Remote Team Building

For over a dozen years, the Square Wheels® metaphor has proven itself to boost creativity and innovation, increase organizational effectiveness, improve communications, build teams, and generate a sense of active problem solving and involvement.

The expert facilitation techniques utilized in this exercise (listening, discussion, reframing, summarizing and prioritizing) can be easily transferred to other developmental and coaching opportunities.

Cartoons and images are simple, powerful and effective ways to create lasting impact. They are memorable, encourage creative thinking, and produce rapid individual involvement and understanding. As a metaphor, Square Wheels® has a myriad of applications:

• As an icebreaker, this illustration relates to a range of business and workplace issues, at all levels of an organization. Use it as a vehicle to get a discussion moving, kickoff a training program, energize a staff meeting, or hone in on issues and opportunities.
• As a design thinking, performance improvement tool, Square Wheels can be used to understand issues, define problems, brainstorm and ideate new solutions. The Square Wheels image is a powerful tool that draws out people's thinking on current situations and ideas for moving forward.
• As a team review, to discuss approaches that are working and others that could use improvement

The 40-slide PowerPoint deck includes:

• 20 slides to facilitate your conversation, focusing on Square Wheels, Round Wheels, Pushers and Pullers
• 20 quotations to emphasize topics of leadership, change, brainstorming, teamwork, and communication

PRESENTATION FORMAT: The file is saved as a compressed “zip” file, and you will need a program such as WinZip to extrac the 3 files:

• Square Wheels Reality Presenttion - Microsoft PowerPoint
• Square Wheels Reality Facilitation Notes - Microsoft Word
• Reflections Worksheet - Adobe PDF

This is a downloadable product. After you've placed your order, you will be able to log into your account and download the file.

Square Wheels®- is a registered trademark of Performance Management Company. © Trainers Warehouse. The facilitation guide was developed by Trainers Warehouse, with PMC's permission.

Lost in The Wilderness Online is a short starter activity to get teams working together, solving a problem and making decisions under time pressure. It is a perfect early team exercise to establish how a team works virtually together. It will typically take a team between 30 and 45 minutes of activity to complete.

This activity is supplied digitally, for use in virtual or face-to-face training sessions.

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

Each team receives a Brief. It tells them they are part of a team on a flight over Canadian territory en route to a fishing holiday in a remote location.

Their seaplane is fitted with amphibious floats and when the engine falters it crash lands in the wilderness killing the pilot. The plane points in the direction the pilot was flying and his last words were that they were 20 minutes flying time from the destination (so knowing their speed they can work out how far they are from their goal).

There are 15 items that have survived the plane crash. No food or water but some useful items that might help with survival. Teams do NOT rank these items but can use them in any plan they come up with.

Each team's objective is to plan a way forward. They have limited time - just 20-30 minutes! Should they stay with the plane? Striking off into the wilderness, especially as two of the team are slightly injured, without food and water, compass or map could be dangerous.

Teams must sum up the situation, list the options and decide on a plan. Good leadership and decisiveness required.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

• To discuss an issue under time pressure
• To analyse a problem
• To work together as a team
• The usefulness of brainstorming
• How to prioritise
• The need for decisive leadership
• To express their own ideas forcefully

Trainer's Role

• Explain the general nature of what is going to happen. (Do not go into detail or repeat what is on the Team Brief.)
• Divide your group into teams (of 3-4 delegates per virtual team) and send them to virtual breakout rooms. Give a Team Brief to each team.
• Write down the current time on a shared virtual message board or whiteboard or announce the time. Tell teams they have 20 minutes for the task (you may want to extend this to 25 or 30 minutes).
• Visit the virtual breakout rooms in turn, and observe the teams at work. Note how their discussions progress, how they work as a team, whether they elect a leader or one emerges etc.
• Give teams a one minute warning before you stop the activity. Then stop the activity at the deadline and bring your delegates out of their virtual breakout rooms and back into plenary session. (You may want to give extra time if they are behind schedule. It's up to you.)
• Start the Debrief: ask each team to report back on how they approached the task, what options they considered and their final plans. Allow teams to quiz each other on their decisions.
• Use the Trainer's Notes to raise points for discussion.
• Finally, ask teams what they learned from the session about themselves and their teamwork. What lessons can they take away from the experience? Draw up a set of learning points that can be taken back to the workplace.

• Trainer's Notes (supplied as a PDF)
• Team Brief (supplied as a PDF)

This Northgate training activity is delivered through an online portal and comes with a five-year license for repeat use with up to 24 participants per training session within the license-holding organization.

This is a downloadable product. You will receive emailed instructions on how to download the software. It may take 1-3 days to receive this email, depending on the day of the week that the order is placed.

Murder Mystery Deck v3 has been adapted for Remote use!

Use this popular 30-minute Murder Mystery game to improve communication skills, team building, problem solving, leadership, and more.

Working remotely? Send one or more clues to each participant and challenge them to find the murderer, victim, time & place of the murder, and motive in 15 minutes -- without writing anything down and using only verbal communication.

But, the true learning comes when they discuss the techniques that helped or hindered their process. Facilitation Notes included.

• Use the Murder Mystery to:
• Make discussions more productive
• Enhance problem solving skills
• Discover productive team behaviors
• Increase clarity of communications
• Improve listening and questioning skills
• Aid participation and involvement
• Increase critical thinking skills
• Increase awareness of the contributions of others

This activity can enhance classes like:

• Discussion Skills
• Facilitation Skills
• Train-the-Trainer
• Problem Solving
• Team Work
• Communication Skills
• Collaboration
• Leadership/Supervision
• Interpersonal Skills
• Empowerment Group Dynamics

This is a downloadable product. After you've placed your order, you will be given a link where you can download the compressed .zip file. You will need a program such as WinZip to extract the files for your use.

ZIN OBELISK GAME

This challenging mathematical puzzle is made even more complex, by using made-up words in the fictitious, ancient city of Atlantis, where a solid, rectangular obelisk -called a zin - was built in honor of the goddess Tina. The structure took less than two weeks to complete and the group's task is to determine the day of the week on which the obelisk was completed.

