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Title: Resources

Type: Website

Description: This website offers a myriad of resources for leaders to use if they want to develop their negotiation skills.

Link or Attachment: https://www.blackswanltd.com/negotiation-leadership-resources

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Negotiation and Leadership Resources | The Black Swan Group

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Negotiation and leadership resources to help you negotiate with confidence, become a stronger leader, improve sales, and so much more.

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Title: Team Building Resources for Smart Leaders

Type: Website

Description: This website offers leaders ideas for activities, handouts, and other team-building strategies for leaders to implement.

Link or Attachment: https://greatresultsteambuilding.net/toolbox-resources-for-leaders/

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Title: "Chapter 18: Negotiation"

Type: Book

Description: This chapter in the course's textbook, Project Management Leadership, provides negotiation strategies leaders can use. It also breaks down what negotiation is.

Link or Attachment: https://bibliu.com/app/?bibliuMagicToken=piyAQqQ40l1pzPZduUl2JyphrJuuq76T#/view/books/9781118825402/epub/OPS/Chapter18.html#page_238

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A simple, intuitive reader app that makes learning more effective

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Title: Tuckman's Stages of Group Development

Type: Website

Description: This website gives information on Tuckman's stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning.

Link or Attachment: https://www.wcupa.edu/coral/tuckmanStagesGroupDelvelopment.aspx

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Stages of Group Development

These stages are commonly known as: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Tuckman's model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships establish, and leadership style changes to more collaborative or shared leadership.

Tuckman's original work simply described the way he had observed groups evolve, whether they were conscious of it or not. In CORAL, the real value is in recognizing where a team is in the developmental stage process, and assisting the team to enter a stage consistent with the collaborative work put forth. In the real world, teams are often forming and changing, and each time that happens, they can move to a different Tuckman Stage. A group might be happily Norming or Performing, but a new member might force them back into Storming, or a team member may miss meetings causing the team to fall back into Storming. Project guides will be ready for this, and will help the team get back to Performing as quickly as possible.

Forming

The initial forming stage is the process of putting the structure of the team together. Team members feel ambiguous and conflict is avoided at all costs due to the need to be accepted into the group. Team members look to a group leader for direction and guidance, usually CORAL project guides.

Observable Behaviors

Politeness

Tentative joining

Orienting with others personally

Avoids controversy

Cliques may form

Need for safety and approval

Attempts to define tasks, processes, and how it will be decided here

Discussion of problems not relevant to the task

Feelings and Thoughts

Many feel excited, optimistic, and full of anticipation

Others may feel suspicious, fearful, and anxious working with others

What is expected of me

Why are they here

Uncertainty and Apprehension

Team Needs

Team mission and vision

Establish specific objectives and tasks

Identify roles and responsibilities of team members

Establish team ground rules

Team member expectations

Operational guidelines for team

Effective in class meetings

Effective Chat meetings

1st set of feedback from project guides

Leadership Required

Project Guides & Instructors

provide structure and task direction

Allow for get-acquainted time

Create an atmosphere of confidence and optimism

Active involvement

Team members believe an appointed leader necessary to make decisions

One-way communication from leader to team-members

To advance  from this stage to the next stage, each member must relinquish the comfort zone of non-threatening topics and risk the possibility of conflict.

Storming

This stage begins to occur as the process of organizing tasks and processes surface interpersonal conflicts. Leadership, power, and structural issues dominate this stage.

Observable Behaviors

Arguing among members

Vying for leadership

Differences in points of view and personal style are evident

Lack of role clarity

Team organizing itself

Power struggles and clashes

Lack of consensus-seeking behaviors

Lack of progress

Establishes unrealistic goals

Concern over excessive work

Feelings & Thoughts

Feel Defensive

Confusion, loss of interest can result

Resistance to tasks

Fluctuations in attitude about the team

Unsure if I agree with teams mission and purpose

Question the wisdom of team members

Increase in tension and jealousy

Unsure about my personal influence and freedom in the team

We're not getting anywhere

Team Needs

Inter & intra personal relationships

Identify stylistic and personal differences

Effective listening

Giving and receiving feedback

Conflict resolution

Clarify and understand the team’s purpose

Reestablish roles and ground rules

How to deal with ‘some’ team members violating team codes of conduct

Receiving Feedback from project guide

Leadership Required

Project guide & Instructors acknowledge conflict

Project Guides suggest that consensus among team members

Get members to assume more task responsibility

Concept of Shared Leadership emerges

Teach conflict resolution methods

Offer support and praise

Actively involved Team members begin consulting one another – shared leadership emerging but have difficulty with decision making

