Maynard Leigh Associates
 Ace Teams Tips

Growth and Discovery

• Assessment

• Feedback

• Keeping fresh

• Fighting routine

• Opposition and challenge

Making It Happen

• Assessment: To help a team assess how it is currently working, an interesting and enjoyable way is to ask the members to use symbols or metaphors to describe how they see the team's present functioning. You could even use objects around the room or images.

• Schedule to repeat the ACE Team profile in three months time

• Feedback: Invite one of your major internal or external customers to a team meeting to discuss how this person views the team's performance

• Keeping fresh: Conduct a 'start-up' exercise - imagining you were starting the whole enterprise from scratch. How would you organise things? How would it look different to the current situation? What could you take from this fantasy and apply it to the way things are now?

• Fighting routine: Change the environment - Turn the desks the other way round; Swap places; Have a rota of different people to liven up each day; Play music; Change work-times; work all through the night once a week, then have a day off; have an email-free Friday; spend a day in silence (as much as possible); cut all phone calls to under a minute. etc.

• Opposition and challenge: Make a list of all the team's audiences and critics. All the people who might be able to review the team's work. How is the team encouraging these potential critics to contribute?

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