Extraordinary Team Tips

A powerful metaphor isn't just a cute analogy. It becomes a shared mental model—a common language that helps people visualize the work ahead, understand their role, and navigate the inevitable setbacks along the way.  Metaphors are especially helpful when the company culture likes and/or participates in the activity!

What separates the teams that just perform from those that consistently achieve? My friend and colleague Steven Gaffney has been pondering the same thing. The Steven Gaffney Company recently completed a national research study on Consistently High Achieving Teams (CHAT) and joined me on the podcast to unpack the results.

AI isn't magic—but it is a powerful tool to help teams tackle repetitive processes, streamline painful workflows, or add efficiency to tasks that require human intelligence. But just like an Oreo, AI is only as good as the layers you build around it. Let me break it down for you.

While they may sound similar, a strategic plan and a growth plan serve distinct purposes. One sets the overall direction of your company, and the other focuses on how to expand your market presence and revenue. Understanding the difference can help you prioritize your efforts and ensure your business thrives.  The growth plan actually "sits inside" your strategic plan.

The best book clubs strike a balance between structured discussion and free-flowing conversation - which is why having a facilitator (or at least some semblance of a plan) is crucial. So, whether your book club is thriving or teetering on the edge of chaos, here are a few ways to keep the discussion engaging, inclusive, and—most importantly—fun.

In many organizations, the CFO is viewed as the "numbers person"—the one who tracks financial performance, ensures compliance, and keeps an eye on cash flow. But what if I told you that the CFO is actually one of the best people to facilitate strategic conversations and lead cross-functional teams?

Let's explore how you can lean into your strengths, take initiative, and drive team success—all while positioning yourself as a key contributor and future leader.

By systematically evaluating growth strategies against these criteria, your team can identify the most viable, impactful, and sustainable growth strategy for the business. 

Where does technology fit in a strategic plan? The answer depends on a number of factors. Here's what you need to know.

There is a business adage that says, “If you ain't growing, you're dying.” As a facilitator of numerous growth strategy sessions, I have found that it is helpful for the team to vet various strategies before meeting to select THE growth strategy. Why?  Because the most obvious answer is probably not THE answer unless all on the team are on a freight train to rapid growth! Derailing a strategy that the team is committed to and is working well is NOT one that you need to change.  You may want to tweak it to be even more exceptional! Here are the possible growth strategies a team might want to consider.

Here's a quick guide to help you understand the differences and choose the right fit for your team's needs.

Here are some practical, actionable strategies to help team leaders and members foster a sense of belonging and accelerate the journey toward becoming a high-performing team.

An implementation team is chartered to implement a specific plan of action. Here's how to facilitate one to achieve your goal. 

Merry Christmas! Whether you're looking to energize meetings, solve challenges, or unlock your team's full potential, I'm here to help. To help you get in the holiday team spirit, here's my take on 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, for teams! 

Ground rules are like the “rules of the road” for your team. They tell us how we should function, how to handle distractions, and what to do when things get off track. Without them, it's easy for even the best-intentioned teams to lose their way. Think of these rules as your team's “Constitution,” guiding your work and keeping things running smoothly. And just like any great Constitution, it can and should evolve over time.

Here are 13 specific ways to help your team members connect with their purpose and keep their focus on the customer.

The gap between knowing and doing is often the culprit. Smart teams don't falter because of a lack of expertise, resources, or good intentions. They falter because of an inability to transition from strategy to execution. Here's how can you help your team shift from knowing to doing.

Do you ever get a meeting invite that doesn't have an agenda, objectives, deliverable, or anything that tells you what the meeting is about? A client of mine calls that a "Naked Meeting." Here's how to avoid that. 

Project teams are typically commissioned to implement a specific project or plan.  To set your project team up for success, follow these steps to success.

Here is why you should evaluate your strategic plan at LEAST once every year. 

Self-directed teams are formal, permanent organizational structures.  They operate with fewer layers of management.  Due to the nature of the work, team members learn all the tasks that need to be performed. Here is what they specifically do and how you could work toward a self-directed team. 

By providing one or a few of these pre-work tasks, you can ensure that your teammates come to the meeting well-prepared, leading to more focused discussions and quicker, more robust decision-making.

The success of your team meeting is directly proportional to the amount of planning you have invested in that meeting.  You can't just show up and expect magic to happen without a little bit of forethought. To plan for a successful team meeting, follow these eleven steps.

Your team has worked hard and now needs management support and/or commitment to implement your recommendations.  Hopefully, you have been keeping the management group informed of your team's progress, so the presentation should not be “new news.”  Nevertheless, take time to prepare for your final presentation.

  One of the major challenges with brainstorming an idea is that people want to immediately evaluate the idea. It's like playing "whack a mole" where creativity gets squashed with every suggestion. I was recently working with a team that loves to play "whack-a-mole". While I stated the traditional brainstorming ground rules, I also added one more to prevent this tendency to evaluate every single idea: "Be curious."  Here's how.

