Building Great Teams

"The effective implementation of teams can provide a powerful competitive advantage. Organizations worldwide are using
teams as a business strategy to increase quality and customer service, improve productivity, and decrease costs. In addition, these organizations are also reporting improved morale as employees realize opportunities to participate in decision making, learn different job skills, take on new responsibilities, and increase their value to the organization and in the marketplace."
Quoted from Development Dimensions International's (DDI) white paper titled Best Practices of Team-Based Organizations.

Sherpa helps organizations Build Great Teams and realize the increased business performance as described above.
Our work with teams is guided by our Higher Performance Team Model, which describes critical steps individuals and groups
move through as they develop into a high performing team. A high performing team, in our opinion, is one that makes
significant contributions and achieves important business results for the organization. Typically the members on this type
of team:

• Have identified and discussed one another's strengths and weaknesses
• Spend considerable time in face-to-face meetings and working sessions
• Are able to openly share their ideas, opinions, and knowledge
• Acknowledge that conflict is necessary for productive meetings
• Establish ground rules for interactions and for engaging in conflict
• Expect everyone to contribute to discussions so informed decisions can be made
• Do not tolerate "post-meeting, water cooler" sidebars
• Regularly review commitments to ensure team members are aligned
• Explicitly communicate goals and standards of behavior
• Regularly discuss performance versus goals and standards
  (i.e.: hold each other accountable for agreed upon goals and standards)
• Keep the team focused on tangible group goals
• Reward individuals based on team goals and collective success

Read through those characteristics again and think about yourself and your team(s). In what areas is your team doing
well? What areas does your team need to work on? Contact us and let us help you Build Great Teams for your organization.
Or call us at 610-287-2989.

Clients of Sherpa Higher Performance believe their employees are a critical and valuable resource.  Indeed, they are the
key to the organization's success. Consider this: Your employees are directly responsible for the service and/or products
provided to your customers. Happy and engaged customers are necessary to bring in the revenue that sustains and grows
the organization. Revenue growth and increased business value are likely primary goals of your business.

We believe the key component to organizational success is

Proactive Employee Practices that Build Great Teams.

Though the focus of this section is teams and the individuals who comprise them, make no mistake about it: It takes Great
Leaders to Build Great Teams. Learn more about our leadership development consulting and coaching programs or call
us at 610-287-2989.

Defining the Team Individual Competencies Building Relationships Open Communciation Team Competencies Continuous Improvements What: This is the coming together phase (though it does not always occur at the beginning of a team's lifecycle). It is critical for team members to know what binds them together and to understand why the team exists. What is the teams' role and value within the organization? What purpose does the team serve? Individuals will also ponder how he/she fits into the team and what his/her personal value and purpose is this is explored extensively in the next phase. Tools: Team mission, vision, and purpose, Guiding Principles, Ground Rules / Defining Norms, Clearly defined management expectations of the team, Dimensions of Team Assessment What: Developing acute self-awareness is critical to maximizing value and contributions to the team and organization. Through assessment, reflection, and inquiry team members develop a realistic understanding of their current strengths and mental models (the attitudes, perceptions, and assumptions we make and how they influence our thoughts and interactions). This phase of team development also involves gaining an awareness of others' styles and strengths, defining roles and responsibilities, and clarifying expectations. Tools: 360-Degree Feedback, Personal Styles Assessments such as the DiSC Classic or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Leadership Style Assessment, Communication Style Assessment, One-on-One Performance Coaching, Team Coaching, Individual Development Plan (IDP), Experiential activities What: Relationship Building is at the center of our team model. We do not view Relationship Building as a phase of development, but rather as the rope that ties a team together and holds them there.  Research has shown1 that healthy team relationships are characteristic of unusually successful teams. And bad relationships are the most frequent source of the destruction of teams and team effort. Characteristics of "good" relationships: trusting, caring, helpful, open, honest, respectful, constructive, productive, mutual understanding, and self-corrective. Characteristics of "bad" relationships: unreasonable, unfair, selfish, threatening, inflexible, ambiguity, negativity. Creating an collaborative environment of openness and supportiveness, where individuals trust each other, generally like each other and have each other's (as well as the team's) best interests in mind at all times is foundational to high performance. Tools:  Appreciative Inquiry, Conflict-Handling Styles Assessment, Mediation, System for giving and receiving feedback, Inference Ladder and exploring Mental Models, Experiential activities. What: In this step team members investigate the best of what exists in their team's communication and makes a commitment to develop strategies for effective, timely and frequent communication. Tools: Communication Style Assessment, Appreciative Inquiry, Experiential activities What: At this phase, we see increased cohesion and more collaboration. Individuals understand their value and their role(s) within the team. Trust is building, relationships are growing, and differences are appreciated. Team member interactions are balanced between a focus on the tasks at hand and a focus on strengthening relationships, communicating openly, and providing positive and constructive feedback to one another. It is now critical to discuss and identify the teams' strategy around decision-making, problem solving, handling conflicts, performance issues, accountability, coaching and personal development. These are not one-time conversations, but habitual inquiries and discussions, fostering a dynamic and forward-thinking team. Tools: Appreciative Inquiry, Team Effectiveness Inventory, Experiential activities, Survival Simulations focusing on team decision-making, prioritization, and problem-solving, Execution Intelligence, Change models or approaches, Team Coaching, Leadership Development What: A high performing team is one that regularly evaluates internal and external expectations, its performance, its value to the organization, roles, creativity and innovation. Team processes may need continued refinement to ensure they are time-efficient and productive. Individual team members take responsibility for their own on-going development and ever-increasing personal effectiveness. Tools: The periodic "checking out" of team and individual assumptions, Change Management Strategy, Force Field analysis and similar tools for providing a fresh and innovative approach to team/organizational issues; Appreciative Inquiry, Continuous Learning Opportunities, One-on-One Performance Coaching, Team Coaching, Individual Development Plan (IDP) 1 Larson, Carl and LaFasto, Frank, When Teams Work Best, Sage Publications, Inc., 2001.

