Who knew that building a web site and active online community would be the path to qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games?
Craig Harkins, the owner and operator of Fencing.Net, recently learned that he had become one of only 5,600 members of media worldwide to earn a spot in Beijing covering the Olympic Games. The Atlantan will be going to Beijing in 2008 to report on the progress of the US Olympic Fencing Team as their members attempt to improve on the Gold and Bronze medal brought back from the 2004 Athens Games.
“When I was reporting on the Olympics in 2000, I was staying up late, using my Internet connection to view the fencing and relying on past interviews with the Olympians” said Craig Harkins. “After that, my goal was to make it to the next Olympics. When I learned that the USOC had awarded Fencing.Net a media credential for the Beijing Olympics, I did a little dance!”
Fencing.Net has been featured in the most recent publication of the United States Fencing Association and recognizedas a key site on Olympic Fencing by Yahoo!’s Olympic guide as far back as the 2000 Games. The site, found at http://www.fencing.net/ offers a wide range of information about the sport as well as up to date news, training tips, and a thriving community site where fencers can discuss the latest news and share tips and gossip.
“US Fencing is delighted to hear that fencing.net will be making the trip to Beijing. We know that the U.S. market will be provided with real-time news and interviews with the U.S. team and international athletes from across the world.” said Cindy Bent Findlay, Media Coordinator for the United States Fencing Association. “Fencing.net has taken reporting on our sport to a new level and so we look forward to more great coverage from Beijing.”
Since 1995, Fencing.Net has provided resources for beginning fencers as well as experienced fencers looking to improve their level of competitiveness in the sport. Now the company site has extended its services to help people find fencing clubs and camps in their area and to provide the necessary equipment for participation in the sport.
Harkins, who is taking a break from competitive fencing, now runs Fencing.Net as a full-time enterprise, having recently opened an online fencing equipment store at http://shop.fencing.net/.
Craig Harkins
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/how-a-web-site-became-a-ticket-to-the-2008-beijing-olympics-138764.html
Balmullo; Proud to be Included
Balmullo is a small village located in the North Eastern area of Fife, although small, itâs growing quickly and is a tight knit community. It contains several key components such as the village hall, the local shop, the surgery and more noticeable, the quarry, the pub and even itâs own Primary School. The village also has 2 parks, the biggest of which has 2 football pitches used by the pubâs football team on a weekly basis until they unfortunately folded. Yearly, the village plays host to the Balmullo Gala in which two pupils from the school are picked to be the Gala Queen and her Herald. The event is held at the park and includes sporting activities, demonstrations by fire services and small attractions such as the classic coconut stall!
Main features;
On my arrival at Balmullo, the local shop was under the name of âLondisâ, now itâs part of the âSparâ chain. With the village being 10 miles away from the nearest town (there are bus routes including the F1 and F2), the local shop is important to the community of Balmullo. Situated on the main road it also attracts traffic from places such as Cupar. The shop provides the residents with sales of essentials and common items, such as;
Newspapers
Bread
Milk
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Lottery
DVD rental services
The village hall is situated around the newest extension to the village, noticed by itâs green roof! The hall is central in the activities of the village, being used for Sunday services, Scout and Brownie groups and yearly events such as the New Year party where the entire village is involved with the traditional âAuld Lang Syneâ at the end of the night. The hall is kept under the watchful eye of Lynn Murphy, who commented that the hall is âWell usedâ and that the most common comment made to her is the âImpressive sizeâ, this is perhaps one reason why the hall is in such high demand that Lynn now has to work 7 days a week to comply with her position.
The hall was originally suggested in 1995 but the construction wasnât started until the Winter of 1998/99 and continued right up to May 1999. This was made possible by many different contributions; 2 ¼ acres of land were given to the cause by Pat Melville, a local farmer. On top of this, a fund raising team was organised by David and Marjorie Pasley, many parties were involved including Fife Council (1996/97). In 2004 a move was made to extend the building by adding a sector on the end designed for sports, although several grants were applied for they werenât given and Fife Council began to doubt the future of such a move due to the economic viability of the extension. Despite this, Richard Hynd (Hall Treasurer) commented that Fife Council were âInstrumentalâ in the creation of the hall and it wouldâve been impossible otherwise.
