Team BuildingTeam Building

Confident Kids in an Amazing State of Creativity

Group Task

• Build a structure that is 6 blocks high and 4 blocks wide that contains an arch

• Do not share your individual task with the team but ensure that it is accomplished

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• Tear down your structure• Turn over your agenda cards• Rebuild the structure to see if you can build it

to meet everyone’s agendas

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Team Building

• Role as facilitator– Stay on the sidelines– Nurture the team’s progress towards their goals– Guide the team’s growth as a team– Celebrating successes as they happen– Ultimate goal: teach the team to guide and coach

themselves

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Successful Team• Trust• Common goals and purpose• Shared responsibility and leadership• Program expertise• Process expertise• High communication• Respect for people and ideas• Focus on important results• Managing change

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Trust• Team members:– Feel part of the group– Are concerned about the well-being of members– Believe that other members are capable– Feel competent in their tasks and roles– Are open and honest with each other

• Team Manager role:– Focus on relationships– Help the team set guidelines around respectful

behavior– Create opportunities for success

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If the team is struggling:• Remember that conflict is normal• Present an IC that you know the team will master• Have the group talk about the talents they see in each

other• Take a field trip to a playground• Play games that involve touching– Group Knot– Ring around the circle (Hulahoop)– Tag – Blindfolded Walk– Team Shapes (with or without rope)

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Common Goals and Purpose• Team members:– Set their goals together– Accept and agree on goals– Commit to the work necessary to reach those

goals• Team Manager role:– Help the team brainstorm goals– Facilitate agreement– Inspire the team to reach their goals

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If the team is struggling:• Use creative problem solving tools to help with generating

ideas• Ask open-ended questions

– What do you bring to the team?– What do you hope to learn this year?– Imagine yourself unloading your props before tournament,

what do other people see? What are you most proud of?• Create situations where they have to reach a common goal

– Have each member bring $3. Take them to the grocery store and have them purchase dinner that they all will/can make and eat.

– Have the team build a one-page collage that demonstrates their goals for the team

– Ask the team to bake and frost a cake without speaking9

Shared responsibility and leadership• Team members:– Understand role on team– Assume leadership for their area of the

project– Follow-through on accepted tasks

• Team Manager role:– Assist each member to recognize the

strengths and skills of other members– Help members to understand and use

their individual strengths and skills– Encourage team members to rely on

each other and to help each other

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If team is struggling:• Have team members take turns being the leader for

Instant Challenges• Set themes for snacks/meals and have each member

bring something in the theme. They can eat it when everyone’s contribution fits the theme (all orange food, food from movies, etc.)

• Divide the group into pairs. Tie hands of pairs and have them work to complete a simple instant challenge while combined.

• Hold a simple three-legged race (then try tying three people together, then four, etc.)

• Chair game11

Program expertise• Team members:– Understand the Challenge– Know the Rules of the Road– Know how to find resources to help– Use the clarification process when needed

• Team Manager role:– Understand the Challenge– Know the Rules of the Road– Know how to find resources when the kids ask for

them– Understand and avoid interference

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If team is struggling:• Read the challenge as a group• Read several Instant Challenges; and ask the team to

identify the most important tasks• During IC, stop the team while they are still generating

solutions, and have each team member write down what they think the goals of the challenge is and compare.

• Have team read published clarifications• Encourage the team to submit up to 10 questions to the

clarification system• Look at videos of other team solutions (find copy of the

challenge on the video)• Remind team of their goals

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Process Expertise• Team members:– Learn and apply tools to help them solve the

challenge– Able to define the problem they are solving– Understand the creative problem solving process

• Team Manager role:– Teach CPS skills– Teach idea generation skills– Facilitate teamwork

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If the team is struggling:• Review CPS skills and other idea generating tools• Review team goals• Practice Instant Challenge regularly• Discuss team member work styles and how they work

together for success– Explorers look for new and different ways– Developers improve what already exists– Process oriented members focus on the task– Person oriented members want to maintain harmony– External processors discuss ideas immediately– Internal processors need time to think

• Play games together

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High Communication• Team members:– Listen carefully– Share information and knowledge– Contribute ideas– Are honest and respectful

• Team Manager role:– Teach listening skills– Ensure two-way dialogue– Help team leave judgment out of idea generating– Keep interactions positive and excited

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If the team is struggling:• Practice listening skills• 15 minutes before the end of the meeting, recap

accomplishments and set goals for the next meeting• Require team members to restate the most recent idea

before they add another of their own• Teach the team to use “yes, and” rather than, “yes, but” or

“no”• Play silly games • Start the meeting with a check-in question –

– What did you learn at the last meeting?– What are you most proud of this week?– What does the team need to know about you?