In order to progress  to the next stage, group members must move from a "testing and proving" mentality to a problem-solving mentality. The most important trait in helping teams move to the next stage is the ability of team members to listen to their team mates - what are they trying to say?

Norming

In this stage, team members are creating new ways of doing and being together. As the group develops cohesion, leadership changes from ‘one’ teammate in charge to shared leadership. Team members learn they have to trust one another for shared leadership to be effective.

Observable Behaviors

Processes and procedures are agreed upon

Comfortable with relationships

Focus and energy on tasks

Effective conflict resolution skills

Sincere attempt to make consensual decisions

Balanced influence, shared problem solving

Develop team routines

Sets and achieves task milestones

Feelings & Thoughts

Sense of belonging to a team

Confidence is high

Team members feel a new ability to express criticism constructively

Acceptance of all members in the team

General sense of trust

Assured that everything is going to work out okay

Freedom to express and contribute

Team Needs

Develop a decision making process

Be prepared to offer ideas and suggestions

Problem solving is shared

Utilizing all resources to support the team effort

Team members take responsibility in shared leadership skills

Receiving Feedback from project guides

Leadership Required

Shared leadership

Give feedback and support from Project Guides

Allow for less structure

Promotes team interaction

Asks for contributions from all team members

Collaboration becomes clearer

Encouraging others in making decisions

Continues to build strong relationships

The major task function of stage three is the data flow between group members: They share feelings and ideas, solicit and give feedback to one another, and explore actions related to the task. Creativity is high. Collaboration emerges during this stage when team work ethic and shared leadership is understood.

The major drawback of the norming stage is that members may begin to fear the inevitable future breakup of the team; they may resist change of any sort.

Performing

True interdependence is the norm of this stage of group development. The team is flexible as individuals adapt to meet the needs of other team members. This is a highly productive stage both personally and professionally.

Observable Behaviors

Fully functional teams

Roles are clearer

Team develops independence

Team able to organize itself

Flexible members function well individually, in subgroups or as a team

Better understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and insights into group processes

Feelings & Thoughts

Empathy for one another

High commitment

Begin understanding collaborative work ethic

Tight bonds emerge

Fun and excitement

Lots of personal development and creativity

General sense of satisfaction

Continual discovery of how to sustain feelings of momentum and enthusiasm

Team Needs

Project guides assure team is moving in collaborative direction

Maintain team flexibility

Measure knowledge performance – post test

Provide information

Giving and Receiving

Feedback and Dialogue with project guides

Leadership Required

Shared Leadership being practiced

Observing, Inquiring, Fulfilling, team needs

Collaborative efforts among team members

Project guides provides little direction

Team members offer positive reinforcement and support

Share new information

The Performing stage is not reached by all groups. If group members are able to evolve to stage four, their capacity, range, and depth of personal relations expand to true interdependence. In this stage, people can work independently, in subgroups, or as a total unit with equal competencies.

Adjourning

In this stage typically team members are ready to leave (course termination) causing significant change to the team structure, membership, or purpose and the team during the last week of class. They experience change and transition. While the group continues to perform productively they also need time to manage their feelings of termination and transition.