The Balmullo Scouts meet in the village hall once a week to get involved in many different activities, from playing sports to learning knots and fire safety for which they are rewarded merit badges. These badges are then sewed onto their uniforms to show their dedication. On a slightly rarer occasion, the Scout leaders also organise camps, this gives the young Scouts a chance to make friends and take part in woodland games and experience the outdoors. I know from my own time in the Balmullo Scout group that these camps are great fun until you have to go hiking!
The village Primary School is located at the centre of the village, headed up by Sarah Else. The school grounds are filled with playground games painted on the ground, flowers and picnic benches. Although the school is small, it has a young thriving football team.
The school is known for itâs strong eco-attitude!
In close proximity to the village is St.Andrews, âThe Home of Golfâ. With such a famous attraction nearby, the young golfers who live in the Balmullo area have access to amazing opportunities. St.Andrews is also the closest town (10 miles) and allows for a 15 – 20 minute bus journey in order to access shops such as Tesco, Morrisons, Argos, Clintons and Subway. After Primary School, the pupils move onto Ballaxter in Cupar, although many choose instead, to go to Madras College in St.Andrews.
Every Year in Balmullo, the playing fields are set-up for an annual event, the Balmullo Gala Day! This wondrous occasion provides a family day out and allows the locals to partake in sporting competitions, get involved with demonstrations from the fire service, police, army and even a mountain rescue team. Each year, a young girl from the school becomes the Gala queen, with a young boy standing as her Herald. Visitors to the Gala can take turns in stalls such as the; coconut challenge, you must hit the coconuts off the poles with a maximum of 3 balls, donkey rider – you have to stay on the bucking donkey and several food and drink stalls, most popular of which is the ever so healthy burger stall! The Gala has been running for years and would be sorely missed.
As youâve seen, Balmullo is small, but full of life and containing plenty of community activities! So why not drive through on your way to Cupar? Balmullo, proud to be included.
www.morbidskies.com
Liam Hayman
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/balmullo-proud-to-be-included-736326.html
The best team building games are regular sport games like basketball, baseball, and football. If its for kids kickball and dodgeball are the best.
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We've been doing team building activites in the last couple of meetings and we need a few more. We've done the one where you all stand in a circle, grab someone else's hands and then try to untangle yourselves, and the one where everyone stands on one side of a tarp and without stepping off everyone has to end up standing on the other side. Do you have any other ideas? Please give specifics. Thank you.
Other than P&S where would you post this question if you were me?
check this site of some list on team building games
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Chicago, Illinois is the largest city in the state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States. The Chicago metropolitan area has a population of over 9.4 million in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, making it also the third largest metropolitan area in the US. Chicago is located along the shore of Lake Michigan. The city’s monikers include “Chicago land”, the “Windy City”, “Chi-Town”, “Chi-City”, the “Second City” and the “City of the Big Shoulders”.
Chicago is a major center of transportation, industry, culture, medicine and higher education.
A major transportation hub, Chicago is the third largest inter-modal port in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore. Chicago is one of the largest hubs of passenger rail service in the nation with Amtrak providing connections to New York, Seattle, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates an extensive network of buses and a rapid transit system know locally as the “L” (for elevated), which includes services to Midway and O’Hare airports. Chicago stands out among large cities for offering 150 miles of on-street bike lanes, 10,000 bike racks and a state-of-the-art central bicycle commuter station in Millennium Park.
Chicago has ten interstate highways running through the city and suburbs which include I-90 (also known in some segments as The Kennedy Expressway, Chicago Skyway, The Dan Ryan Expressway and The O’Hare Extension), I-57 (Bishop Ford Freeway), I-94 (Kennedy Expressway), I-55 (Stevenson Expressway), I-290 (Eisenhower Expressway), I-294 (Tri-State Tollway), I-80 (Kingery Expressway), I-355 (North-South Tollway), I-190 (The O’Hare Extension) and I-88 (East-West Tollway and Reagan Memorial).
Midway International and O’Hare International Airport service the Chicago area. In 2005, O’Hare was reported as the world’s busiest airport by aircraft movements and second busiest by total passenger traffic. Gary/ Chicago International Airport, located in Gary, Indiana, serves and the third Chicago area airport. Chicago/Rockford International Airport is a regional base for United Parcel Service flights, some passenger flight and occasionally as a relief to O’Hare. Chicago is also the world headquarters for United Airlines, the world’s second-largest airline.