To play, each participant receives 1-5 clues, which can only be shared verbally. Together, teams must figure out the day the Obelisk was completed. Success requires organization, leadership, coordination, listening, problem solving, and processing skills. Most groups require 15-25 minutes to arrive at a solution.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Have clearly defined goals
• Collaborate! Work together
• Share the leadership
• Share knowledge-on complex tasks, one person rarely has all the answers
• Listen to each other
• Clearly articulate ideas
• Manage ambiguity through discussion
• Make sure everyone has a common understanding of terminology

USES FOR Zin Obelisk - Use this mathematical team challenge to:

• Make discussions more productive
• Enhance problem solving skills
• Increase clarity of communications
• Discover productive team behaviors
• Foster participation and involvement
• Improve awareness of others
• Improve listening skills and questioning techniques

Enhance a variety of training and development initiatives:

• Communication and Listening Skills
• Problem-Solving
• Team Building
• Leadership Development
• Cooperation
• EQ & El Skills

TIME: 30-60 mins for Introduction, Gama Play, Debrief, and Closure.

PARTICIPANTS: 5-8 players per team; multiple teams can play against each other.

Working remotely? Email a few clues to each player and try to sort it out over the phone--maybe with a shared online whiteboard! After all clear phone communication is more important now than ever!

** TIPS **

Feel free to adapt the full facilitation notes included as a booklet in the card deck to the needs of your group and your material:

• Display the instructions on an overhead, flip chart, or whiteboard. Or, give a printed copy to each team.
• Keep notes during the exercise so you can refer to them during the debrief.
• If the group did not discuss their process during the activity, share a handout explaining the definitions and differences between Task-Related and Process-Related discussions.
• Record "learning points" on a flip-chart for follow-up and future reference.

This product is delivered electronically

Emergency Delivery Game is an online team exercise focused on producing top quality results due to effective decision-making within tight deadlines. This activity is about 'Delivery at Pace'

FACILITATION IS EASY

The Emergency Delivery Game is completed in small teams of 3 or 4 people (with an optional observer role), each charged with helping the driver of a large vehicle transporter to deliver an extremely important piece of industrial equipment, on time! The delivery has to be made to a specific building in a large industrial complex. A handful of challenges will make this delivery somewhat difficult.

Each person in the team has information that relates to whether the vehicle can use one of the predetermined routes marked on the map provided.

STAGE 1

In Stage 1 of the activity the teams must review detailed, and probably unfamiliar information, in order to determine which two predetermined route options are recommended. Simple sharing of information between all team members won't be sufficient- each person must critically evaluate their own information, and make appropriate decisions on the relevant inputs.

Each team then submits its suggested two options to the facilitator and receives some feedback.

STAGE 2

In Stage 2 of the activity the teams use the feedback and further information provided to recommend the most ‘safe and efficient' route. Their choices include revisiting the original decision, or just choosing between the two previously short-listed options. What will produce the most effective decision?

Each stage must be delivered within tight time constraints of 15 minutes activity per stage.

** NOTE: This is a 12 month subscription for online access to the activity **

LEARNING FOCUS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The activity enables participants to demonstrate a range of skills including:

• Effective Decision Making – choosing an appropriate and agreed team strategy based on a number of options
• Team-Working – the ability to work in small teams, allocating roles and sharing important information as appropriate
• Data Management – assimilating and processing a large volume of data quickly and accurately
• Delivering at Pace – Successfully managing, supporting and stretching self and team to deliver agreed goals and objectives within tight time constraints; planning ahead but reassessing workloads and priorities if situations change

The exercise challenges teams to:

• Establish clear outcomes based on information provided
• Assimilate and process information in order to make effective team decisions
• Delegate responsibilities and quickly build trust in team roles
• Structure & deliver a clear message to colleagues
• Review feedback and make decisions quickly to act on new information received, generating the best possible results within tight deadlines
• Work with unfamiliar technical or specialist language

EMERGENCY DELIVERY GAME FAQs

This task is a two-stage business-based decision-making challenge that initially requires individuals to process information, then contribute to the creation of a workable team strategy within the challenging 15 minute time deadline imposed. The second stage involves using feedback provided to revisit the strategy developed in stage 1, and provide a final response. The feedback will provide the opportunity to revisit some earlier decisions, and if taken, will provide the optimal result. An opportunity exists to appoint an observer role in each group, providing valuable options to consider peer coaching practice, or gather experience in behavioural observation.

The activity will accommodate up to 5 x small groups of 3-4 people (a maximum of 20 participants including observers) and lasts for 50 minutes:

• Stage 1: 20 x minutes (including briefing) of activity to determine two route choices
• Stage 1: Review: 10 x minutes review of Stage 1 route choices
• Stage 2: 15 x minutes of further activity and decision on final route choice
• Stage 2: Review: 5 x minutes review of final route choice

Further licenses can be purchased to work with larger group sizes.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

Access via a secure online experiential learning platform.

One annual user licence with online facilitator guidance, including:

• information on setting up the activity and inviting delegates
• instructions on operating the activity and facilitating learning for the group
• suggestions for reviewing the learning

Online access to each of the 4x individual activity briefs (plus an optional observer role) that are issued to the participants via emailed links (or by individual links shared in direct messaging/chat apps).

Automated selection of appropriate brief distribution, associated with participants emails and/or names, for each user group size of between 3 and 20 per session.

Unlimited use of the activity within the 12 month licence term from the date of purchase, and use of all materials included for learner groups of up to 20 x participants each (the ideal maximum size of learner group).

The ability to add a second trainer to create and deliver sessions.

This is a downloadable product. You will receive emailed instructions on how to download the software. It may take 1-3 days to receive this email, depending on the day of the week that the order is placed.

All Adrift is a short energetic activity to get teams working together, exchanging views and agreeing priorities. The activity is supplied digitally, for use in virtual or face-to-face training sessions.

THE ACTIVITY

Ideal for use as a virtual training activity or virtual training energiser (and also suitable for face-to-face classrooms too), each team member receives a Brief, telling them the scenario: they are crew members on a yacht, on a sailing holiday off the west coast of France.