Team members often need "coaching" from the team leader and their teammates. It's a normal phenomenon for people new to a team or to a task that ranges from instructing, guiding, and inspiring them to be truly empowered to accomplish the task. But even with coaching, what if you don't think they are up to the task? When do you let it go? Give up? Recognize that it's NOT WORKING?

Recognizing your team's efforts can significantly boost morale, foster a positive work environment, and enhance productivity. Here are some cost-effective ways to acknowledge and appreciate your team's hard work.

Despite ruling on several divisive issues, the justices have long maintained they are civil and get along well despite the fierce disagreements. Why? Because even the U.S. Supreme Court has ground rules!

As a leader, we want to build and strengthen our team. But what if we are actually dividing our team - and we don't even know it? You may consider using more inclusive language on your team.  

Want to test your team alignment? Try this thought-provoking team activity.

When it comes to teams, curiosity is a powerful quality that inspires connection and conversation.  While some people might think it's a "trait" where some people are simply more curious than others, I think it's a skill you can build...and even cultivate within your team.   Here are strategies to cultivate curiosity in your team, organized for clarity and action.

As you conduct your internal review and environmental scan, consider these key business trends that may affect your strategic plan.

You want to be a valued team player - the MVP of your team? Not just the go-to person for crunch time, but the one who brings out the best in everyone? Well, it's not just about getting your tasks done or being Mr. or Ms. Nice all the time. It's more like being the secret sauce that makes the whole team deliciously successful.

Some people create New Year's resolutions that rarely stick.  Instead, I create an "annual theme" to rally around.  It's a mantra to use throughout the year to continually test whether I am moving in the right direction.  It's the one thing that is most important to you.  It can be a goal, but I typically find one or two words that encapsulate all areas of your life.

There are many ways to influence others — and most team members try to convince others of what they want and then sell the benefits.  If this works, great!  If not, you may want to try these techniques to gain influence.

A client recently asked me, "What do you do when you're facilitating strategic planning and there are people that aren't engaged? They don't believe in the process and think things can just continue the way they've been."   Indeed, facilitating a strategic planning session can be a challenging task, especially when some participants aren't fully engaged and skeptical about the process. However, with a well-thought-out approach, you can overcome this obstacle and ensure that everyone's voices are heard and that the planning session is productive.

One of my fellow Board members has a wonderful saying that resonates with me and most (if not all!) of my clients: "No Agenda; No Attenda!" But what does that really mean?  Does EVERY meeting need to have an agenda?

If you're bringing together multinational teams, there are several measures you can take to ensure teamwork as they come to gather.

High-stakes meeting facilitator Kristin Arnold shares a guest blog on leaving a lasting leadership legacy of kindness from Michael Kerr.

What would you do if you knew that communication with your teammates was going to fail?  After all, you inherently know that there will be a communication mishit, but we just don't know when or where it is going to be!  Whether it is during a face-to-face meeting, a virtual meeting, email, text message or shared document, here are some ideas to improve team communication. To improve team communication as the speaker AND a listener, listen here.

Volunteer organizations usually have a plethora of boards, committees, task forces, and other types of teams to help achieve the organization's mission. Many of these team members are busy professionals, inspired by the organization's good work.  However, when push comes to shove, higher priorities prevail. Follow these tips to keep your boards from being “bored.”

I had an interesting conversation with one of my clients about her people working with teams vs. leading teams.  This might appear to be a subtle nuance at first blush, but let's dig a little further to discern the difference.

High-stakes meeting facilitator Kristin Arnold shares how team leaders can set up their teams for success with "the team launch."

Team goals provide the team with needed focus and direction.  An all-encompassing vision or simple, well-defined goal statements provide the team with a unified sense of what is important.  To set clear team goals try these strategies.

One clue: No agenda, no attenda! Follow these five strategies and you'll see your meetings be much more productive.

High-stakes meeting facilitator Kristin Arnold shares techniques for active listening in order to enhance teamwork.

The next time you go to your team meeting, take a few moments to observe the team functions and roles.  At any particular moment, someone is leading, taking notes, keeping on track and on time, as well as participating in the meeting.  Watch closely who is performing each function.   The team leader may be working very hard at all of these functions — not only leading the meeting, but keeping notes on a yellow legal pad, steering the agenda and the timetable, and answering questions without a whole lot of participation. If that leader is you, well then my friend, you are working too hard!

Of all things about strategic planning, it drives me crazy when the plan has a number of strategic objectives. How many are too many?

High-stakes meeting facilitator Kristin Arnold shares fun and creative tips for how to start a meeting.

All teams need a team leader to focus their efforts, set guidelines, and deliver results.  How you go about selecting your team leader depends largely on the mission, management, organizational culture, and development of your team.

When you watch a high-performing team in action, you realize that they have some habits, rituals, and ceremonies that support the team's work.  Here are some examples that I have seen effective teams establish to create a certain purpose and put them in a different mindset.