The city has been rated as having the most balanced economy in the US, due to a high level of diversification. Some of the largest employers include over 66 Fortune 500 companies such as The Boeing Company, Sara Lee, Walgreens, Motorola, Caterpillar, Sears, State Farm Insurance, Allstate, Deere, McDonald’s, Aon, Office Max, USG and the Tribune Company. The city hosts four major financial and future exchanges including the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Headquartered in the Chicago area are several medical products and services companies such as Baxter International, Abbott Laboratories and the Healthcare Financial Services division of General Electric.
Chi-Town offers a variety of culture stemming from its deep history to present-day modern arts. The Museum Campus is a 10-acre lakefront park sitting on the southern section of Grant Park and surrounds three of the city’s main museums: the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium. Grant Park also hosts the Art Institute of Chicago, a partner of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The only building surviving the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 is the Museum of Science and Industry. Chicago’s museums also include the Oriental Institute, part of the University of Chicago, the Freedom Museum, Chicago History Museum, DuSable Museum of African-American History, Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, the Peggy Notebeart Nature Museum and The Renaissance Society.
The city has and abundant entertainment and performing arts scene. Chicago’s renowned theater companies include the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the Goodman Theatre Company and the Victory Gardens Theater. Other theatres such as the Strawdog Theatre Company, The House Theatre of Chicago, TimeLine Theatre Company and Remy Bumppo Theatre Company offer an array of plays and musicals.
Broadway musicals are held at venues including LaSalle Bank Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Ford Oriental Theatre and the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Broadway in Chicago was created in July 2000 and brings touring productions to the Chicago area. A few of the productions brought by “Broadway in Chicago” are: Blue Man Group, Wicked, Rent, Stomp, The Color Purple, Hairspray, Chicago, Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia!, the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Cats, The Producers and Jesus Christ Superstar. Chicago is also home to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Joffrey Ballet, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Opera Theater, the Chicago Chamber Musicians and more.
Known for its skyscrapers, Chicago boasts the world’s tallest skyline. Notably historic high-rise buildings grace the Chicago skyline such as the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Merchandise Mart, once the first on the list of the largest buildings in the world and still listed sixth. The tallest building in the United States, the Sears Tower is located in Chicago. The Aon Center and the John Hancock Center are also notable skyscrapers that give Chicago a distinct city skyline. Future building skyscrapers include Waterview Tower, Chicago Spire and Trump International Hotel and Tower. The 60602 zip code was named by Forbes as the hottest zip code in the country with many upscale buildings such as The Heritage at Millennium Park, The Legacy and Momo.
Chicago has a number of architectural gems in its historical church buildings. The Chicago Temple/First United Methodist Church boasts a 22-story skyscraper surmounted by a steeple 568 feet above street level, making it the tallest church in the world. Three basilicas: Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of All Saints and St. Hyacinth proudly stand in Chicago’s city limits. St. Josaphat’s, St. Adalbert’s, Mary of the Angels, Church of the Epiphany, St. Gabriel Church, Metropolitan Community Church, St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, St. Clement Church, St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Church and St. Simeon Mirotovici are other pristine and cherished church buildings in Chicago. Chicago was named the best sports city in the Unites States by The Sporting News in 2006.
The city is one of three U.S. cities to host two Major League Baseball teams; the Chicago Cubs (known to fans as “The Cubbies”) play in Wrigley Field and the Chicago White Sox play in the US Cellular Field. The Chicago Bears, Chicago’s NFL team, play at Soldier Field and the Chicago Rush, the city’s Arena Football League team, play at the Allstate Arena. One of the world’s most recognized basketball teams, the Chicago Bulls play at the United Center. The Bulls won six NBA titles in the 1990’s during the reign of Michael Jordan. The United Center also hosts the Chicago Sky, a WNBA team. Chicago has two hockey teams: the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Wolves. The city is also home to the Chicago Fire, a MLS soccer team playing in Toyota Park.
Chicago gives tourists a trip to remember and in 2005 thirty-three million visitors from across the world came to visit The Windy City. Luxury shopping along the Magnificent Mile as well Navy Pier, a 3,000-foot pier is home to restaurants, shops, museums, exhibition halls, auditoriums and a 150-foot-tall Ferris wheel.
