12 Oct

How to build a successful team

How to build successful teams

successful team building and development

Build successful teams in your organisation by following the examples below.

You may have noticed we’ve been quiet for a while. We have been spending some time in Melbourne, Australia – currently the second most liveable city in the world, to find out what makes it so successful.

We have worked with a number of companies so far, all with very different dynamics, yet similar outlooks. In all companies, we asked about their teams and their organisational skills. Here are some summaries of the various answers received*.

From a prestigious organisation with a lot of staff.

‘We are nothing without our team, they are the face of our organisation. There are many different roles, and we understand that some members may be more suited to one role than another – this is why we get to know our team.

We randomly allocate our staff on opening day and observe what is working and what isn’t, after a day or two, we can often choose the best role for the majority of our members. By peak season, we have everybody working in the roles that they do best.

Aside from what I’ve just mentioned, our methods allow our team members to experience more of the organisation. They can then see how their role fits in with others.’

From possibly the most organised company I have had the pleasure of working with.

‘Our organisational skills may be top, but we still have a long way to go. We wouldn’t be able to get there without our team. It is important to us that everybody is able to see the big picture and knows the role they play in achieving it. We divide our in-house team and agency teams up to ensure nobody is left without knowledge and support from an in-house member of staff.’

From a company where procedure and time management is of high importance.

‘People need to work not only where they are comfortable, but also where they work best. For this reason, we thoroughly evaluate the work of our employees during their probationary period and put our all into training during this time. It is important that all of our employees feel valued and respected. We find that the more we invest in them, the more they are willing to invest into us.’

From a company that aims to offer the best service at all times.

‘For us, it is important that not only does everybody understand what needs to be done, but also that everybody is willing and able to pitch in whenever necessary. This is why we have a strict training programme to ensure everybody can support colleagues when needed.’

 

How have these companies built successful teams?

To these successful companies, team work, team building, organisation knowledge and training are of the utmost importance.

  1. Employers respect employees at all levels; whenever possible, they will offer help, advice and further training when needed.
  2. The phrase ‘praise in public, reprimand in private’ also rings true here; employees feel valued, respected and safe in the knowledge that public embarrassment will not occur.
  3. We have not seen any no evidence of workplace bullying or gossip culture, but instead plenty of advice and support available should it occur.
  4. Employers and employees provide and take advantage of continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities. Both parties acknowledge the importance of CPD in the workplace and often also use the time for team building.
  5. Companies strictly adhere to allotted breaks and staff’s start and finish times. An employee whose personal time is respected will be more likely to respect company time in return.

If you find yourself looking for inspiration, why not look to Melbourne and follow some of the examples above? Alternatively, why not leave a comment to tell us how your organisation manages, grows and develops its teams?

*Company names have been omitted for privacy and replies adapted for readability.

31 Aug

Discover MYSTIX – How we help

MYSTIX Original set of 12Discover MYSTIX – How we help you

 

Let’s look at how MYSTIX can work for you.

Discover MYSTIX to see how we can help you, no matter who you are or what you do.

  • Training Provider / Team Building Organisation
  • Networking Event Organiser
  • Activity Leader
  • Teacher

Do you train in-house? or are you an external training organisation?  Whichever you are, if you are not giving a lecture or presentation, you will likely want interaction between attendees.

Picture this – you arrive to deliver your training and find that everybody has gathered in their typical work groups.

Whether you know the groups or not, they do work together and you may feel uncomfortable deliberately splitting them up for various tasks. Having a tool that will randomly and fairly assign groups takes this responsibility from your shoulders.

Do you lie awake wondering who you will be working with the following day? Are they

professional, mature, gossips, a culturally diverse group? What about their personalities? Will they like your style of teaching? Will they take part?

One thing to bear in mind is that at the end of the day, you are all there for a reason. Every attendee is there to learn what you have to teach. How you optimise their experience is up to you.

Click here and Discover MYSTIX to see how we can save you planning time, worry time, and learning time. Together, we will make you look more organised, more efficient and more energised! Watch your positive reviews skyrocket. To buy sets of 12 now, follow this link.

Imagine having an event where delegates can always be one person away from who they really came to meet.

MYSTIX are a great way of optimising time management skills, enabling delegates to make informed decisions. Delegates and organisers are busy people, which is why such events are necessary to begin with. If a delegate is unable to achieve their desired outcome, the event may seem like a waste of their time.