An emergency arises when a fire starts in the galley and quickly spreads. They quickly inflate and launch a dinghy but much of the yacht is consumed by fire and they are able to grab only 14 items before abandoning ship.

Teams have a list of the 14 items and are asked to select the top ten most useful items for the situation. Once chosen, they must rank the items 1 to 10, with No.1 being the most important.

First, participants must do this on their own to provide an individual ranking. Then, participants are asked to work in their teams to prepare a 'team' ranking. Both individual and team rankings are recorded on a Ranking Form. There is also a Score Chart, so all the rankings can be scored and compared.

How effectively did participants work together as a team? What did they score - individuals and teams? How well did teams perform compared with individuals?

The chart is based on an 'Expert Ranking' provided by the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI). Teams may choose to challenge this ranking but it will need to be a well-founded challenge!

Clear thinking, convincing argument and team rapport are all vital!

An ideal starter or team energizer on any course.

TRAINER'S ROLE

• Briefly introduce the training activity in plenary. Explain the activity has two parts, the first is for individuals to do on their own. The second is for team members to work together on the task.
• Allocate teams (3-4 per team) and put into breakout rooms.
• Send a copy of the Team Brief and a copy of the Ranking Form to each participant. If necessary, participants can draw up their own Ranking Form on paper.
• Tell them they each have 15-20 minutes to complete the task, on their own.
• After the allotted time ask them to now work as teams and repeat the ranking process. Announce teams have 30 minutes.
• Visit the breakout rooms to observe teams at work.
• Stop the activity at the allotted time. Issue the How to Score chart, so that all rankings can be scored.
• Debrief in a plenary session. Ask for volunteers to share their individual scores, then ask the same of teams. Alternatively, ask for a show of hands for each rating band. Explain the scores are based on an RNLI ranking.
• How did teams perform? How did they work as a team? Did a leader or coordinator emerge? How easily did they reach consensus?
• Were the consensus decisions of the team better or worse than the individual scores? What do the outcomes indicate?
• A flipchart/shared whiteboard might be useful - to list key points.

Full guidance is provided in the Trainer's Notes.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• To grasp the essence of a situation
• To think clearly and logically - and use common sense
• To evaluate levels of importance
• To be able to put a point of view convincingly
• To be prepared to compromise

CONTENTS

• Trainer's Notes
• Team Brief
• Ranking Form
• How to Score Chart

This Northgate training activity is delivered through an online portal and comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 24 participants per training session within the license-holding organization.

All Adrift is designed by Northgate Training Activities.

This is a downloadable product. You will receive emailed instructions on how to download the software. It may take 1-3 days to receive this email, depending on the day of the week that the order is placed.

The Expedition Online is a teamwork and planning activity supplied digitally, for use in virtual or face-to-face training sessions.

THE ACTIVITY

Their mission is to travel to a location deep in the desert to collect a vitally important letter (that could mean the difference between life and death). They have a map, a vehicle to travel in and a coded message that will reveal the location - but little else. What data do they need in order to plan the expedition? They must formulate eight carefully constructed questions in order to get that critical information.

Now they can start planning in earnest. They’ll see there are three possible routes – all need investigating. Who does what? Do they demonstrate attention to detail? Are they conscious of time?

They must also choose four people to go on the expedition itself. What attributes are they looking for? They can select members of their own team or candidates whose details are supplied in the Team Brief – or a mixture of both.

Their vehicle is subject to strict weight restrictions, 900 Kg max, so fuel, water, food, first aid, tools etc must be carefully chosen for each stage of the journey. Emergency supplies MUST be carried; other items are optional - but all have weight implications. Teams use Checklists to plan the packing of the vehicle and ascertain total weights. Get it badly wrong – and the expedition fails!

If all safety precautions are adhered to, of the three possible routes, only one is realistic. Will teams realise this or will they take unjustifiable risks to get back to base ahead of their competitors?

TRAINER'S ROLE

1. Briefly introduce the session, divide the group into teams and issues team briefs, a map of the Gozo Desert and a Data Request Form.
2. Teams have 15 minutes to brainstorm eight questions that will give them the data they need to plan the expedition. They note these on the Data Request Form.
3. After 15 minutes collect the Data Request Forms and hold them until the Debrief (for analysis/discussion).
4. Whatever data was requested, issue each team with a Critical Information Sheet. This gives teams all the information they need to plan their expedition.
5. Observe teams in action. Make notes on their teamwork, delegation, leadership, planning skills and time management.
6. After 90 minutes call a halt. After a break issue copies of the Team Review Sheet for teams to work through.
7. Ask each team EITHER to give brief feedback on how they worked together and what their final decision was, OR, if time allows, ask teams to prepare a more substantial presentation.
8. Lead a general debrief on the activity – there are lots of issues. Summarise the key lessons learned. Relate these to the workplace and how improvements might be made in real life.

Full instructions, discussion notes and learning points in the Trainer’s Notes.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• how, as a team, to address the overall planning process
• to ask the right questions early on, to identify key issues
• the importance of accuracy and attention to detail
• basic logistics
• to select the best personnel for the job
• to evaluate different options

CONTENTS

• Trainer’s Guide (supplied as a PDF)
• Team Brief (supplied as a PDF)
• Gozo Desert Map (supplied as a PDF)
• Handout: Critical Information (supplied as a PDF)
• Handout: Team Review Form (supplied as a PDF)
• Checklist (supplied as a PDF)
• Data Request Form (supplied as a PDF)

This Northgate training activity is delivered through an online portal and comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 24 participants per training session within the license-holding organization.

The Expedition is designed by Northgate Training Activities.

This is a downloadable product. You will receive emailed instructions on how to download the software. It may take 1-3 days to receive this email, depending on the day of the week that the order is placed.

Escape From Mars is a collaborative teamwork training activity for virtual meetings to get teams talking, engaging and cooperating.

This training activity comes with a licence for use with up to 24 participants per training session within your organization and the activity files can be stored on one device.