Navy Pier offers shopping for apparel, Chicago souvenirs, gifts and collectibles, toys and games and more at stores like All the Time, DC’s Mad Hatter, Earthly Elements, Funky Chameleon, Gold & Silver Art FX, Navy Pier Store, A Silver Lining, The Sports Store, Strictly Sterling, Sun Coolers, Varsity Stop Outfitters, Windy City Leathers, Y-Knot, Air One, Making History, Oh Yes Chicago!, Alamo Flags, Ferris Wheel Photos, Grand Avenue Gourmet, Life’s A Holiday, Jahjah Village, Oiled Up, TransPIERency, Fashion Bazaar, Irish Imports, The Oriental Arts Center, Passage to India, The Russian Place, Sitara, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Magic Masters, Bike Chicago, Faces in Focus Caricatures, Temporary Tattoos and more.
Chicago has shopping malls scattered throughout the city. Stores such as Ann Taylor Loft, The Body Shop, The Bose Store, Eddie Bauer, Emporium Luggage, Femme de Carriere, Glenn Poor Chicago, Gold Leaf Tobacco, Marshalls, Nordstrom, Olily, Lucky Brand, Sephora, and Swatch are sprinkled all through downtown as well as the suburbs.
Chicago is famous for its signature deep dish pizza, Italian beef sandwiches, the Maxwell Street Polish and the Chicago hot dog, which is made of Vienna beef and loaded with mustard, onion, tomato, pickle relish, celery salt, sport peppers and a dill pickle spear; putting ketchup on a Chicago
Kamyar Shah
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/chicago-illinois-226187.html
Our Martial Arts school is putting on a team building camp out at the end of June. We have 15 students scheduled to go, ranging in age from 11-16. We have them for 3 days. We are planning to break them into teams and do tie dyeing t-shirts in their team colors, a scavenger hunt, Human Knot….but we'd like to have a few more team building games and maybe some craft projects for them to do. Any Ideas?
Have them make bottle rockets! I went to camp once and we made bottle rockets, played predator vs prey, played hid and seek in the dark. there was a game where the team leaders made a path from tree to tree with string and we would have out eyes covered and we would have to use the other 4 senses to find our way to the end. Have a water balloon contest. or a 3 legged race.
Have fun! (:
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San Francisco 49ers tickets were once the premier sports tickets in the country. The 49ers’ run in the 1980’s and early 1990’s is nearly unmatched in the history of the NFL. The team featured some of the best and most recognizable players and coaches on the planet, and for years, the team was the gold standard by which every other NFL club was measured.
Since then, however, the team has gone almost literally from the “penthouse” to the “outhouse.” The 49ers finally had years of salary cap issues catch up with them, and they bottomed out completely in recent years. It was hard to imagine, when watching the team over the past couple of seasons, that this was the best team in football for so many years. Below we’ll look at how the rebuilding effort is coming along, and attempt to answer whether the 49ers can realistically expect to return to their perch atop the NFL anytime soon.
New Coach
Mike Nolan is currently in his second season with the 49ers, and his first season was a total washout. Nolan had no talent to work with as the team attempted to right their salary cap situation, and he almost had to play a rookie QB with no playmakers around him. As expected, the team finished with a dismal 4-12 record, and San Francisco 49ers tickets were basically being given away outside the stadium.
However, Nolan did get to work on laying a cultural foundation, and he jettisoned veterans who weren’t buying in to his plan. He took his lumps with his young players as they gained experience, and he instilled a discipline that had been missing in San Francisco for many years. If one wanted to take a close look at how Nolan was doing, he or she needed to dig much deeper than the team’s record.
New Quarterback
Alex Smith came into the league in 2005 as the top pick in the NFL draft. There simply is not any situation in football where a player can come into the league with higher expectations and more pressure, as every QB who is the top overall pick is expected to be a franchise savior. Looking at past results, some of these top picks succeed and others fail.
After the 2005 season was completed, the jury was still way out on Smith. He threw only one touchdown pass against 11 interceptions, but again, he had no talent around him. So far in 2006, Smith has shown marked improvement. He’s got a few more players around him, but it’s hardly an all-star team. Regardless, Smith is having a much better season, is showing much more football-savvy on the field and has led the 49ers to more wins in 2006 after 10 games than they had in all of 2005.
Overall Progress
It appears that the centerpieces are in place with a good coach and a talented young QB. Those are usually the most difficult pieces to find when building a team, so now that the 49ers are getting cap-healthy, it’s time to start adding complimentary pieces that will push the team over the top.
Overall, the 49ers are headed in the right direction. It’s going to take a few more seasons with good drafts and wise free agent additions, but if the team can keep their momentum, San Francisco 49ers tickets will be “the” sports tickets to get once again.
