Maynard Leigh Associates
 Ace Teams Tips

Creative Energy

• Rocking the boat

• Play and fun

• Sense of humour

• Ups and downs

• Honesty about productivity

Making It Happen

• Rocking the boat: Thinking the unthinkable is always healthy! Having set realistic targets and a strategy for achieving them, try out the following creative exercise: What would need to happen to meet double the target? What would need to happen to meet ten times the target? It may be unrealistic, but in thinking about achieving the impossible, you may gain some useful insights.

• Play and fun: Brainstorm 50 ways of having more fun in the team. Vote on the top 10. Having done that, let each person choose their favourite and make it happen within the next month.

• Sense of humour: Research shows that laughter is healthy (as long as it's not directed at anyone.) Collect and share cartoons and humourous quotations - perhaps displaying them in a 'comic cuts' area.

• Ups and Downs: All teams have their positive and their negative moods. It's all part of the creative process. Try posting up and maintaining a Mood Line, charting how the group is feeling.

• Do something different. Just stop! It's no just digging a deeper hole if you're in the wrong place to start with. Take a break and come back revitalised for a fresh look at the situation.

• Have a 'night of the dark soul' session. All sit around and give yourselves a fixed time limit to say just how bad it is.

• Honesty about productivity: ACE teams are brutally honest about how they are performing, both as a group and as individuals. Try asking at the next team meeting: "how productive are we being at the moment?"

ACE Teams home page | Tips Index | Aligned Leadership | Incisive Organisation | Supportive Relationships | Personal Investment | Permissive Encouragement | Creative Energy | Using The Whole Person | Spirit Of Adventure | Growth And Discovery | Wholehearted Appreciation