Clearly team building and bonding did not come high on his priority list
for a Friday night!
As it happens
we have had more than the normal interest in team building this week –
perhaps there is something in the air. People have different ideas of
what is involved in team building. Some think it requires people to go
out into the woods and get cold and muddy doing physical challenges. Others
that it is just an excuse to have some fun. "It does not matter too
much what we do. We just want to get together and have some fun."
In fact,
either extreme approach is valid. But the real key is to have a purpose.
Brefi Group can run indoor or outdoor teambuilding activities, but whatever
is involved we seek to add value. It helps us greatly if clients have
decided on a purpose for the event. Although bonding is relevant, there
is much more that can be achieved. There are skills involved in team building,
and if an organisation often sets up new teams for short term projects,
then learning these skills is important. So one objective can be to learn
teambuilding skills.
Teams are
groups of people with a purpose. It is difficult to maintain a team unless
it has a purpose. So most of our teambuilding activities focus on identifying
and exploring purpose, including vision, mission and values. We can use
Robert Dilts' neurological levels model for this.
Teams are
made up of people – people with personalities. An effective team
is not only one in which the members are committed to a shared purpose,
but one in which individuals bring a complementary mix of skills and motivations.
An effective team is a balanced team and we use various questionnaires
for a team effectiveness audit, which then provide an excellent basis
for a general discussion of team dynamics. Different contributions are
relevant in different circumstances and an analysis of personalities not
only explains why people behave in particular ways, but when particular
individuals should play a dominant role and when they should stand back.
For example, at the stage when it is urgent to complete a project is it
important that the person most concerned by accuracy should be given consideration,
or should leadership pass to someone more motivated by action and completion?
It all depends; and such discussions help to build an understanding of
how a team can perform more effectively. It also generates respect for
individuals who might previously have been undervalued.
One thing,
though. Team building should be fun. But fun with a purpose. Then
you get real value from your time away.
USEFUL
LINKS:
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor
Dear Richard,
Thanks for yet another good newsletter. Re: focus on solutions - I would
recommend 'The
Solutions Focus - the simple way to positive change' by Paul Z Jackson
and Mark McKergow., Nicholas Brealey Publishing, ISBN 1-85788-270-9.
Bought 'Excuse
Me, Your Life Is Waiting' by Lynn Grabhorn on your recommendation,
certainly made me think - and discover how many negative thoughts are
swirling around in my head!
Have a good week,
Vivianne
Vivianne Naslund
BRIDGEHEAD Associates
HOT
NEWS: Anthony Robbins comes to town
 Anthony
Robbins is coming to London in October (15-18) to deliver his famous "Unleash
the Power Within" seminar. I attended the very first one in Birmingham
many years ago, including the firewalk. It is certainly a worthwhile experience
– both for personal development and for modelling a great presenter.
Find out more.
E-commerce
resources: We have just completed our financial
year and have been auditing sales. Top sellers: Prisoners'
Dilemma, Employee
Development Pack, 7
Ways to Figure Out What You Want. Have a look at our increasing list
of downloadable
resources.
2.
Book review: Change Your Life in Seven Days, Paul McKenna
Review by Andrew Halfacre
A couple
of months ago I was sitting on the steps opposite St James Park reading
my copy of Change
Your Life In Seven Days when a minor TV personality came towards
me. I recognised him but could not recall his name. He saw me reading
the book and, as he passed, made some derogatory comment with a shake
of his head.
It about
sums up the view that many people have of personal development or self-help
books – they are full of fluffy advice and read by the fluffy minded.
That’s
doesn’t seem to stop them selling in vast numbers though. Walk into
any branch of WH Smith over the last few months and you’ll have
seen this book consistently in the top 10 best seller list so that probably
means that a fair proportion of you already own it.
Paul McKenna
has been making a determined effort to widen his image beyond that of
a showground/stage hypnotist and doing a lot of media work on personal
change issues. Change Your Life is his second book in recent years
and the one that gets closest to his other identity as one of the busiest
NLP trainers in the UK. His unbeatable USP is that all his NLP training
is done with Richard Bandler one of the co-founders of NLP and together
they put more people through accelerated NLP programmes than anyone else
in the UK.
So is it
any good and can you really change your life in seven days as the cover
claims?
Well the
answer, surprisingly, is yes. The book is great, full of quotes, techniques
and easy common-sense approaches to the most common challenges that face
us in the 21st Century. I suspect that a lot of this has to do with very
careful editing by Michael Neill who many of you may know through his
excellent coaching tips. I recognised several of his stories and techniques
on the way through.
The book
covers the basic NLP practitioner material without mentioning NLP once
and is great value for any trainers or coaches who are looking for techniques
to use. It also includes crucial chapters on money and happiness but best
of all is the CD, which offers a delightful and relaxing visualisation/meditation
for reinforcing the ideas in the book.
Of course,
if you’re looking for a magic bullet then it won’t work but
it comes far closer to doing all the work for you than any book I have
seen for a long time. At £7.99 it is a bargain and many of the larger
book retailers have it at less than this. You can also order it on-line
here.
It does exactly
what it says on the tin!
Andrew
Halfacre is a senior associate, trainer and author with Brefi Group
USEFUL
LINKS:
We aim to make the
Brefi Group web site the premier developmental site for teams and individuals
in organisations, so do please send us your suggestions and requests for
further development. And let us know what you think
of this newsletter, and comment on the content.
THIS IS A FREE PUBLICATION!
Please SHARE it willingly with a friend or colleague who could benefit
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Brefi
Group is a change management organisation that provides corporate coaching,
consultancy, facilitation and training. Be sure to visit the Brefi Group
web site at http://www.brefigroup.co.uk
We hope you enjoyed
this issue of CorporateCoach. If you would like to learn more
about how we can work together, then please contact me, Richard Winfield:
Telephone: 08450 678
222, or +44 (0) 121 704 2006 (international)
E-mail: editor@brefigroup.co.uk
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