Hi all -
I attended a team building workshop this morning and thought I would share it with you. There are often posts in CD with questions and/or frustrations relating to their team communication and organization. This exercise might prove beneficial and fun for the team to do. Also, keep in mind that you do not have to agree with the quote(s) but they are excellent for generating discussions. If you have any questions, please pm me, I’ll be glad to answer them.
Jane
Words To Team By:
If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. - Chinese Proverb
A decision is responsible when the group that makes it has to answer for it to those who are directly or indirectly affected by it. - Charles Frankel
Never insult an alligator until you’ve crossed the river. - Cordell Hull
You miss 100% of the shots you never take. - Wayne Gretzky
A certain amount of opposition is of great help. Kites rise against, not with, the wind. - John Neal
To know the road ahead, ask those coming back. - Chinese Proverb
I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone. - Bill Cosby
Don’t find fault, find a remedy. - Henry Ford
If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. - Katherine Hepburn
If you lose the power to laugh, you lose the power to think. - Clarence Darrow
When you reach for the stars you might not get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either. - Leo Burnett
Small problems are difficult to see, but easy to fix. However, when you let these problems develop, they are easy to see but difficult to fix. - Niccolo Machiavelli
Better to ask twice than to lose your way once. - Danish Proverb
We were asked to move into groups and read each quote and think about/discuss the meaning and/or implications of the quote.
Sample questions to facilitate discussion around each quote:
- What are the implications of this quote for successful teamwork?
- Why is this important for teams?
- What happens when this factor is not present?
- How does a team ensure that this factor is present?
- If you are the team leader, what role should you play in this area?
- If you are a team member, how can you help?
Then decide which quote best identifies your team. Is there a quote that would be representative of your team?
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Not included but if I were going to use this in a team building exercise, I would ask team members to bring their favorite quote that they feel applies to their team and in this last section, they could introduce their quote and explain why they think it best identifies their team.
The quotes and questions were taken from:
Thiagarajan, S., and Park, G. Team Work and Team Play, 1999, Jossey-Bass