Navigating the Stages of Team Development
Understanding how teams evolve is crucial for leaders, managers, and team members alike. One of the most widely recognised models of team development is Bruce Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development, which describes how teams progress from first coming together through to becoming mature and high-performing. Recognising and appreciating these stages—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—can […]
Unlocking your team’s potential: the power of away days
With fast paced demands and hybrid working, the opportunity to step back, reflect, and reconnect as a team is more important than ever. Team away days aren’t just a break from routine: they’re an investment in your team’s culture and collective success. Done right, they’re also really good fun. And I believe fun is […]
Are your team meetings boring?
As a facilitator for team away days, I’ve noticed teams often want help to get the balance right in their team meetings between sharing useful information… and having to listen to colleagues drone on. Or between having a professional, structured agenda… and being plain bored. An effective way to enhance the flow of team […]
Wish you could stop replaying moments that make you feel bad?
We all have memories we’d rather forget – embarrassing situations, arguments, or things we wish we’d done differently. These things tend to replay on a loop inside our heads. Maybe it’s something you said in a meeting, an argument that spiralled out of control or an awkward encounter. While you can’t change what happened, you […]
Hate Networking?
Does the very word ‘networking’ make you cringe and want to curl up and stay in bed? I think mostly the problem lies in the word ‘networking’ itself. It makes meeting people sound strategic, forced and frankly a chore. Whereas actually when we meet people, it’s generally enjoyable and life-enhancing. As well as possibly beneficial […]
Liven up your team meetings
Team meetings are the cornerstone of team dynamics and team relationships so it’s important to make your meetings relevant, meaningful and enjoyable. Even good team meetings can start to feel a little formulaic if you follow a fixed agenda every time, so here’s a few ideas to liven things up. Skill sharing. Make space in […]
What do you want?
Here’s a tip to get your subconscious mind on your side. When you’re thinking about or verbalising your goals, express what you want in positive terms. Often when we’re asked what we want, we can slip into expressing what we don’t want – “I don’t want to feel stressed”, “I don’t want to be in […]
Walking with Grace and Power
Walking and breathing – if we’re able-bodied, we all know how to do that, right? Well, maybe we do but have you ever thought about how you can harness the power of these simple, subconscious actions to empower yourself and improve your performance? It’s a simple and effective tool. John Grinder, co-founder of NLP […]
“How?” Not “Why?”
Asking ‘why’ is often a great approach. It’s a wonderful way to express our curiosity and to deepen our understanding or find a new way of doing things. But, beware the ‘why’ question when it comes to problem-solving. Asking ‘why’ something went wrong or ‘why’ we’re not achieving our goals can be a really […]
Enhancing team collaboration: understanding your“social styles”
Effective communication lies at the heart of every successful team. Understanding the diverse social styles of your colleagues can significantly improve workplace relationships, leading to enhanced collaboration, productivity, and team spirit. The framework I like to use for deciphering people’s communication preferences is Merill & Reid’s “social styles”. In this blog, I’ll explore the […]