Some people are not great at just joining in with a conversation and introducing themselves. Taking this into account, that one warm introduction from a familiar face from one of their groups could be the key to a successful encounter.

Discover MYSTIX to see an increase in attendance and communication at your events. Email us your requirements and we can discuss what we have available to order.

Do you work with groups of people doing out-of-school/work activities?

Activities that aren’t based on academic/sporting achievements can be difficult to allocate groups for. How do you allocate a certain role to some participants and not others? If it is based on looks, gender, confidence, or some other criteria, you may feel justified in your decision in that moment, but this could trigger a response in your participants.

Perhaps you have just confirmed what they believed all along – e.g. that they are confident/strong/able/weak/shy/incapable – and so they will continue to believe this, no matter what else you try and do to justify/rectify this decision.

Being able to approach a new group and honestly say, “Look, I don’t know you and you don’t know me; we’re going to allocate roles and groups completely randomly” can be a breath of fresh air to participants.

Picture this:

  • The boy always lacking confidence from being chosen last is now team leader because he didn’t have to be the loudest to shout he wanted the job. And he’s actually really good at it.
  • The girl who usually bullys others is now in a group without her usual friends and sees that the others aren’t so bad after all. There is no argument/disruption to get her in this group though, it just happened to be so.
  • The friends who stick to each other like glue can make new friends without feeling like they’re betraying the other.
  • There is always a role that nobody ever wants (to play a monster in a story, to be in goal) and the person allocated just accepts it. They know they haven’t been singled out and chosen for a reason.

Discover MYSTIX to learn more. MYSTIX give you the option of subdividing groups, re-grouping, and ordering group members. For extra-curricular activities, such as sports and community groups, Guiding and Scouting groups, MYSTIX can make group and team activities that bit more organised and exciting. Contact us regarding pre-ordering larger sets, and for more information on how you can potentially differentiate your groups. (There will be blog posts about differentiation at a later date)

To buy sets of 12 now, follow this link.

Schools are the ideal place for MYSTIX. Where else is it so important to show that everybody has something to contribute? that everybody is worthy? that everybody  is equal?

Differentiation is the buzzword at the moment in education and, I must admit, it does have its place. However, every interaction between students need not be scaled by ability, gender, behaviour, friendship group or personality. Children will mix with people of all backgrounds in the adult world, they will encounter people of all abilities in the workplace. It is important for them to prepare for this in the classroom.

Given half the chance, you will be amazed at how your students can and will surprise you.

MYSTIX were first developed in a school after using old-school methods of creating groups, such as:

  • Names in a hat.
  • Random name generator on the whiteboard.
  • Names on the register.
  • Allowing students to pick.
  • Going by their grades.

How are MYSTIX different?

MYSTIX reduce conflict and argument and there is no room for doubt that they are random.

Once in groups, students can be:

  • allocated roles
  • put in order
  • sub-divided or
  • switched into completely different groups.

As in the ‘Activity Leader’ tab, picture this:

  • The boy always lacking confidence from being chosen last is now team leader because he didn’t have to be the loudest to shout he wanted the job. And he’s actually really good at it.
  • The girl who usually bullys others is now in a group without her usual friends and sees that the others aren’t so bad after all. There is no argument/disruption to get her in this group though, it just happened to be so.
  • The friends who stick to each other like glue can make new friends without feeling like they’re betraying the other.
  • There is always a role that nobody ever wants (to play a monster in a story, to be in goal) and the person allocated just accepts it. They know they haven’t been singled out and chosen for a reason.

For more information on our larger sets and how to pre-order, contact us. We can also discuss how you can potentially differentiate your groups. (There will be blog posts about differentiation at a later date). To buy multiple sets of 12 now, follow this link.

For more information email info@mystix.co.uk .

30 Aug

Credits and Acknowledgements

Credits and

Acknowledgements

The Beginnings of MYSTIX

MYSTIX started out as a solo mission. I originally had the idea thanks to my Young Learners English classes in a town called Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain where I used to live. I wanted to make learning more fun and fair, and I also wanted learners to feel empowered when learning a foreign language; MYSTIX can use as much or as little language as possible, so even the youngest learners could get into groups using only the target language.

I later moved on from teaching and attended CPD sessions and more and more networking events. I could see a wider use for MYSTIX, and had a growing amount of interest from businesses.

Help along the way

As the idea grew, so did my support network. I’ve made some amazing friends and contacts throughout this process and wanted to thank them here. Read More