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Respect for People and Ideas• Team members:

– Use respectful language when generating, evaluating, and choosing ideas

– Appreciate the different skills and strengths members bring to the team

– Ensure that conflict is focused on the issue not the person

• Team Manager role:– Expect respectful language and attitudes from all

team members– Identify team member strengths– Remember that conflict is vital to a creative

solution– Interrupt and refocus negative conversations or

attacks

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If team is struggling:• Have members sit side by side. Write the conflict on a piece

of paper and put it in front of them, ensuring that they are focused on the conflict rather than each other. Have them generate potential solutions.

• Share your observations about the strengths the team has• Have team members write down nice things about each

other• Have the team list nothing but crazy, unrelated ideas until

they are laughing and giggling• Have each team member observe the other members

doing an IC. Then have the member list the strengths and good ideas he/she observed

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Tips• Performance Instant Challenges are team

building exercises – start with them• Have fun/be silly together at most

meetings – including you!• Interrupt conflict filled moments with a

tag game or run around the block• Enjoy the kids – a good relationship with

you helps build healthy team relationships20

• ConflictConflict: A condition that exists anytime two or more people disagree.

• Conflict is a natural phenomenon, neither inherently good or bad, but there may be positive or negative outcomes.

• Managing conflict in a dysfunctional way is a learned behavior and can be changed.

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• How do/did we learn our own styles of conflict management?

• Role Models?– Family role models– Celebrity role models– Teachers/mentors/coaches– Media examples/role models

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Conflict is important and unavoidable

• Conflict on a team leads to better solutions– Different opinions is the benefit of having a team

• Conflict on a team leads to better definition of team roles• Conflict on a team helps to move teams to better

performance– Conflict is about passion– Conflict arises from the clash of perceptions, goals, or values in an

arena where people care about the outcome

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Different Types of Conflict

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Constructive conflicts exists when…• People change and grow personally from the conflict• The conflict results in a solution to a problem• It increase involvement of everyone affected by the

conflict• It builds cohesiveness among the members of the team

Destructive conflicts exists when…• No decision is reached and problem still exists• It diverts energy away from more value-add activities• It destroys the morale of the team members• It polarizes or divides the team

Different Types of Conflict

Individual is in conflict with a person outside the team or just having a bad day.

Individual conflict with one other team member - One team member is in conflict with another

Individual conflict with the entire team - One team member is experiencing conflict with the entire team

Conflict between several team members

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Beginning steps to address Conflict

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•SET TEAM RULES/EXPECTATIONS•COMMUNICATION IS KEY!-Have each child explain their point of view•Remind team that when they are brainstorming there is no criticizing other people’s ideas•Encourage everyone to listen to other points of view•During the process keep highlighting points of agreement.•Determine criteria for moving forward•Don’t use terms of winning and losing•Refer to team’s rules, especially don’t bring anything into DI that is not DI

• Set the room/space– Free the room of distractions– Remind everyone of team rules– Have a place that is a focal point such as a white

board or a piece of paper on a table– Sit in a semi-circle or side by side– Have something/someone to take notes– COMMUNICATE

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Everyone must agree not to make the situation worse … so

NO:put downsrevealing of secretsscreaming or shoutingfighting, kicking, pushing!

Each person must be determined to work together with the others.

This means:Taking turnsSpeaking quietly, but firmlyActive listeningTalking about how you feel, without

blaming anyone.

Now find a solution by brainstorming together.

Think of as many ideas as possible!

Additional ideas to address conflict

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•Depersonalize conflict•Remind teams that there are many decisions to be made over the course of the year•After a brainstorming session, take a break•Have team members that aren’t involved in the conflict explain advantages and disadvantages of the idea in conflict•Talk…talk…talk…

Steps to Resolve Conflict

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•To come to resolution•Define the problem•Brainstorm•Evaluate and Agree to steps to moving forward•Give first solution a try and then review•Find something in the solution that team members agree about OR/and THEN•Try changing the activity to a team building or physical exercise activity to give tempers a chance to cool and group time to reform before trying again