Observable Behaviors

Visible signs of grief

Momentum slows down

Restless Behavior

Bursts of extreme energy usually followed by lack of energy

Feelings & Thoughts

Sadness

Humor (that to outsiders could appear cruel)

Glad it is over – relief

Team Needs

Evaluate the efforts of the team

Tie up loose ends and tasks

Recognize and reward team efforts

Leadership Required

Project guides help team develop options for termination

Good listening

Reflection and carry forth collaborative learning to next opportunity

The final stage, adjourning, involves the termination of task behaviors and disengagement from relationships. A planned conclusion usually includes recognition for participation and achievement and an opportunity for members to say personal goodbyes. Concluding a group can create some apprehension – in effect, a minor crisis. The termination of the group is a regressive movement from giving up control to giving up inclusion in the group.

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Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development - West Chester University

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These stages are commonly known as: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Tuckman’s model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships establish, and leadership style changes to more collabo…

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Title: 21 Fun Leadership Activities For Work

Type: Website

Description: This website provides activities and games that leaders can use to build relationships among team members.

Link or Attachment: https://teambuilding.com/blog/leadership-activities

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Here is our list of the best leadership activities for workplaces.

Leadership activities are training, challenges, and games great for employee development and building team spirit. Examples include leadership races, marshmallow challenges, and drawing communication. These activities aim to develop participants' leadership skills like communication skills, creativity, and critical thinking.

These exercises are in-person versions of virtual leadership activities and examples of professional development ideas. The goal of these games is to help employees become good leaders, do leadership training, and hone leadership skills.

This list includes:

situational leadership activities and scenarios

leadership team building activities

leadership training activities

leadership development activities

Let's get to it!

List of leadership activities

Leadership skills are excellent for increasing productivity both at work and in participants' personal lives. From minefield to leadership pizza, below are challenges and training ideas great for teams and leaders.

1. Leadership Race

A leadership race is one of the best leadership activities to reveal group members that can lead effectively. The game involves a designated caller shouting out certain leadership traits. To play a leadership race, list out the qualities to call beforehand.

For instance:

1. Trustworthy

2. Self-motivated

3. Confident

4. Great communicator

5. Positive

6. People-oriented

7. Enthusiastic

8. Loyal

9. Reliable

10. Emotionally intelligent

Next, line the players up shoulder-to-shoulder. A designated caller can shout out the qualities. If a player believes the trait relates to him, then he will take a step forward. In addition to stepping forward, the player must explain why he thinks this trait best describes him. You can appoint a panel of judges to vote on whether or not the reason is acceptable.

The player who takes the most steps forward wins the race.

2. Leadership Book Club

For an idea of effective leadership development activities, you can organize a leadership-themed book club for your team.

To plan a meeting, determine how long the activity will last. The book club can be a one-time event or an ongoing happening.

Next, you should decide the books to read and ensure all members have a copy. Some of the fun books on leadership include:

In addition, make sure you give the readers enough time to study the books. Then pick a convenient time, date, and venue to have the activity. What the attendees will do revolves around asking questions and sharing their critical opinions on the author's approach to leadership.

You can also check out this list of the best leadership books.

3. Leadership Pizza

Leadership Pizza is a popular activity where participants represent their perspectives on leadership qualities on a pictorial pizza representation. To engage in this activity:

You can reorganize the leadership pizza session after some time. The later session offers an excellent opportunity to check if group members significantly improved their weak leadership areas.

4. Magic Carpet

A magic carpet is a challenge involving teams flipping a rug over without leaving the rug's boundaries.

To perform the task:

This challenge aims to teach teamwork, patience, and problem-solving skills essential for leadership.

5. Marshmallow Challenge

The marshmallow challenge is a game where teams compete to construct the tallest standing structure. After the construction, the teams will place a marshmallow on their designs. You will need simple materials like:

To do this challenge, divide your team into smaller groups. Then decide the structure that the teams will construct. The design can range from skyscrapers to tall bridges or towers. To make the game more challenging, you can set a time limit for the construction.

Also, you should set the rules for the challenge and ensure that all the participants understand the rules. The team that successfully builds the tallest structure with the marshmallow sitting on top wins.

Building challenges like this marshmallow challenge are fun leadership activities that improve collaboration and creative thinking skills.

6. Minefield

Minefield is one of the leadership team building activities that promotes trust and collaboration. The game's goal is for a player to help a blindfolded partner reach the end of the minefield while escaping obstacles. All you need to play is a free space and items you can find around like paper, bottles, and sticks.

