Tag: empowered workplaces

Celebrate the Fourth of July by Teambuilding

By Thomas Davis, DNAP, MAE, CRNA

Follow @procrnatom on twitter

Enhancing teamwork is an essential task for leaders who want to empower workers, promote their collaboration, and increase their commitment to the job.  Writing in Forbes Magazine, author Brian Scudamore notes that group activities for the team “builds trust, mitigates conflict, encourages communication and increases collaboration.”  In addition to bringing people together, teambuilding activities break the daily routine and adds pizazz to a special day.   Author Eric Schad agrees that teambuilding is essential and notes that group activities promote socializing, friendly competition, and improves team performance.  Planning and implementing events to challenge cooperative interaction requires time, energy, and resources on your part as the leader and the organization; however, the ROI is worth the effort. 

The fourth of July is a mid-summer celebration that historically draws families to parks to eat hot dogs, sip on soda and watch fireworks.   Similarly, the week leading up to Independence Day is often a festive time in many workplaces and a great opportunity to infuse a little fun and energy into your group with team building activities.   Distancing restrictions are being eased, people are returning to the workplace and insightful leaders are leveraging their position by planning activities to re-unite the workgroup.  Here are some tips for lighting a fuse that will unite and motivate your team.

Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds. 

~Seal Team

Virtual teambuilding

Americans are creative people and have found a way to continue to function within the parameters generated by the social distancing rules.  The traditional company July Fourth picnic is likely taboo but that does not need to shut down the opportunity for group events.  The internet offers a great platform for virtual events that are fun an interesting.   Look over these activities to get started, then use your imagination to invent more.  

Games People Play

Who-is-it competition   Ask each person on the team to write something about themselves that others would not suspect.  Post several each day leading up to the 4th of July and have team members guess who it is.   A variation of the game is to name the person and post 3 “facts” of which only one is true.  Have the team consider the person and select the true statement.

Riddles   The internet is “riddled” with them and some are quite complex.  Find one, post it then challenge your team to solve the riddle together, as one.  Slack and WhatsApp are two popular platforms that are user friendly for team chats that allow the group to work together to reach the solution.

Online games   Chess, checkers, Yahtzee, and many other traditional games are online.  In addition, Parade Magazine lists 25 online games to be enjoyed while social distancing.  Set up a tournament and let team members go head to head until one champion is left standing.

Quizbreaker   This is an online app that each team member can join.  A question is posed to the group and each team member replies.  This is a favorite for remote workers who want to remain connected with one another.

Build a story   Start a story line and then challenge team members to add to the tale, one person at a time, until the last individual brings the story to a surprise ending.   A group “reply all” email or one of the chat platforms listed above will facilitate this activity.

Picture contest   Create categories and have people submit pictures.  A variation is to have each person submit a picture of something in their home and have others guess who posted the pic.

Online happy hour   With or without alcohol, gather on a zoom or skype platform to share music, stories, and a glass of whatever floats. A variation would be to have a bartender’s happy hour where each person shows the group how to mix their favorite drink.  Danger:  Active participants may not remember the last few recipes that were shared.

Getting good people is the easy part.  Getting them to play together is the hard part

 ~Casey Stengel

Workplace teambuilding

Those of us who remained on the job over the last historic months have learned very quickly how to work around others while preventing the spread of the deadly disease.   Even though masks are being worn and social distancing is enforced, most workplaces continue to have common areas where workers gather in small groups, take breaks and share stories.  On the day before the holiday break, bring in extra people to help cover the workload and offer an extended lunch break for each worker.  Allow the team to filter through the break area in small groups and have activities set up for them to enjoy. 

Hot dogs and ice cream   Hey, it is the 4th of July and some traditions must be maintained.  Give the workers a free lunch while they mingle among the activities.

Puzzles.  Start a jigsaw puzzle on a table and encourage everybody to add a piece to the puzzle as they filter through the room.

Bean bag toss.   This game comes in all sizes from tabletop to targets large enough for the park.  Assess your space and start tossing.

Guessing games.  Fill a jar with gourmet coffee beans or red, white, and blue Jelly Bellies and have each person write down their guess with the jar going to the closest guess.

Basketball hoop.  OK, you are inside but a mini hoop with a nerf basketball is an open invitation for a free throw contest.  Watch the hot shot secretary shame the high school letterman.