Jay Nault
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/will-san-francisco-49ers-tickets-be-cherished-again-84327.html
Well, boys and girls, it comes down to this. Two men enter, one man leaves. The Holy Grail of Gambling is just eight short quarters away and I truly believe that we have the two best teams in each conference matched up to decide who gets to plunge into the two-week gauntlet of Sex, Money, and Depravity that lead up to the Super Bowl.
I’m not going to waste your time rehashing the same hackneyed storylines this week. If you don’t know that:
A) Tom Brady is good in the playoffs. Peyton Manning isn’t.
B) Bill Belichick is good in the playoffs. Tony Dungy isn’t.
C) Adam Vinatieri used to kick for the Pats and now kicks for the Colts. He will most likely decide the game.
D) New Orleans was destroyed by a biblical flood and an incompetent government – both federal and local – and the team was displaced as a result. They are what is commonly referred to as a “Feel Good Story”.
E) The Saints love Bush.
F) Sexy Rex Grossman is the most enigmatic player left in the playoffs. The man is either a Football God or the Anti-Christ on any given Sunday.
G) The Bears hit people. Hard.
Then I don’t know what to tell you. Actually, I do. On Sunday, just go to church and pray for world peace and ask God for the two winners. That’s about the only chance you’ll have at not pissing away your bankroll.
Call it a hunch, but if you’re expecting two classic Title Games, I think you’re going to be horribly disappointed. I hate to be the one to break it to you but we’re going to have to endure two blowouts this weekend. Now, I’m not going to tell you who is going to destroy whom (you have to pay for that information!). But I will tell you that my flabby gut is telling me that neither of these games will be decided by less than a touchdown. So if you’re taking the points this weekend you better think your team can win straight up because those three points aren’t going to mean squat come fourth-and-forever in the final quarter of what has been a massacre.
It’s the Conference Championships. Here are my Power Rankings:
1. New England (13-4) – Bill Belichick is 3-0 SU and ATS in AFC Championship games and the Patriots are 5-0 SU in their history. Tom Brady is 10-0 in domes, including a 38-34 win the last time he was in the RCA Dome. Richard Seymour and Ty Warren weren’t healthy, and Rodney Harrison was knocked out on the second play the last time these two teams met. The Patriots allowed a league-low 10 touchdown passes this year. Essentially, they are a team of Godless killing machines.
2. Chicago (14-3) – This Bears defense isn’t what it was in October (they’ve surrendered 300+ total yards in their past seven outings) but man, did they ever come up big in the fourth quarter and overtime against Seattle. In the past 15 years there’ve been three dome teams that have gone outside for the NFC Title game. All three lost by an average of 29 points. The Bears have been practicing outside in the below-freezing temperatures all week. The Saints have practiced indoors. Chicago’s young safeties cannot get beat for big plays. New Orleans had 78 plays of 20+ yards this year, most in the NFL.
3. Indianapolis (13-4) – Hey, I’m not trying to rain on the Colts parade, but I’m still not buying the Defensive Renaissance. Baltimore’s offense is awful, and we’ll see how the Colts game plan against Brady and Co. Cato June will suit up and play this weekend after suffering a concussion last week in Baltimore. He has to play well, as does LB Rob Morris, for the Colts to have a chance. The Colts allowed 6.1 yards per rush on first down and 5.7 overall over their last seven regular season games, but have lowered those number to 4.3 and 3.4, respectively, in the playoffs.
4. New Orleans (11-6) – If Deuce McAllister rushes for over 110 yards the Saints will win. It’s pretty simple. I think Reggie Bush can be neutralized because the Bears linebackers are faster than any that Bush has faced all season. But the Bears only have three healthy DT’s and if New Orleans can pound the ball up the middle they can win. The Saints also have the league’s 10th-ranked special teams units so Devin Hester should be contained. The Saints are 9-4 in their L13 against the NFC and are 8-1-1 ATS against Chicago since 1996.
5. San Diego (14-2) – Just like there came a time to move on and let Drew Brees go to get to Philip Rivers, I think the time has come to let Marty go and bring in someone to light a new fire under the Chargers. Apparently the San Diego brass doesn’t agree. That’s great news for us gamblers in next year’s playoffs though!!
6. Baltimore (13-3) – Do you think the Ravens regret letting Chester Taylor go? That’s the No. 1 thing that this team needs if they want to get back to the playoffs next year: a back with breakaway speed. A wideout with wheels wouldn’t hurt either. Nor would a quarterback.
