Tag: teamwork

The Art of Difficult Conversations

Those of us who are conflict averse hate difficult conversations. It’s no wonder that experts have started calling them “Courageous Conversations.” What makes them hard is: Uncertainty about how others will react Fear of it getting out of control Discomfort about opening a can of worms with no... Read More

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Teamwork Tuckman Style

When I was growing up, gymnastics and skating were my passions. While I loved my sports, I always regretted never playing on a real team–the closest I got was being one of three sisters. Nowadays, I have two young boys who are completely into team sports–baseball, basketball, and soccer ... Read More

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Enable the team spokesperson

When if comes to small group discussions, I’m often quite pleased when someone else offers to present the highlights of our group’s discussion. And yet,  I’m not always comfortable with their summary. Because I’m not looking at their notes, I can’t determine if: 1) the... Read More

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Toxic Waste Exercise

This is a popular one for communication and teamwork.  It’s explained many places online, but I believe the originators were Karl Rohnke and Steve Butler (Quicksilver, 1995).  The gist is that teams must move a bucket of toxic waste (water or ping pong balls) into a “neutralizationR... Read More

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