In my previous blog post, I talked about the 4 reasons why team building fails and how it is important to be aware of those common pitfalls so that you can design a program that makes a positive impact on your team.

Team building can have a profound effect on the way teams collaborate, but to achieve that level of success you must incorporate The 4 P's of Strategic Team Building.

The concept of "team building" means different things to different people. Over the past 9 years I have spent a ton of time with hundreds of clients and thousands of people creating successful team building programs. Our shorter programs may span only four to eight hours in duration, and our programs focused on helping teams make a significant shift in how they collaborate may last over 9 months.

Regardless of how long the program is, I have always defined team building in three ways:

1. It is a tool to help accelerate team formation.

I have talked a lot about the importance of alignment in my past newsletters and blog posts and how alignment creates focus, clarity, and accountability. But, the glue that holds alignment together throughout the year is...feedback.

The Dream Manager is a quick read and very inspirational. Get some great ideas on how you can create remarkable results by helping your employees fulfill their dreams. Heck, if it's possible to reduce attrition at a Janitorial Services Company, in can happen in any company.

Check it out for some good ideas.

If retaining talent is not high on your list of concerns in 2010, then it should be.

I have seen way too many executives and hiring managers think that with the down economy and high unemployment rate there’s no need to worry about employee retention. This line of thinking will lead you down a slippery slope, especially as the economy begins to recover.

Understanding team members' preferences, motivations, priorities, and ideosynchracies can make a big difference on whether team members work well together or not.

In almost all of my strategic team building seminars I conduct with senior leaders and executives, I use either the DiSC profile or the MBTI as a tool to help create cohesion.

The purpose is really two-fold.

I just got back from an amazing trip to Cape Cod visiting my parents, brothers, nephews, and nieces. What a great reunion with all of the fun, chaos, and laughs that you would expect from a big family. Frankly, I reluctantly came home, feeling a strong sense of sadness living so far away from my family. But, as a result of the trip, I am now committed to getting home more than two or three times a year.

I can't stop watching the Tour de France! As I mentioned in my previous post, what intrigues me most are the dynamics between the riders that ultimately make or break a team.

Inscape Publishing has taken DiSC to a whole new level with the new Everything DiSC Workplace. Checkout a Sample Profile.
I have consistently seen amazing results when teams embrace this tool. Team members are able to build better relationships and reduce conflict.

We had a great three-day leadership development program last week with a group from UCAR. As part of the program, we integrated our Hi-tech Treasure Hunt. Teams navigated through a course with their GPS device, compass, and map, and completed activities related to creating shared values, planning for the future, and understanding personality styles with DiSC.