Foosball table.   Space permitting, set up foosball for those who want to expend a little energy on head to head competition with a colleague.

Giveaways.   Make it a day to remember by sending each person off with a gift.  A R,W,& B facemask with your company logo demonstrates your commitment to safety and advertises your company to the local community.

Outdoor activities

With July 4th falling on a Saturday and most state and city parks open again, plan a long social distance walk in the city park, a hike on the trails in a wonderfully wooded State Park or a group bike ride.  Designate a central location where a variety of activities can begin and end, then coordinate a time for everybody to return for BYO recovery treats.  Breaking into small groups and using multiple routes respects social distancing requirements while providing healthy outdoor activity.

It’s time to emerge from the COVID cave

The best and most productive workplaces know the value of teambuilding and actively seek mentally challenging and physically stimulating ways to bring the group together.  Reuniting teams after the COVID separation is essential and the fourth of July is a holiday that naturally draws people together for active relaxation.    Give your team a red, white, and blue experience to remember, and one that will unite them, augment relationships, and improve productivity.

Tom is an experienced leader, author, and requested speaker.  Click here for a video introduction to Tom’s talk topics.

Meeting Expectations

Meeting Expectations

 

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on twitter

“Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.”

~W. Edward Deming

The face of the American workplace is changing as baby boomers exchange steel toed boots for sandals and millennials lace their shoes to enter the race.  Whether seeking a lifetime of work on the assembly line or in a windowless OR,  younger workers are seeking employment in an environment where they feel valued, are fully engaged, and where they can showcase their talent.  Far from being lazy, they want to give full effort and prefer to do it where they are equally challenged and stimulated, a requisite that benefits both the employee and the organization.  Writing in Chron, author Judy Brunot notes that fully engaged workers are 20% more productive and 90% more likely to stay with the organization.

Preferred workplaces are created to attract and keep the most talented workers.  An insightful leader knows the benefit of having motivated workers and takes well-planned steps toward the goal of building a workplace of choice.  Nationally known for their ability to assess employee engagement, the Gallup organization has identified knowing what is expected at work as a key element in a preferred workplace.  Having, knowing and enforcing expectations sets boundaries that provide structure to employees while creating stability for the organization.

Leadership matters and those in leadership positions who are committed to build a preferred workplace must take advantage of every opportunity to set and communicate desired outcomes with their team.  Here are three situations where the stage is set for you to describe your goals and clarify the requirements of the job.

 

Recruiting/hiring   Those in the construction industry know the raw material that you use must be appropriate for structure the that is being built.   Building your preferred workplace is like building an office building; you need a blueprint, the right material and the right people to put it together.  Recruiting/hiring is your chance to get the right material for your team.  In your recruiting ad, use the job description to define the workplace that you are building and state it as an obligation that the applicant will support your effort.  At the interview, discuss your goals for the team as well as the organization’s mission, vision and values.   Ask the applicant to describe his/her ideal workplace to determine if the applicant is a fit for your workplace of the future.

 

Onboarding/orientation    Design a plan for bringing a new person into your organization that includes clear communication of the requirements for inclusion on your team.  View yourself as a teaching partner and use a benevolent authoritarian style to plainly establish the work that is to be accomplished and the way team members are expected to work together to achieve goals.  Newly hired people are open and receptive to instructions and strict mentoring during orientation will produce lasting results.  You get one chance to get it right the first time and it is your job to ensure that the new person clearly knows your expectations by the time orientation is completed.

 

Ongoing team interaction.   Existing members of your team need and deserve to know the what and the why if the standards for the team have changed.  Workers who have been on the team for many years, or even decades, are working in an environment that didn’t exist when they were hired.  As the workplace and the nature of the job evolves, so do desired outcomes.  Use your team meetings to review mission, vision, values and goals and stimulate your team to discuss the action needed to achieve them.  Active involvement and open discussion allows team members to establish behavior norms which positions people to hold one another accountable.

There are many components of a preferred workplace and skilled leaders are the master craftsmen capable of putting them together.    Establish and communicate expectations, hire the right raw material, and challenge existing team members to help in the building process.  Team engagement and productivity will ascend and exceed expectations.

Special thanks to my wife and editor, Liz Sanner Davis.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist. 

Build a preferred workplace.  Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar.  Click here for information.