Time Trial is a SHORT, sharp activity to deliver KEY LESSONS on time management supplied digitally, for use in virtual or face-to-face training sessions. In this 60-minute activity participants are faced with a stream of emails and ongoing projects.

THE ACTIVITY

It’s the start of a new week and the general manager at Cavendish is faced with a lot of ‘things to do’. It’s the perfect time to take a few moments to organise the week ahead:

• Plan the diary
• Prioritize the workload
• Decide where/how to best utilise staff
• Arrange meetings where necessary
• Learn to sometimes just say ‘NO’

Teams - or individuals - have two forms: Your Diary and Your Action Record, on which they record their responses.

In addition, the emails reveal some organisational problems and at the end of the activity participants are asked what underlying issues they were able to identify.

A scoring system allows teams' time planning skills to be assessed and scored. Teams then have a benchmark for improving their time management skills and productivity in the workplace.

The activity is straightforward to facilitate - full details are in the Trainer’s Notes.

TRAINER'S ROLE

1. Issue emails to teams (or individuals).

2. Tell teams they have 60 minutes to complete their task.

3. Issue forms: Your Diary and Your Action Record.

4. Observe teams (but do not get involved).

5. After 10 minutes issue the first of six additional emails - and one more every 10 minutes so that the final email is issued just a moment before the 60 minutes is up.

6. At 60 minutes stop the session and move on to the debrief.

7. Debrief the activity by leading a discussion to the whole group. Work through the forms, reveal the ‘right answers’ and allow teams to score their forms. They can then compare their decisions - usually provoking a lively discussion and plenty of disagreement. (Remember, the principles of time planning are the issue - rather than exactly the right response to a particular email).

8. Summarize the key learning points and announce the winning score. (Performance rating indicator supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.)

9. Issue 20 Top Tips handout to take back to the workplace.

Full guidance, discussion points answers are supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.

CONTENTS

• Trainer’s Notes
• Team Brief
• Sets of Emails
• Handout 1: Your Diary
• Handout 2: Your Action Record
• Handout 3: Top Tips
• Specimen Answers for completed Handouts 1&2

This Northgate training activity is delivered through an online portal and comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 24 participants per training session within the license-holding organization.

Time Trial Online is designed by Northgate Training Activities

This is a downloadable product. You will receive emailed instructions on how to download the software. It may take 1-3 days to receive this email, depending on the day of the week that the order is placed.

Create your own icebreaker or conversation game. Choose from 1000+ discussion prompts to get people talking about topics that matter. Use Trainers EXCHANGE to break the ice, dive into deeper subject-specific topics, energize the group mid-day, debrief your game, or close out the day. Play or online!

Use the 1000s of conversation starters for online meetings, webinars, presentations, team meetings and more.

FEATURES

• Pick from over 30 themes -- Getting To Know You, Team Building, Diversity, Ethics, Session Openers, Closers, Personal Growth... (see full list below)
• Choose conversation prompts, famous quotations, meeting closers, jokes, energizers and tons more!
• Select all the prompts from a theme or only a handful
• Search by keyword or category
• Shuffle up to 6 themes
• Favorite your most-liked themes
• See which themes are most popular

Whether you are face-to-face or connecting virtually, meaningful conversations are critical to building strong relationships and developing trust. Conversation Prompts, Quotes, Energizers, and all the content you’ll find in the Exchange are designed to help groups get relaxed or energized, so they can open up and have meaningful conversations.

HOW TRAINERS EXCHANGE WORKS

Each theme has 30+ prompts. Subject matter experts helped develop all topic-specific prompts to ensure their suitability for team development.

TRY TRAINERS EXCHANGE NOW!

WATCH A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Themes include:

WATCH A SHOW & SHARE ZOOM TO SEE IT IN ACTION

The Better Teams Online Coaching Assessment is like getting a personal coach for your whole team. The 35-question assessment helps you identify on your team’s critical issues so you can work together more effectively and knock your team building out of the park! Have EVERY TEAM MEMBER take the test, then see how you stack up as a group.

ONLINE TEAM ASSESSMENT FEATURES

The Better Teams model focuses on five critical areas necessary for a high-functioning team. After each person on the team completes the assessment, you'll see a profile of your whole group's strengths and weaknesses, in terms of these 5 critial facets of team succes:

• Leadership
• Alignment
• Readiness
• Happiness
• Trust

The questionnaire includes 30-multiple choice questions (6 for each of the 5 disciplines of team effectiveness) plus 5 open-ended questions. Responses are compiled into a single, anonymous team report.

INCLUDES

• 35-question Online Assessment (takes about 15 minutes to complete)
• Leaders Guide
• 20-page Assessment Report

[NOTE: repeat purchase is required for follow-up assessments or additional teams.]

COMPLETE TEAM ASSESSMENT REPORT!

The Better Teams Online Coaching Assessment provides you with an easy-to-understand, thorough, 20-page report. Use the report to quickly understand your group’s strengths and blind spots. stimulate discussions about how the team is doing and what the team wants to do to increase their productivity, efficiency, and satisfaction. At a glance, you’ll see:

• Team’s average score for each of the 5 focus areas
• Team’s average for the 3 characteristics of each focus area
• Dimensions on which the team is polarized and lacks agreement
• Range of answers on each multiple-choice question that the team answered. If a team scored low on a certain attribute, they have an opportunity to discuss
• Synthesis of answers to open-ended questions.

Energize and engage your team by empowering them interpret the results and determine what actions to take. All you need to do is follow the simple debrief guide and facilitate the discussion to help the team create strategies and actions that they own.

[NOTE: You’ll receive the report about 48 business hours, after every person on the team has completed the assessment.]

EASY-TO-USE LEADERS GUIDE

Facilitate team discussions about the results of the assessment. Simple follow the Leaders Debrief Guide to coach your team through a productive debrief meeting that results in actions. Plan for 2-4 hours.

GROUNDED IN DECADES OF EXPERIENCE

The team assessment aligns with the Better Teams Model developed by Leigh Ann Rodgers, CPF, and is based on her experience working with teams for over 20 years.