Sherpa Higher Performance Team Model
Click to download

Team Development Solutions

While, the lion's share of Sherpa's solutions are custom developed for each client, we do offer a few packaged team
development sessions as well. (Our 5-Step Process to Outstanding Customer Experiences ensures that each session
will meet the specific needs of your group.)

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Based on Patrick Lencioni's book by the same title, this session involves assessing your team's performance against the dysfunctions and developing strategies for overcoming them and enhancing your team's performance and results. The
session is highly interactive and uses various activities and team challenges.

DiSC Classic Personal Profile

Help team members interact more effectively and cohesively. Participants will complete the DiSC personal profile, gain
insight about themselves and others by exploring behavioral preferences across four primary dimensions. Session includes hands-on activities for increased understanding and retention, workplace integration exercises to ensure the content is
relevant and impactful, and recommended next steps to help session learnings "stick."

Dimensions of Team

Help individuals work from their strengths by identifying their most natural team role, while giving them added appreciation
for the contributions of others. Participants complete the DiSC Team Dimensions Profile, take part in hands-on activities to
bring workshop concepts to life, to practice new skills, and make personal meaning of the material. Use this session to help identify team roles, build team unity, foster innovation, shorten project cycle time, and reduce conflict.

Time Mastery

Help individuals and teams develop customized strategies for improving productivity and increasing efficiency. If you could
reduce wasted time by just five minutes every hour, productivity would jump 8.3 percent. Efficiency levels would also rise as
staff members began to devote more time to completing critical tasks. Participants in this session complete The Time Mastery Profile assessment tool and evaluate their effectiveness in 12 critical areas.

Adventures in Attitudes

This program is designed to help employees understand that how they perceive and respond to events around them is their choice.  It is key to establishing personal responsibility and accountability in the midst of change. 

Making Decisions that Count

Sherpa's Adventure Simulations provide your team with an opportunity to practice team synergy the belief that decisions
made by groups are better than decisions made by individuals acting alone. Groups bring a greater sum total of knowledge
and information to the discussion of a problem, as well as a greater number of approaches and perspectives. Our simulations
will also help a group surface and clarify the individual assumptions that impact our decision-making processes.

Discovering Diversity

Help employees understand, accept, and capitalize on differences. The Discovering Diversity Profile provides a safe, confidential way for employees to explore complex diversity issues in four key areas. Participants will understand how their viewpoints and behaviors affect others, and will get specific suggestions on how to limit the influence of stereotypes, reduce conflict, and embrace diversity as a source of organizational strength.

Work Expectations

Help employees explore ten fundamental work expectations that affect today's employment relationships. The Work
Expectations Profile helps people identify and communicate their high expectations, take initiative to get them met, and
adjust them when necessary. This advanced learning instrument is effective in a variety of work settings, including working
on a team, transitioning to a new position, experiencing organizational restructuring, creating meaningful performance
reviews, and making the most out of the office routine.

Teambuilding Events

• Timeframe: typically 2-6 hours
• Group size: varies from 8-80 (or more!)
• Location: just about anywhere you need us*
• Customization: Sherpa's 5-Step Process to Outstanding Customer Experiences
  ensures that your team event is custom designed to meet the specific needs of your group.
  Step 1: Needs Assessment
  Step 2: Pre-Session Team Survey
  Step 3: Customized Design
  Step 4: Leadership Coaching Session
  Step 5: Post-session Team Survey

*Note: Preset courses exist at our partner properties, ACE Center, Bear Creek Mountain Resort and Diamond Ridge Conference Center

At Sherpa our experience tells us that oftentimes team's need to let loose and have some fun.  An added benefit is that
during these fun team events, learning happens.  Our powerful team events will provide your group with a unique opportunity
to strengthen relationships, recognize team dynamics and individual strengths, and have fun togethers.

GeoChallenge Adventure Whose Bottom Line is it Anyway? An Amazing Race Jungle Escape Team Treasure Hunts NEW!! GeoChallenge Adventure Teammates work together to find hidden treasures or instructions for challenges with only a pinpoint location and a handheld GPS device. Combining problem solving with outdoor adventure, teams work together to find the hidden caches and complete team challenge activities. This high-tech treasure hunt format provides groups with a unique experience that enables them to explore team dynamics. NEW!! Whose Bottom Line is it Anyway? If you are a fan of the popular television show, "Whose Line Is It Anyway", you know that improvisational comedy is fun, but you may not be aware that the techniques for improvisational performance require the same principles necessary for team or group driven success! NEW!! An Amazing Race An Amazing Race develops your team's collaborative critical thinking skills. By engaging them in a large scale adventure, they are required to collectively solve problems in order to advance their position and finish their race. NEW!! Jungle Escape Stranded in a remote island jungle, your team must build an escape chopper and navigate their way to a suitable launching site in order to ESCAPE! NEW!! Team Treasure Hunts Have you ever looked for clues in a hidden Chinese Temple? Or searched for hidden treasure through a telescope above the seashore? Our treasure hunts emphasize team fun, problem solving, time management, creative word play, and brains over brawn.