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Are you Card sharp?

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

 

So, what are the challenges that managers face in developing their teams and what can be done to support them?  I interviewed a number of managers recently and the key challenges that they highlighted were:

 

Time.  The pressure is on for results and team meetings were limited and agendas crammed with ‘business’ items.  No time was put aside within these meetings for development.

 

Money.  Cash is tight.  The recession has caused training budgets to be slashed.  Bringing in external team development specialists or taking the team away for outdoor team development sessions won’t happen in the near future, simply because the money isn’t there at present.

 

Training.  As regards team skills such as leadership, coaching and facilitation, there are few training courses being run internally and, although there are internal company resources such as books and videos, little attention is being paid to them due to challenge number one – lack of time.  There are many external courses, but again time and money are limited.

 

So what is the solution to these challenges?  I got my thinking cap on, and put down some key principles that would have to be adhered to for a suitable solution to be created.  These principles were:

 

Ø  The solution must be affordable and be a ‘no-brainer’ as regards cost

Ø  Any intervention must be able to work within limited time restrictions and be used within a regular business meeting

Ø  It should be easy to use and not reliant on external ‘experts’

Ø  Every member of the team must be involved and able to contribute

Ø  An action plan to move the team forward must be produced

Ø  It must be a motivational experience – and fun.

 

I came up with a ‘team-cards’ product.  Coaches have used coaching cards for several years now, whereby a coach will use a set of cards to get individuals talking about their situations and feelings.  Typically, the individual being coached would pick a card, analyse the question, statement or picture and then relate their feelings, thoughts and comments.  The cards are a catalyst to enable the individual to talk freely.  I asked myself why we couldn’t use a card product for teams.

 

So, I produced two sets of what I call ‘team-cards’.  There is an ‘Original’ set, composed of 52 questions about teams, which is aimed at new teams.  And there is a ‘Provocateur’ set, composed of 52 fairly provocative statements, for use by established teams that are more open to expressing their feelings and receiving constructive feedback.

 

The rules are simple:

 

Ø  There must be a facilitator, a timekeeper and an action-taker

Ø  The individuals within the team must agree to be as open, honest and constructive as they can

Ø  Time must be put aside within the meeting to enable the cards to be used effectively

Ø  The facilitator shuffles the cards and asks a team member to choose a card, and the facilitator will then encourage discussion and debate around the question or statement, while the action-taker records any actions.

 

This process continues until each member of the team has picked a card.  The end result will be that the team members will feel motivated because they have all contributed and had the chance to air their views, and a team action or development plan will have been constructed.

 

Time for the cards can be found in regular business meetings – and there’s not a ‘rope course’, table football or expensive team consultant like me in sight.

 

 

 

Contributor: Allan Mackintosh is a performance coach, author and speaker.  He is the founder of The Brand New Manager Academy and the Team-Cards concept.  Contact him on 07764 168989 or email allan@allanmackintosh.com

 

Source: Winning Edge September/October 2009