7. Philadelphia (10-7) -If the Eagles tried to use Westbrook as much in the early part of the season as they did the last seven games he would be hurt by the end of October. They need a bruiser that they can feed in Sept. and Oct. Also, they need some new linebackers to shore up that awful run defense.
8. Kansas City (9-8) - Damon Huard should have been the starting quarterback this year, and should be the starter on opening day next year. They can’t stop building that defense either. Those guys in the secondary aren’t getting any younger.
9. New York Giants (8-9) – Michael Strahan was ordered to pay nearly $15.3 million and hundreds of thousands of dollars to his ex-wife. That means the 14-year veteran will likely be forced to play for two or three more years because he may need the money. Tough times.
10. New York Jets (10-7) - They need help on defense more than on offense, particularly their corners and in the front four. A go-to running back wouldn’t hurt either.
11. Seattle (10-7) – Not sure if you were aware, but on that fateful fourth-and-one call center Chris Spencer snapped the ball on the wrong count. That’s why the timing and execution of the whole play were off. Kind of a microcosm of the Seattle season.
12. Dallas (9-8) – Bill Parcells is more of a problem then Terrell Owens. The guy is just not a top-tier coach anymore.
13. Atlanta - No, I don’t think the Falcons are any good. But I had to get this in here somehow. Ron Mexico got busted at an airport for having a water bottle with an extra compartment in it. In the compartment was weed that he was trying to sneak through security. You can’t make this up. This coming the same week that Marcus Mexico is trying to get a judge to dismiss a $6.35 mil. lawsuit that was brought on by a teenage girl claiming she had a two-year sexual relationship with him. Ha! The Manning Family may be the biggest dorks in the NFL but the Vick Family is definitely the biggest scumbags.
Robert Ferringo
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/nfl-power-rankings-conference-championship-edition-94436.html
Donât get in a fuss over building teams. Building teams–surprisingly enoughâis not based on specific rules, fancy team builder activities and/or games. Many business administrators or managers who have been assigned to build strong teams have learned this principle first hand. However, many of these same business administrators or managers are still looking for building teams instructions that will help them lead an authentic team.
What is an authentic team? I guess it could have any number of descriptions but I like to think of an authentic team as a team that:
1) really makes your business better (i.e. increase your R.O.I.)
2) really challenges each member in a variety of positive ways, and
3) really enjoys each otherâs companyâeven outside of work
Is it possible?! Can this dream of building teams that win more than a corporate fairy tale that is vaguely promoted by the executive management?
Building Teams that are Successful Can Really Happen!
Take it from me my friends–an incredible team is a possibility but it doesnât start with rules, activities and games. Why? Because rules, activities and games answer only one question:
How?
How what? Building Teams doesnât start with HOW!
âHow what?â you might ask and that is exactly the point. Too many corporate executives and team building organizations are working towards building teams by answering the HOW questions instead of educating their teams on the answers that can be supplied with the deeper more base-pyramidal questions of WHY and WHAT.
Whether you are the leader of an organization or a skilled and careful follower, wouldnât you—in the midst of rope courses, dialogue role plays and confessional sessions—love to know WHY you are going through these circus-like endeavors? Wouldnât you also like to know WHAT principles your training is based onâespecially for your specific team? After all, it is probably safe to say that most intelligent employees would be far more motivated to jump over ropes and crawl through tunnels–literally or metaphorically–if they had a motivational understanding that extended past the bossâs immediate approval and their next pay check.
Wouldnât you agree?
Letâs Start with WHY: Building Teams Starts with Attitude and Belief
Answering the question WHY is basically deciphering your own attitude or beliefs about WHY you want to build a team. For instance, when asking yourself WHY you want to work on building an effective team, you might say something like, âBecause I believe, and want to express the attitude that an authentic tight-knit, friendly, well-trained, respectful and understanding team will naturally produce the byproducts of an effective business, a fun place to work, a more intellectually stimulating environment and employees who actually believe that what they are doing is truly worthwhile.â
So, what you believe will provide you with the answer to WHY and will motivate you to move forward. However, you still have to convince your team to believeâor at least act on substantially similar beliefs.
