I met a group of forty-six people yesterday, the majority of whom currently lead teams. When I asked the group if there was anyone who believed their team is currently performing as effectively as it could be, no-one raised their hand. I can’t say I was all that surprised as it is difficult to maximise [...]

When it’s a group of people with no common purpose. I know, I know, I never stop talking about ‘clear, common purpose’, but it’s true: if a group of people goes about its work every day and no-one asks themselves how what they are doing contributes to an overall goal, they are not working as a [...]

I have a new niece, just one week old (that’s her on the right). Talking to my sister, brand new mother, has made me think just how much many aspects of our lives resemble Tuckman’s team development process. My sister and her husband have been a happy little team of two for about three years [...]

Today is St. Valentine’s day, and the origins of the feast are much disputed. One version lies in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, where young men would draw from a jar the name of a young woman with whom they would then be partnered for a year. It is said that later the Christian church [...]

People are different; we all know that. So why is it that many of us go out looking for clones of ourselves when recruiting new team members? Steve Portigal quotes the New York Times in his ponderings about how to make different working styles compliment each other rather than creating friction. It’s an interesting question, and one [...]

Somebody asked me the other day what I meant when I said ‘team’ – did I mean the leader’s direct reports, or the whole team? What if the person was responsible for hundreds of people – would that be the team? What if the team meant the whole organisation? He wanted me to put a number [...]

Something occurred to me today: people tend to think about teambuilding and team development activities as stand-alone events that take place periodically through the year and serve to boost morale, reward success or solve a problem. And they do these things.  But why wait?  There’s no need.  You can, and should, be building your team [...]

Human nature means that most people come to work to do a good job.  That means that your team members want to be recognised for the effort and commitment they are putting in. I recently spoke to a team member who was going to a team meeting offsite, and he was not looking forward to [...]

Watching a programme from BBC’s ‘Planet Earth’ series I was fascinated by the teamwork demonstrated by Emperor Penguins during the long Antarctic winter. When the females lay their eggs they transfer them to the male penguins for safeguarding, and make their way to the ocean to hunt for food.  During this period there is no [...]

The Irish economy continues to boom, and it’s an employee’s market.  Jobs are secure and people are not afraid to leave their jobs to go travelling or take a career break of some kind, feeling sure that they will easily find another, perhaps even better, job on their return.  For employees, a great time and [...]