REVIEWS & TESTIMONIALS

"The team participants found the survey easy to use and the report results equally user friendly. The “5 Qualities” of a happy and high-performing team is a useful overall framework. These characteristics are like the iceberg below the water line. Companies don’t always see them or pay attention to them on a day-to-day basis. When the team adds comments on the survey for each question, it opens the door in the live review session to bring up sensitive but important conversations that team members are unlikely to bring up on their own in a live meeting. The facilitator guide is a great help in preparing for the actual review meeting with the team." ~ September Spore, Consultant, Meeting Facilitator, Change Coach

"As an LD/OD consultant I have always looked for an assessment that spoke to teams and their leaders about the impact of trust on their success. Trust is the 'wrapper' of the Better Teams Assessment model and provides real time speak without the buzzwords to help each team member leverage themselves and each other more productively. The Better Teams Model helps teams and their leaders gain real alignment on what they need from each other by encouraging conversation about what may be getting in the way of a trusting working environment." ~ Beverly Winkler, President, Inspire Leadership Now, LLC

"Helping people work effectively as a team is a core aspect of my group process facilitation business. When I searched for a team model and assessment, I found that the Better Teams Model was exactly what I wanted! It helps teams assess their work and relationships and gives me a rich way to support them." ~ Barbara Pedersen, CPF, Barbara Pedersen Facilitation Services Inc.

Analyzing and Improving Team Performance Just Got Easier-and More Affordable!

Quickly find out how your teams are performing with the Team Essentials Survey. It’s simple, affordable, and easily accessible. The assessment draws on the deep knowledge of Corporate Learning Institute’s Dr. Tim Buividas, and has been proven to be reliable and valid (see report).

FEATURES

• Snapshot views: see how your team performs in 6 success factors.
• Easy administration of assessment: Create an account and start launching your assessment right away. The Corporate Learning Institute is available to for support, as needed.
• Ready-to-Share Results: Clear, concise score are easy to read, and sharable instantly with others.
• Customizable: Customize your team assessment to include all 6 Team Essentials Success Factors, or just the few you want to focus on.
• Short Completion Time: It takes 10-25 mins to take the online assessment. Your exact time depends on the number of success factors you evaluate. Each trait has 3-6 subcategories and 4 questions.

6 FACTORS OF TEAM SUCCESS

Understand your strengths and weaknesses, AS A TEAM. Assess your team on 1 to 7 traits:

1. Support
2. Output
3. Effectiveness
4. Leadership
5. Individual Contributions
6. Infrastructure

TEAM ASSESSMENT REPORT PRESENTS ACTIONABLE RESULTS

• Color-coded, easy-to-read report: Includes a comprehensive 57-page Team Essentials Team Report. Each report is customized to the unique needs of your team.
• See where your team stands on each trait:
  • Blue – indicates your team’s overall score
  • Purple – shows norms of well-performing teams
  • Red – displays your opportunities for improvement
• Develop Unity – You’ll quickly see if there are areas where everyone ranks low or high, indicating group needs for growth or development
• Honor Diversity – understand where your team diverges in their approach or thinking. These indicate opportunities to discuss and bridge differences.
• Define Next Steps – develop an action plan to incorporate learning and continue to grow

INCLUDES ALL YOU NEED

• Facilitation Guide will help you conduct the assessment:
  • Administer test
  • Review results
  • Online tool to manage the team assessment
• Send pre- and post- emails, reminders, and results to team members
• Link to Assessments
• 57-page Team Assessment Report – after all team members have completed the assessment, youll receive a comprehensive, actionable report
• 1 hour Coaching/consulting support – call Corporate Learning Institute for 1 hour of support to help you get started or answer questions as you go.

A new, affordable, easy to DISC Professional Styles Assessment and Workbook!

Do you want to understand others better at work? If people at work could come with instruction manuals, it would be the DISC Professional Styles Assessment!

Each of us has a unique “style” or approach to achieving results at work. Dr. Susan Cain's DISC Professional Styles Assessment measures style preferences and the natural strengths and challenges that each of us brings to work every day.

FEATURES

• SPEEDY: take about 10 minutes to complete, and you receive a completed, fully downloadable report instantly.
• ACTIONABLE: Develop an Action Plan to incorporate learning and continue to grow
• CUSTOMIZABLE DASHBOARD: Create your own dashboard and launch DISC assessments yourself.
• AFFORDABLE: The DISC Professional Styles Assessment is one of the most affordable DISC assessments on the market!

DISC ASSESSMENT PERFECT FOR ORGANIZATIONS

• Personal strength assessment: understand individual strengths and opportunities for growth. Learn how your profile makes you exceptional at some tasks.
• Selection and hiring: Find out more about your candidates using DISC Professional Styles.
• Team building: Supercharge relationships at work to increase mutual understanding and support. Generate your own free team report to facilitate team growth.
• Leadership development: Develop self-awareness and upskill your leaders and managers
• Communication and conflict resolution: Help employees learn to communicate with people different from themselves and resolve conflicts that arise.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Improve equity and inclusion: DISC helps everyone learn the value of diverse styles and appreciate the strengths and challenges of each style.
• Culture Development: DISC opens the conversation for shifting culture toward the core values of appreciating diversity, leveraging strengths, and collaborating.

FACILITATION TOOLKIT HAS ALL YOU NEED!

• DISC Facilitation Tips
• Project Dashboard – customized dashboard helps you organize each DISC assessment you launch, synthesize results, and create customed DISC Professional Styles Team Reports.
• DISC Handout Packet
• URL for easy access to project dashboard
• 1 hour of consulting support – Utilize 1 hour of coaching from CorpLearning to help get you started!

NOTE: This is a digital product and you should receive an email from our partner Susan Cain with a link to the software within 2 business days

Studies have shown that when people are actively involved in the thinking and decision-making process, their sense of ownership inspires results that exceed expectations. Road to THERE is the toolkit to create buy-in, increase creative energy, and inspire ownership in an organization's plan to excel!

WHY ROAD TO THERE VISIONING TOOL?

