In all the organisations I've worked in, I've noticed that there are only two things that need to be done, and that doing those two things involves meeting with other team members and getting agreement.

If your experience of meetings is like mine, you'll be groaning already!

From my studies of facilitation techniques and my experience working with managers and teams in organsations, it's become clear that there are six keys we can use to unlock the potential that hides behind the bickering, the backstabbing and the circular debates that dominate so many teams.

Ask your team members this week (at the party if you like, their guard will be down):

"If someone you know asked you what this team is for, what would you say?"

It's a question we all think we know the answer to. When challenged we may not find so easy to put into words. Seriously, try asking people to write down their answers and then compare. There will be considerable umming and ahing followed by consternation at how different their answers are.

Then you can discuss why your answers are different and how you can all get to the same answer in future.

Meaning, purpose, mission, whatever you want to call it - we all know it's vital but how often do we check that people actually know it?

All the best,

Dave Bull
Team Coaching Network Ltd
http://www.teamcoachingnetwork.com