To play minefield:

1. Divide your team into a pair of two players.

2. Have just one of the players in each pair blindfolded. The player not blindfolded will act as the guide of the blindfolded player. The latter will move through obstacles based on the instruction of their partner.

3. Specify the communication technique players will use to control their blindfolded partner's movement. For instance, players may only use commands like 'forward,' 'backward,' 'left,' 'right,' and 'stop.'

4. Set up your minefield by marking a start and finish line.

5. Scatter a variety of items on the floor. Make sure that the materials are safe for the players.

6. Once a player breaks the rule, then the pair will start over. Players can break the rules by touching their blindfolded partner or when the blindfolded player steps over an object.

The game emphasizes the relevance of dependence and trust given to leaders when dealing with complex issues.

7. Leadership Coat of Arms

One of the ways to show and recognize different leadership values is to ask participants in leadership training to draw their coat of arms. These coats of arms will include symbols, designs, and mottos that best represent the artist's concept of leadership.

You will need a space to work on, a pen, sheets of paper, and maybe some colors for this activity. You can set a time limit to challenge participants to work in time and think fast.

Once the time is up, ask the artists to take turns presenting their leadership coat of arms and breaking down the design's representations. The participants do not need to have any prior drawing skills to participate. All you need include a sketch representing unique ideas rather than a visually appealing image.

8. Crossing the Crocodile River Challenge

This game is an entertaining challenge that requires a high level of balance, focus, strategic planning, and teamwork. These requirements make the game one of the best operational leadership activities.

To play this game,

1. Find an open space and objects that can imitate a stepping stone like discs, paper, or small pieces of plywood.

2. The number of stepping stones you will need depends on the number of players. You can provide an amount equivalent to the players' number.

3. After, mark out two lines to indicate the start and end of the river.

4. The game's goal is for players to use the stepping stones to cross the river to the end without leaving any player behind. Once a player goes out of the boundaries of a stepping stone and touches the river, the game will start over.

If you have a large group, then you can divide the group into teams. Each team competes for the first to reach the end of the river without breaking the rules.

9. Leadership Role-Model

In this activity, team members will name leaders and outstanding leadership traits they admire. It is essential to give your team enough time to research their best leaders. It should not matter whether the figure is dead or alive.

The leader's achievement can be any positive accomplishment from leading an entire nation to freedom or saving a cat. After researching, ask the team members to take turns telling the stories of their admired heroes. The participant should also point out the traits they admire about these iconic persons.

You can have this activity during your free time at work. Alternatively, you can go to a non-office environment like the park.

10. Icebreaker Trivia

Icebreakers are famous for almost any event and make a great idea for fun leadership team building activities. First, ask your team to pile up a bunch of icebreaker questions like:

The team members will take turns to answer the questions and talk about their answers briefly. You can let some time pass by starting a meeting or engaging the team in other ways. After, quiz the participants on the answers to the icebreaker questions.

The first participant to answer correctly wins a point, and the participant with the most points emerges as the winner. This activity is excellent for breaking the ice, building a team, and a great way to teach leadership skills. The task stresses essential leadership skills like active listening, observation, and effective communication.

11. 30-Seconds Experience

The 30-second experience is ideal as a short activity to start your meetings or events.

The team members can figure out what story or achievements they can comfortably share with the team. Then the participants will have to share the most significant part of the experience in just 30 seconds. Other team members must be able to comprehend the main idea of the experience, including why the experience meant a lot to the narrator.

The 30-seconds experience teaches the importance of time management and being productive within a limited time. Also, this exercise teaches participants how to communicate the crucial aspects of issues.

12. One Member Three Leaders

One Member Three Leaders is one of the fun situational leadership activities and scenarios. The activity teaches leaders how best to address negative situations.

You can follow these steps to perform this fun activity:

This engaging task is an excellent method to train leaders to develop strategic and critical thinking for solving problems.

13. Lost at Sea

This fun task requires team members to act as if they got trapped on an abandoned island and find ways to survive.