This simple tool takes the fear out of strategic planning and visioning, which for many people conjures up images of heated arguments, confusion, unresolved disagreements, hours of circular-reasoning disguised as healthy debate, and for some, the embarrassment of not knowing how.

Yet, without a clear and effective plan that lays out a roadmap to the future, and to which team members can buy-in, the organization creates an environment that is prime for chaos.

HOW IT WORKS

The Road to THERE walks individuals and teams through the process of visualizing the future and creating a clear road map that identifies the objectives, the potential obstacles, and the distance between where you currently are and how far you need to go to get THERE. With it are the Hows that everyone involved can participate in creating -- therefore making it real to the individual contributor and inspiring ownership.

INCLUDES EVERYTHING YOU NEED (except the meeting platform)

Road to “THERE” Virtual Toolkit was designed to help facilitators walk their teams through a thorough strategic planning process. The goal of the facilitation is to create an action plan with clarity of purpose, accountability, and focused intention. Included in the digitally-delivered toolkit is:

1. The Road to “THERE” PowerPoint Video for Online Teams
2. Concise Facilitator Guide, containing tips, not included in the PPT file
3. Downloadable Planning Worksheet Master files
4. Accountability Matrix Master File

NOTE: You will also need an online Meetings Platform, which allows for small group breakouts, shared whiteboards, and voting (i.e. Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, etc..)

Creator, Linda Callecod, talks about using Road to There during a Live Workshop

Create your own icebreaker or conversation game. Choose from 1200+ discussion prompts to get people talking about topics that matter. Use Trainers EXCHANGE to break the ice, dive into deeper subject-specific topics, energize the group mid-day, debrief your game, or close out the day. Play or online!

Use the 1000s of conversation starters for online meetings, webinars, presentations, team meetings and more.

FEATURES

• Pick from over 40 themes -- Getting To Know You, Team Building, Diversity, Ethics, Session Openers, Closers, Personal Growth... (see full list below)
• Choose conversation prompts, famous quotations, meeting closers, jokes, energizers and tons more!
• Select all the prompts from a theme or only a handful
• Search by keyword or category
• Shuffle up to 6 themes
• Favorite your most-liked themes
• See which themes are most popular

Whether you are face-to-face or connecting virtually, meaningful conversations are critical to building strong relationships and developing trust. Conversation Prompts, Quotes, Energizers, and all the content you’ll find in the Exchange are designed to help groups get relaxed or energized, so they can open up and have meaningful conversations.

HOW TRAINERS EXCHANGE WORKS

Each theme has 30+ prompts. Subject matter experts helped develop all topic-specific prompts to ensure their suitability for team development.

TRY TRAINERS EXCHANGE NOW!

WATCH A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Themes include:

WATCH A SHOW & SHARE ZOOM TO SEE IT IN ACTION

In this super fun, highly-unusual team development training game, groups are challenged to use all their project planning and teamwork skills to successfully plan to rob a bank! One of the advantages of team building games is to draw people out of their day-to-day realities and explore their team dynamics in a completely different simulation. Well, you can't get more "different" than a bank heist!

LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR BANK HEIST TRAINING GAME

• Allow teams to plan a fun and unusual project (which they'd never do in real life!)
• Sort out staffing issues (human resources)
• Organize necessary resources (equipment and inventory planning)
• Plan a schedule (organization and time management)
• Cost the whole project and calculate ROI
• Carry out risk assessment

FACILITATING THE ROB-A-BANK TEAM BUILDING GAME

You'll cover all aspects of project planning in this playful and stimulating activity. Teams must mastermind a bank robbery, recruit the appropriate staff, purchase the right equipment and make sure it all arrives on time.

At the start of the activity teams have already commissioned research on three likely banks. Armed with a diary, teams decide on which bank to go for and then plan their heist. They have already recruited a getaway driver, but they need a base from which to work from and to practice with the equipment before the robbery. A certain Mr. Big will bankroll the project but he'll want his money back plus a cut of the loot. So, teams have to calculate all the costs and come up with a profitable, viable plan. Obviously there are risks and these need to be identified, assessed, and mitigated.

Faced with a rather unscrupulous looking set of mugshots, teams must pick the three robbers who will carry out the robbery itself. They also need to employ a 'fence' to get rid of the loot and launder the proceeds. And finally, they need to work out how the money will be distributed once all costs have been taken into account, remembering that there is no honour among thieves.

Teams have a Planning Sheet enabling them to identify the main parts of the plan: General outline; Start dates; Working capital; Payouts; Profit; Risk Analysis; Single major concern.

Teams work on presentations to a local anonymous specialist (the Trainer!) who will decide if their plan is viable or not.

PARTICIPANTS

• • 3-24 (up to 4 teams of 3-6 per team)

TIMING

• 1.25 hours + debrief

TRAINER/FACILITATOR ROLE

• Introduce the activity with the PowerPoint or verbally.
• Divide the group into teams. Issue each team with a How to Rob a Bank folder. The folder gives all the necessary details that teams need in order to begin their planning.
• Observe teams at work and make notes for the Debrief. Have they understood the instructions; have they begun work on a schedule? Is someone doing the costings? Are they working well as an integrated team? Are they on schedule?
• If appropriate, allow teams time to prepare a flipchart presentation of their planning.
• Hear the presentations and check their Planning Sheets.
• Conduct the Debrief. Ask teams to review how they worked together and what the key lessons they learned were.
• Summarize the learning and relate to the key stages of project planning.

INCLUDES...

• Trainer's Notes

Team Folders with information on:

• Target Banks
• Vital Information
• Finance
• Staffing
• Diary Planner
• Summary of Plan

PowerPoint

• Handout: Key Points for Planning a Project
• Handout: Effective Teams
  
  

This activity is for face-to-face and virtual classroom use. The digital files are supplied via the Northgate Trainerhub.

Build Emotional Intelligence—wherever you are! Whether you're running a team meeting, virtual classroom, or remote training session, this online version of The EQ Game makes it easy to build emotional intelligence skills from anywhere.

