This question came from a Larry M., a Market VP of a Global Transportation Operation (GTO) for a US based multinational. He was referred to the WSA website by a colleague when they were discussing teambuilding with a new team. (This is the second month in a row the Question of the Month has been about teams. Is there something in the air?)
Question
I was recently appointed VP of a new Global Transportation Operation division, which is the result of the merging of 7 separate entities - 3 independent companies and 4 highly independent divisions of other companies that we purchased.
I am meeting with the all of the senior leaders for the first time in London next month I wanted to get some ideas from you on team building activities I could use at the meeting.
WSA Answer
The meeting agenda you shared with us was heavily skewed towards information sharing which you hope will help the group:
- Look at possible areas for collaboration
- Help people understand the breadth and depth of the new entity
- Get to know other members of the team
- Lay the foundation for teamwork among the members
We understand and applaud the intentions and offer the following 4 suggestions to help you achieve the intended outcomes.
1. Beware of "Unconsciousness by PowerPoint!": (This condition is the result of too many overheads, with too much information - and usually accompanied by a proud creator of the presentation who has to read ALL of the words on each overhead!)
Your plan to have each executive make a 30 minute presentation puts you and your team at risk for PowerPoint induced comas. To avoid this condition ask each presenter to adhere to the following guidelines:
- Include Primary accomplishments in the past 3 years for their respective business entity
- Detail 3 Main Strategies for FY11
- Include No more than 12 slides.
2. Increase Participation/Collaboration: As individuals are listening to the executive presentations have each person write down one aspect of the entity presented that they think compliments theirs or another entity in the GTO.
3. Use breakout sessions to focus on team issues: Ask groups to discuss the following questions in their breakout sessions.
- "Describe a team you were on in the past (business, social, sports, etc.) that you think was highly successful. What were some of the characteristics of that team that made it so successful, from your perspective?"
"How can we create some of those characteristics in our organization to accomplish our Plan for FY11?"?"
- "What are some of the barriers to our success? How will we overcome them as a team?"
- "How will we resolve conflict within the team when it occurs?"
4. Resist the temptation to do a SWOT Analysis: At first blush doing a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity and Threat analysis seems like a good idea but here are two reasons not to use this popular exercise at this point.
- People do not have enough information about markets, strategies, success/failures, resources, etc. of the GTO.
- Having breakout sessions address different questions fragments the learning and potential collaboration you want people to develop.
Summary
Rome was not built in a day and teams are not formed in a single off-site. However our suggestions will help lay the foundation for collaboration and teamwork for the new group.