Team Development
For most people the experience of working in an effective, and well led, team is a positive joy. We are social beings, and the experience of joint success by making joint effort, and balancing our cooperation and competition, is a very satisfying one. However, high-functioning teams don’t happen by accident, and it takes a positive effort to create the conditions in which good team-work takes place.
Essential elements are;
- Good leadership (though this doesn’t necessarily rest with one person).
- Clear purpose, and good enough definition of who does what, to what standard.
- Enough mutual respect.
- Good enough communications.
- A good balance of support and challenge for each person and for the team as a whole.
- A willingness and ability to sort out difficulties when they arise whether practical or personal.
Mike’s way of working with teams is to engage with the team in a joint assessment of the issues the 
team is facing, and a joint agreement on the steps needed to bring about a positive change. This is usually done through individual interviews prior to any attempt to run any whole team events. The amount of work needed and the length of time it takes will depend on the issues the team needs to deal with.
Wherever possible, Mike works with a partner. Being a team working with a team adds another dimension that enriches the work and enables deeper learning.