THE EQ GAME * OVERVIEW

• Purpose: Build emotional intelligence by exploring real-world challenges and identifying skills to navigate them. Foster deep conversations and team connection. EQ Game makes learning the skill of emotional intelligence fun, interactive, and memorable.

• Format: Online/virtual game—perfect for Zoom, Teams, or other video platforms

• Time Required: Up to 90 minutes for Parts 1 and 2 combined. However, those with less time can use just a handful of the situations, adapting to their specific needs.

EQ GAME VIRTUAL EDITION * INCLUDES

These 7 files (conveniently compressed into a single .ZIP file) will give you all you need to conduct the game as a single large group experiences, or in the format of 4 breakout groups:

FACILITATING THE EQ GAME VIRTUAL EDITION

The game is facilitated in two parts. Part 1 builds the first two Emotional Intelligence skills and Part 2 helps develop the second two skills.

PART 1: SELF-AWARENESS & SELF-MANAGEMENT

Focusing on the first two pillars of emotional intelligence, PART 1 presents 20 typical situations that anyone might encounter at work. Each situation includes two slides:

• Slide 1: shows a scenario with two questions—

  • How are you feeling?
  • What will you do to manage your feelings?—plus sample responses.

• Slide 2: answers the questions - by offering additional answers for both questions, players can compare their answers to other typical responses. Reiterate that the answers shown on the slides are there as suggestions. There are never "right" feelings. The goal instead is to grow more familiar with noticing and labeling feelings.

PART 2: SOCIAL AWARENESS & RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Part 2 adds to Part 1 by asking participants to focus on the second two skills associated with Emotional Intelligence: Social Awareness and Relationship Management. Part 2 presents 16 typical work situations, with the goal of moving from identifying and managing feelings to taking action in ways that reflect social awareness and strengthen relationships.

• Introduction slides
• Slide 1: shows a scenario with four questions
  • How are you feeling?
  • What will you do to manage your feelings?
  • How can you tune into your co-worker?
  • What relationship skills can you use?
• Slide 2: answers the questions - as noted above, suggested answers are offered for guidance, not as "final say."

FACILITATING & SCORING THE GAME

FLOW OF THE GAME

1. Show the first slide and ask participants to put themselves in the scenario. Read the sample feelings and actions.
2. Then ask, “What else are you feeling?”, empahsizing that feelings are one-word emotions (e.g., angry, happy), not thoughts or interpretations.
3. After players list their feelings, ask: “How will you manage those feelings?” Read the example.
4. Then ask, “What else can you do?” Keep the focus on Self-Management, not problem-solving the situation itself.
5. Finally, have teams self-score the round, based on the scoring protocols below.

PLAY AS A GROUP OR IN BREAK-OUTS

LARGE GROUP - If you're playing as one big group, you'll present the Situations one at a time. You can either follow the game sequence or pick and choose your favorites.

BREAKOUTS - Alternatively, participants can work through a subset of Situations in small groups. Each of the four groups will get 5 situations in Part 1 and 4 situations in Part 2.

SCORING THE EQ GAME

• Each time a participant names a feeling or a self-management technique, they get 1 point.
• Each time a participant provides a social awareness action or relationship management technique, they get 1 point.
• Participants can win additional points by:
  • Giving an example of a situation they have experienced – 2 points
  • Giving an example of an empathetic statement – 2 points
• Participants keep track of their own points.

Designed by and for facilitators, VirtualGlass™ is an online training platform containing 20+ virtual activities that make online learning more interactive and engaging. The toolkit offers dozens of tools and experiences for Team Development, Leadership, Styles, and Communication. All were modified from face-to-face experiences, in an effort to bring top-notch in-person energy to remote workshops.

MAKE ONLINE INSTRUCTOR-LED TRAINING FUN!

Find dozens of virtual instructor-led games and activities that make online training more engaging and interactive, including:

• Team building games activities, addressing...
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Co-opetition
  • Problem-solving
  • Assumptions
  • Process improvement
  • Roles
  • Knowledge sharing
• Leadership activities, building...
  • Leadership qualities
  • Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
  • Expectations and Accountability
  • Conflict Management
  • Time Management
  • Building Trust
  • Peer-to-Boss promotions
• Conversation & facilitation tools
  • Flipchart-style note taking tools
  • Debriefs
  • Discussion forums
• Assessments
  • Communication Styles
  • DiSC

VirtualGlass™ works exceptionally well with blended learning as participants in the class and those virtual can complete the same activities at the same time. See an explanation of the different games below.

VIRTUALGLASS AT-A-GLANCE

• Easy Access: participants login with a URL you provide.
• Quick set up: Copy and paste the activity link in the chat box and click the play button in an activity to get started. Takes just 5 seconds!
• Participants: 3 - unlimited (some activities work best with at least three participants).
• Facilitation Notes: Activities include detailed leaders notes and PowerPoints (you can also reach out to the folks at Glass of Learning, if needed).
• Co-Facilitation: For small groups of 3-15 you may not need a co-facilitator. For larger groups, it helps to have one producer/moderator who sends participants into teams and breakout rooms so the facilitator can focus on the content.
• Downloadable Notes: Easily download notes from previous sessions for review or sharing with participants
• Administrator Panel: The admin panel lets you access facilitation tips and notes, as well as:
  • Divide groups into teams
  • View or track team progress
  • Reset team progress on a game
  • Listen in on group discussions
  • Re-brand or re-name activities
  • See all team notes on a final debrief screen
  • Export and share post-session results

PRICING

Your purchase of VirtualGlass is for a 1-YR SUBCRIPTION for one Facilitator. You can have as many participants as you want!

WATCH OUR SHOW & SHARE DEMO

AND, SOME QUICK EXPLANATIONS...

