Being Together, Without Being Together

Communication is a key element we teach on our ropes course. Face to face interaction is dwindling as we filter our communication through technology. Team building requires us to put down the cell phones and talk to one another, to think, and share ideas face to face to solve problems. The greatest chance of success in life and on the ropes course is through communication with each other in the here and now. Let us teach your group to build connections with each other that will stay with them throughout their lives.

I found this interesting talk given by Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT. What are your thoughts on her topic "Connected, but Alone" ?

Team Building Should be Every Day, Not Just a Once a Year Event

Most of the groups that come out to our ropes course for team building, we only see once a year. As great as we are of facilitating a team building event, I always encourage our groups to come out for a series of events. Why? Because team building should not be once a year event. You have a group that needs to function as a team every day and that needs constant attention. Coaches, bosses or group leaders need to foster open communication, diffuse conflicts amongst group members and encourage the group to rely on each others strengths to help the group accomplish its goals.

Most clients that leave our course are energized by the end of the day but that energy might fade without re-enforcement. I'd encourage monthly meetings to keep the bond and energy going that was created on the ropes course. Those meeting can be any thing from a catered lunch around a conference table to keep the lines of communication open to coming out to our ropes course quarterly for a few hours just to have fun and ride our zip line canopy tour. At Upward Enterprises we offer SDI evaluations and portable desktop events at your location. Keep your team strong, successful and cohesive with regular team bonding events.

Why Everyone Should Experience the Strength Deployment Inventory

As the leader of team building adventure programs in the Washington DC metro area, UEI is pleased to introduce our latest tool that can be incorporated into your team development programs, Strength Deployment Inventory® (SDI) . The SDI empowers people in their relationships at work getting individuals to understand how and why people react the way they do in different circumstances.

So what is the SDI?
SDI is a program of psychometric tests and a practical methodology for empowering people to improve relationships and manage conflict more effectively. It is based on the theory of Relationship Awareness®, a self-learning model for effectively and accurately understanding and inferring the motive behind the behavior. 

How can SDI create effective teamwork for my organization?
SDI is memorable... It’s a highly visual, easy to understand tool that uses experiential teaching methods to help participants internalize the learning. Results are measurable by using the SDI approach.

SDI illuminates the reason for our actions... It provides a picture of what is important to us — going beyond behavior to reveal our driving motivation. Learn to recognize each individuals strengths and skill and how to harness this power for the betterment of the team.

SDI depersonalizes conflict... It’s a non-threatening way to deal with the interpersonal conflict that is too often avoided. Through SDI your group will gain respect and trust of other team members.

SDI honors our differences... It’s an inventory of the unique way we value different strengths and interpret the actions of others. It encourages the group to be more flexible and creates acceptance of each others ideas.

Interested and want to learn more? Let us know next time you call to book your organizations retreat at UEI. 301-834-6140

-Clive Felgate
SDI Level 1 Certified Facilitator, US11106

Heading into the Winter... Team Building Indoors

Team building can happen anywhere. You don't need come outdoors to our ropes course. Take a look at this cool indoor team building exercise.

Upward Enterprises can run an indoor team building program at your facility or at your conference facility at the Claggett Center. This is a great solution for running programs throughout the winter months and also a great add-on feature to a high/low challenge course.  301-834-6140

Is There an "I" in Team?

A new book came out this July entitled, "There Is an I in Team: What Elite Athletes and Coaches Really Know About High Performance."

Written by Mark de Rond, a Professor at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School, this book explores the opposite of the oft heard saying "there's no I in team" which is defined as individual achievement is not superior to the good/results of the team. In writing his book he used social and psychological research he gathered from high performance sports teams and individual athletes to support his hypothesis that you should harness the talent of individuals in creating a productive team.

I agree with his statement that there is an "I" in team, but so as not to be contentious, I will explain my thoughts and interpretation of the assertion. Each team must be able to recognize its strengths and weaknesses, in addition to the perceived weaknesses of the individuals within the team.

Each individual has a pattern of behavior when working with team members, and that pattern can be assessed by the team and its leaders to obtain the best effort from the individual.  This pattern can change depending upon the situation an individual finds themselves in, and in relation to the amount of stress or conflict that may ensue. I like a processing tool called The Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) to analyze individual’s behavior during normal situations, and how they react during conflict.
 
The whole subject is fascinating and somewhat lengthy to explain but if you are interested in finding out more then go to the SDI web page or email me for more information on how SDI can be used help understand your team.

Successful Teams Communicate

I just finished reading an interesting article on successful teams posted on the Harvard Business Review website. It seems logical that high-performing teams have a greater degree of communication amongst team members. But what type of communication produces the best results? Face-to-face time with group members, even for a brief time, is critical for employee performance and moral. With the increase of telecommuting and  remote offices where teams can be spread out this can be difficult to achieve but the benefits of bringing your work group together can be enormous. If you are a manager of  a team, we encourage you to bring your group out to our ropes course in Buckeystown, Maryland. We specialize in breaking down barriers to communication and with the addition of our SDI processing we can help your team realize its potential and reduce conflicts.

New Personal Development and Assessment Tool for 2012

Looking for a training course for your group that improves communications, reduces conflict and builds strong leadership skills?

After nearly 10 years since my first introduction to the Strength Deployment Inventory®, we at Upward Enterprises are excited about about the introduction of this valuable tool for team building processing to our curriculum. SDI is a self assessment tool that provides an understanding of what drives or motivates you and what drives others.

Imagine how much stronger your relationships would be if you really understood what made people tick — both when things were going well and when there was conflict and opposition. SDI is a suite of psychometric tests and a practical methodology for empowering people to improve relationships and manage conflict more effectively. Leadership success depends greatly on getting along with others on one's team.

We intend to utilize this tool with great effect in our team building adventure programs for those who wish to go to the next level of understanding group dynamics. I know there are many analytical processing models, and feel free to make your comments,  but I am sure if you experience this particular model you will agree that the simplicity in the SDI method and the understanding gained along with the self evaluation, outweighs most of its counterparts.