To play lost at sea, split your team into smaller groups. You can briefly describe how the groups experienced a shipwreck leading them to a deserted island. Then proceed to the fun part of the activity, where you ask each group to come up with six survival items. The group members must agree on the necessity of the items.

Also, for a more challenging task, include dangerous scenarios such as an attack from a wild animal, running low on food supply, or an unexpected attack by pirates inhabiting the island. After agreeing on solutions to the scenarios, the group will come together to discuss the survival items and how these items will help the group survive. Other groups can ask questions or point out loopholes when a group makes their presentation.

This activity teaches leaders to approach challenges in non-traditional ways.

Here are more problem-solving games.

14. Debate

Debate is one of the leadership training activities that help employees develop impressive communication skills. To have a debate, divide your team into two or more groups depending on the size of the team.

Once you pair two groups to compete against each other, assign topics to the pairs. You can select simple issues you know the groups can easily improvise an answer. Also, the problems may or may not be work-related.

Furthermore, you should give the groups several minutes to have a private discussion with their group members on possible arguments. For better communication during the debate, you may set a time limit, like two or three minutes, for each group to present and defend their argument. After the time runs out, the other group will have their moment to speak within the same time limit. The debaters will keep rotating the turns to speak until the final time runs out.

After a round, you can ask the same groups to switch sides in the second round. The switch allows leaders to learn to see things from different points of view and appreciate other people's ideas.

Check out more communication activities.

15. Drawing Communication

Drawing communication involves a team member communicating an object only with gestures. Then another team member attempts to draw the item. This activity identifies the effective communicators in a team and tests how well team members can communicate with each other to solve a problem.

The materials you need include a pen, paper, and a space to draw. You should divide the team into groups of two members sitting opposite each other. You can assign a described object to one member of each group or have them randomly pick an object. Then set the rules for the activity, including the time limit. Also, the participant describing an item cannot mention or say words that describe it.

After the description session, the gesturing player will reveal the object. If the other team member draws the item correctly, then that team wins. On the other hand, if the team member did not sketch the object accurately, they will explain why they could not comprehend the gestures. That way, you can figure out where the communication went wrong.

16. Best Leadership Scenario

This activity is one of the best situational leadership activities and scenarios that involve examining the different leadership styles. For example:

After clarifying ambiguities as to the nature of each leadership style, you can proceed to give hypothetical scenarios in the workplace. Then ask the participants to identify the leadership style that will work best in a scenario and the reason for their choices.

Best leadership scenarios equip leaders with decision-making and problem-solving skills essential to solve daily work issues.

17. Leadership Retreat

A leadership retreat is an opportunity for leaders to rest from leadership pressures and boost their morale.

When planning a leadership retreat, first clarify the retreat's objectives. These objectives will affect the theme of the activity. Therefore, it is essential to pick activities to help you realize your retreat's ultimate goal.

Also, you would want to make the time spent at the retreat valuable by creating a full schedule. Furthermore, a leadership retreat presents the perfect opportunity to redress challenges faced by leaders.

Here are more ideas for leader retreats.

18. Human Knot Game

The human knot game is a great problem-solving activity that enhances team cooperation and communication. First, ask the team members to stand and form a circle. The participants should hold one hand of another participant standing opposite them. After, instruct the players to lock their other hands with any other player. Then you have a human tangle.

The game's goal is for participants to untangle the knot while still holding hands. If any participants stop holding hands, then the game will start over again.

Here is how to do the human knot.

19. Silver Lining

Silver lining is an activity that promotes the vital leadership skills of positivity and motivation. Team members will have to work in a group of two. It is best to put two team members who have worked on similar projects together.

Once the activity starts, a team member in a group will talk about a negative experience they had when working on a particular project. Then the other team member in the same pair will point out the positive aspects of the same project.

The activity also works well in building a team and even motivating employees.

20. Ducks in a Row

This activity allows team members to assess decision-making processes that will be useful for real-life challenges. First of all, you need to divide the team into smaller groups and hand each team a large piece of paper.

