Teambuilding Mentoring Session

In yesterdays post I described a three step mentoring process you can use with your mentee or your team.  Today I want to give you an actual mentoring session you can use.  Share this post with your mentee and simply follow the process.

Click on the Play button below to watch introduction video:

EXPLORE

SITUATION:  You’re leading a team that has been together for nearly a year.  As the leader you’re sensing there isn’t quite the team spirit or performance you anticipated.  People on the team like each other and get along fine but seem to work independently rather than working as a team.  One member says to you, “We need to do some teambuilding to pull us together?”

1. What would you do in this situation to build these individuals into a high performing team?
2. Think back to a high performing team you have been a part of in the past, what were the characteristics that really brought them together?  If you’ve never been apart of a high performing team what kept that team from functioning well?
3. Click on this link to read The Team Building Trap article by Jim Galvin.  This same link includes a brief summary of Jon Katzenback’s 5 Levels of Team Performance.  Where would you place your team on the 5 Levels of Team Performance? Working Group, Pseudo team, Potential Team, Real team, High performance team.   Why?
4. What are 2-3 things you would do to help your team become a high performing team ?

EXPERIENCE

Plan a meeting agenda that will help galvanize your team into a high performance team. Make sure you use the 3 principles from the article as your guide.  Write out the agenda and go over it with your mentor before leading the meeting.

• Principle #1 – Make sure you have a real team  – Write out the purpose of your team.
• Principle #2 – Make sure you have a lofty goal  – Write out the teams lofty goal
• Principle #3 – Focus on the performance challenge – Lead a session with your team mapping out an action plan toward the lofty goal.  Make sure you help identify everyone’s strengths and their role in this process.

Write out additional steps you need to take as the team leader using the principles from the Team Building Trap article.  Next lead the meeting.  Invite your mentor to sit in and watch if possible.

EVALUATE

Meet with your mentor and discuss the following questions:

1. How did your team meeting go?  What went well?  What would you do differently?
2. How did the team members respond?
3. How well did you apply each of the three principles?
   Principle #1 – Make sure you have a real team
   Principle #2 – Make sure you have a lofty goal
   Principle #3 – Focus on the performance challenge.
4. What next steps do you need to take in building a high performance team?