About the platform

Why the platform was created

GAMES & FACILITATION

TEAM BUILDING GAMES

Aggregate – An architect has come up with plans for a new condo complex, however, before he could complete the drawings, he quit the job. Each team will complete the Architects drawings for the ground floor of a condo complex. The team will only have the Architect’s notes to complete the construction. PURPOSE: Team collaboration, managing assumptions, prioritizing information

Circle Words - Participants organize a series of words into a logical order. Focus debriefs on mindset, community, communication, decision-making, flexibility, time management, and more. PURPOSE: Effective communication, team building, team bonding, and problem solving, time management. [Credit: Chris Cavert & Friends FUNDoing]

County Fair – In this matrix/logic puzzle teams must identify the winners of the County Fair using the 13 clues. Teams must identify who baked each pie and which prize each pie won. PURPOSE: Building communication and collaboration skills. [Credit: Michelle Cummings]

Distortion - Participants must communicate a drawing to someone else who will build the drawing, using the tools they have been provided. Based on roles in the activity, different views of the information are available to the different users. PURPOSE: Build communication skills, examine limiting beliefs about what we have control over, improve planning, reframe mindsets, increase customer satisfaction.

Finding the Point - In this activity, a set of puzzle pieces, when properly assembled, creates a set pattern. Teams will assume they don’t have enough resources to finish the task and must explore reactions and approaches to wrestling with limited resources. PURPOSE: challenging assumptions, collaborative creative-thinking, and problem-solving. [Credit: Jim Cain Teamwork & Teamplay]

On Deck – In this sudoku-like activity, teams must organize a 4x4 grid of playing cards according to a set of criteria. Over a series of rounds, the criteria will change, making the challenge more difficult. Between rounds, teams debrief their successes and explore new strategies to complete the task. PURPOSE: develop communication and listening skills, process improvement, and group problem-solving. [Credit: Michelle Cummings]

Personify – in this win-win game, teams take turns placing their game pieces on a grid to gather the highest score possible. Typically, teams will competitively block each other, restricting both teams from accumulating the most points possible. PURPOSE: explore tendencies toward competition over collaboration and highlight the benefits of sharing knowledge across teams.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES

Best/Worst Leader - Use a variety of online crafts to create a metaphorical representation of the best or worst leader they have experienced. Discuss how it feels to work for different types of leaders. PURPOSE: Understand the impact of leaders, explore personal leadership goals

Emotional Intelligence – Explore four quadrants of EI, identify the EI behaviors of each quadrant. PURPOSE: identifying the 4 skills associated with Emotional Intelligence.

Expectations and Accountability – 2 part coaching activity – Help participants set clear expectations with their direct reports. Use Glass of Learning’s 5-step model to outline the expectations, then work through the 5-step accountability model to establish how they will hold individuals accountable for expectations set. PURPOSE: setting expectations and delivering on promises.

Impact of Conflict - See how conflict has a ripple effect throughout the organization. Teams will review a set of conflict scenarios and together, discuss the impact these situations would have and possible solutions to address the situation. Upon review of the scenarios, teams will add notes to the screen recapping key learnings on the impact of conflict and solutions to manage conflict in the workplace. PURPOSE: managing conflict and understand the impact of conflict on others.

Managing Time – Working in small groups, participants organize a manager’s daily tasks in the Priority Matrix. Concurrently, a series of interruptions will appear on the screen, interrupting the group’s flow. Participants must figure out how to manage these additional tasks in real time. PURPOSE: time management, prioritization and shifting priorities, differentiating tasks based on urgency and importance.

Peer to Boss – a scenario-based activity demonstrating the challenging decisions that can come up between bosses and their employees who once were peers. In this “Choose your adventure’ style activity, participants choose between multiple choice answers related to each scenario. PURPOSE: navigate changing roles, from peer to boss and build awareness of potential challenges, opportunities, and roadblocks.

Trust Spectrum Scenarios (team experience) – participants examine a series of real-life situations, then discuss whether they would give or withhold trust in that scenario. PURPOSE: understand individuals’ varying degrees of trust and the impact of psychological safety on work environments and team performance.

Trust Spectrum (Individual experience) – individuals review a series of actions members of their team do to support both the department and the leader. In reviewing these actions, individuals assess if they would readily complete these actions for their leader and if their team would complete these actions for them. PURPOSE: explore obstacles that may prevent trust in the workplace and the impact of distrust.

CONVERSATION TOOLS

Bring & Brag, Share & Steal - Debrief tool allows participants to share experiences and successes using online sticky notes. PURPOSE: Collect group’s wisdom and best practices.

Circle of Influence – Leadership Activity exploring areas of Influence and Concern - In part 1, Teams identify work issues over which they have influence or no-influence. Debriefs explore how circles of concern and negative energy can affect others’ success. Part 2 invites participants to revisit their concerns, and identify how they can add influence (not just concern) in these areas. PURPOSE: leadership development, understanding areas of concern and influence, and focusing on areas where you can have positive impact. [Credit: Stephen Covey]

Discussion Forum / Flip-charting - Capture notes from small groups on any number of topics. Combine break-out discussions into one document that can be viewed by all participants for a debrief discussion. PURPOSE: record and review any team discussion.

ASSESSMENTS

Communication Styles - Players examine four communication styles: Intuitor, Feeler, Thinker and Sensor. Improve teams’ awareness of how we send and receive information through our communication. PURPOSE: Assessing your own and others’ communication style, and adapting your style to improve leadership and relationship results. [Credit: Paul Mok, Training Assoc. Press]

DiSC Work of Leaders – 3-part activity – Style teams (grouped according to their DiSC style) review a set of descriptive words corresponding to their style and collectively select the top 5 cards that best describes them. Then, teams come together and answer two questions about their work style, highlighting key differences among the different styles. Finally, the group plots their DiSC style on a visual map. PURPOSE: understanding what qualities might be missing, understanding personal DiSC Styles of Leadership, and ways to adapt styles to improve leadership impact.

Walk Awhile in my Shoes - Participants gain a deeper understanding of the perspectives of employees versus managers on a variety of topics. In small groups, teams read through a series of examples that build empathy, understanding and cooperation between different levels in an organization. PURPOSE: build empathy and appreciation, give benefit-of-the-doubt, and help others be their best. [Credit: Eric Harvey & Steve Ventura]

A FEW MORE DEMOS

AGGREGATE GAME

DISTORTION GAME