The goal is for each group to think of five techniques leaders can use to overcome challenges. The group then proceeds to write down the five agreed techniques. After, gather all the groups to review all the groups' strategies. Then entire teams will decide which methods are the most effective.

When a real-life challenge arises, the team can use these problem-solving techniques.

21. Observation Challenge

The observation challenge is one of the best leadership development activities. The challenge trains teams and leaders to observe changes, regardless of how small. Team members will observe each other to point out the changes they notice.

To do this challenge:

1. Divide the team into a pair of two.

2. Then have each participant in a pair observe each other. Introducing icebreakers is a great idea to make the activity less awkward.

3. After the time is up, give the participants a break to change certain things about them, like changing a piece of clothing, wearing an ornament, or using a different cologne.

4. For a more precise challenge, give the participants several things to change about themselves. You can write numbers on small pieces of rolled paper and ask participants to pick a piece. The number on the paper selected is the number of things the team member will change.

5. After the break, each player will point out the changes they observed in the other player.

6. The player who can observe all their partner's changes wins the challenge.

The observation challenge helps leaders improve their abilities to observe things going on around them.

Conclusion

Leadership activities are a great way to quip teams with essential skills to help them become better leaders. Some of the benefits of these activities include building teams, ensuring effective communication, and improving problem-solving skills. Besides, leadership activities not only help participants be productive at work. The activities also improve certain aspects of the participant's personal life, like decision-making in challenging situations.

For more resources, check out these guides to team building leaders, leadership vs management and management styles.

We also have a guide to conferences on leadership.

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21 Fun Leadership Activities For Work in 2023

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Here is our list of the best leadership activities for workplaces. Leadership activities are training, challenges, and games great for employee development and building team spirit. Examples include leadership races, marshmallow challenges, and drawing communication. These activities aim to develop participants' leadership skills like communication skills, creativity, and critical thinking.

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Title: Ladder of Collaboration

Type: PDF

Description: This visual is a great way to see how team dynamics build over the course of a project. As consideration and communication increase, so will productivity.

Link or Attachment: https://greatresultsteambuilding.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Collaboration-ladder-handout.pdf

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Title: Why is Team Building Important in the Workplace?

Type: Website

Description: This website provides information about the benefits of building relationships with team members. It also provides some team-building activities to implement.

Link or Attachment: https://recruiters.theguardian.com/advice/team-building-in-the-workplace

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Why is team building important in the workplace?

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Working as one is what team building is all about - one goal, one brand, one culture. In this article we'll explore how you can encourage your workforce to work better, together. You'll learn about the importance and benefits of team building in the workplace, how it can be incorporated and the different types of activities you can do to boost morale among your team.

What is team building?

Team building refers to an employer's efforts - through training, activities and other employee experiences - intended to create a bonded team who can work together towards a shared goal.

Team building requires great communication and leads to a common work ethic, shared values and effective collaboration. Employers reap the rewards of creating a positive culture by aligning the workforce with the organisation's brand identity and mission.

Why is team building important in the workplace?

When it comes to the workplace, teams achieve better results when they are bonded, which is why organisations invest so much time and effort into that goal. Businesses thrive when they create a cohesive environment where employees share a focus. Team-building activities also give employees the opportunity to get to know and understand each other better. According to research from the University of Warwick, happiness makes people about 12% more productive.

When there is a positive connection through the ranks, organisations work more efficiently and effectively. This includes improved problem-solving and the ability to be more agile. Through a shared culture, employees can feel more inspired and motivated to work together to make progress.

For further reading on this topic take a look at Workplace Wellbeing & Diversity.

What are the benefits of team building?

Team building invites employees to focus their energy in the workplace as a unit, whether remote, hybrid or office-based, and that brings a wealth of benefits, including:

What are some examples of team-building activities and exercises for work?

Delivering team-building opportunities is a key component for every successful organisation, but it doesn't need to be an onerous task. Some of the most effective team-building activities employ the most simple methods. The key is they need to be fun, inclusive and lighthearted in order to make all team members feel comfortable.