Building Teams with Your Team Members: Donât Leave Them Behind
âOkay,â you might ponder, âWouldnât it seem obvious that everyone would believe that happier employees who worked smarter and more respectfully would naturally create a better business?â The answer is yes. Many people probably do believe what you believe, but think about how people act. How many people actually act on those beliefs? Standards today do not demand that they act on their beliefs, so many of them donât, which leaves you in the position of selling them core beliefs or beliefs that they feel they are free to act on, expected to act on, and almost âhave toâ act on based on their own consciences. In other words, the first step of building teams is asking yourself WHY and then selling your core beliefs (and respective attitudes) to your team members without being pushy or compromising the use of coercion techniques which as many intelligent executives, administrators and managers know are not even worth the time it takes to conceive them.
At any rate it may seem tough, but building teams that are authentic can truly happen.
Want to learn more about the WHYS and the WHATS of building teams that are authentic? Take a look at Part II of âBuilding Teams: The WHYS, the WHATS, and then the HOWS of Authentic Teamwork.â (If you canât find it, then simply âGoogleâ the title of the article along with the author name).
Marci Crane
http://www.articlesbase.com/team-building-articles/building-teams-the-whys-the-whats-and-then-the-hows-of-authentic-teamworkpart-i-121413.html
In Part I of âBuilding Teams: The WHYS, the WHATS, and then the HOWS of Authentic Teamwork,â we discussed why team building games and activities only answer the question HOW instead of building the foundation of an authentic team by first asking the WHYS and the WHATS.
In the second half of this article, you can dig a little bit deeper and learn more about the WHYS and the WHATS of building teams that are truly effective.
Selling Your Core Beliefs: Building Teams with Patient Persuasion
So, how do you sell your beliefs to others? I have to admit that selling beliefs to others is like trying to sell sand to a buzzard. Wouldnât it just be easier to offer everybody a free lunch and a mandatory invitation and hope they come?
Cheer up! Actually, changing peopleâs core beliefs so that they want to help build your team doesnât have to be tough. It might take longer than insisting that employees become a better team but it will sure produce better results.
So, start building teams through your beliefs, but remember that true persuasion only happens with patience and kindness, which by no means requires that it has to be boring! Take a look at the following persuasion strategies:
1) Building Teams: Kind Persuasion with Humor
Using humor. This is a great strategy and also a very honest one when used effectively. With humor you can change the world without expending quite as much effort as it might take to persuade withâoh, letâs say an atomic weapon.
I found an interesting segment online1 about humor. The author (unknown) spoke of a video that he or she had seen which was made to present certain sensitive issues but which had chosen the medium of humor to expound upon those issues. The author noticed the effective nature of humor in persuading (or at least opening the minds of) the watches themselves. The author says that with humor:
⢠âYou are more likely to pay attention.â
⢠âYou are less likely to argue back.â
⢠âYou will tend to like the persuader, giving them more power to influence you.â
⢠âYou will feel happier, which opens your mind to new ideas and behaviors.â
Humor, is a great method of persuasion because it can truly open minds to look through new doors of thought. With humor, building teams is a pleasant process.
2) Building Teams: Kind Persuasion with a Look at Yourself
Another strategy that will help you persuade others to believe in your core beliefs is to be persuadable yourself. Yes. Your core beliefs may actually change (even in regards to something as relatively simple as your business) which is okay because a team is still being created regardless of whether your employeeâs beliefs are changing or yours are. As long as two or more peopleâs beliefs and attitudes are coming into alignment, then there is a team that is being created.
Test your own beliefs by asking your team members why they think they would or would not need team building training. You might find that your own core beliefs will change and make room for a better team.
Once again, building teams that are effective really doesnât have to be an unpleasant series of tasks. Make it fun!
Building Teams: Continue by Asking the WHATS
To answer the question WHAT you simply need to decide what the principles are that you want to base your team building activities on. If you want to first work on building a team that focuses on honesty and respect, then focus on rules, activities and games that are devoted to teaching or demonstrating those principles. You can also choose to continue training with additional principles such as courtesy, sincerity, fun, charisma, happiness, communication, intelligence, etc. When building teams, it is important to base your processes on the WHATS or in other words the principles that you think you business should be built on.
Isnât that more fulfilling than jumping over ropes?
1 http://credibility.stanford.edu/captology/notebook/archives.new/2004/04/
Marci Crane
http://www.articlesbase.com/team-building-articles/building-teams-the-whys-the-whats-and-then-the-hows-of-authentic-teamworkpart-ii-121414.html