Here are three exercises that you can do at your next team-building event that will help to raise morale, boost employee engagement and learn more about your team on a deeper level:

One word ice-breaker

To begin, decide on the topic or theme of the game - these could be work-related or fun and unconventional. Taking it in turns, the leader of the session will call out a word, or sentence, such as "the weekly stand-up meeting" or "the office party". A couple of warm-up topics would be a great way to loosen up the tone. Each participant then calls out the first word that comes to mind. It's a great way to get honest feedback on an area of work life too.

Scavenger hunt

This game will require a little more preparation, but there are specialist businesses that can help run these types of team-building events. Essentially the workforce is split into multiple teams (depending on numbers) and given a series of tasks to complete as part of a scavenger hunt - these could be as straightforward as "find something shiny" to solving a riddle or building something from scratch. Some tasks may be individual or rely on the whole team to complete. It is recommended there are approximately 10-20 challenges depending on time constraints and the scale of the game. A great one for mixing team dynamics and potentially taking place off-site.

Compliment jar

This exercise is great for boosting morale and confidence within a team. Each participant is asked to bring an empty jar or box, small pieces of paper and a pen. In turn, in private, a compliment or kind observation is written about each team member. The pieces of paper are then folded so the content remains anonymous, and the empty jars are placed in front of each person. One by one the notes are placed in the corresponding jars and either opened in private, or participants take turns reading out a few of the notes they have received. This is another good exercise for an off-site day, or when there is friction brewing within a team dynamic that needs to be neutralised.

For remote and hybrid workers, team building is paramount when it comes to connecting with colleagues and feeling engaged. Here is an online exercise to try:

Lunch and learn session

Using a video-conferencing tool such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, create a rota among your team to "host" a lunch and learn session on a frequent basis. This is an opportunity for the host employee to introduce a topic they feel their peers would benefit from learning more about, which could be themed depending on your business focus, such as "creative brainstorming best practice". To make the sessions more interactive, encourage employees to share their opinions throughout or to bring along examples. Include a fun ice-breaker to make the sessions less formal and more fun, for instance, by asking employees to share something about themselves playing the two truths, one lie game.

What are some examples of team-building questions that can be used in the workplace?

The more familiar coworkers are with each other, the more comfortable they feel to be themselves and therefore are more open to collaborate, share ideas and help each other out. Team-building questions are a useful creative tool to help grow rapport.

Here are some examples of team-building questions that can be asked in the workplace to foster connection among colleagues and be worked into a regular catch-up routine:

Either or?

This could be a quick-fire round. Dogs or cats; sun or snow; night out or night in; hot or cold; tea or coffee?

What if?

Scenario-based questions. What if you could throw a celebrity dinner party, who would come? What if you won the lottery, what would you do first? What if you could travel anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go?

Personal questions

To learn more about your colleagues. What is your earliest memory? Greatest ambition? Who do you admire? Favourite holiday destination? What's your best quality?

Fun questions

Most used emoji? Death-row meal? Which three items would you take to a desert island? Who would play you in a movie? Tell us a joke ...

How can team building improve workplace culture?

A positive workplace is crucial to making employees feel valued, satisfied and happy - it is created through shared values, behaviours and attitudes. These are all set at leadership level, but need to filter through the workforce to become a recognised way of working and a common ethos.

Team building brings the desired culture into fruition. For example, imagine an organisation is looking to create a workplace where decision-making is agile and everyone's ideas count. It may ingrain problem-solving brainstorms within the weekly work routine, followed by the opportunity to pitch ideas to senior leaders, or perhaps senior leaders could take part in the brainstorms to remove perceived hierarchy. This way the whole business has the chance to feel heard and feel like they are contributing towards the shared vision, while also collaborating with their colleagues.

How does team building increase workplace productivity?

Team building ultimately is about improving company culture and therefore business output. Through team-bonding exercises, activities and social opportunities, teams bond and friendships are made. As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work.

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Why is team building important in the workplace?

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Discover the importance of team building in the workplace, the benefits, how it can be incorporated and the different types of activities. Read more here.

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Title: Leadership Coaching Toolkit

Type: PDF

Description: This PDF provides a comprehensive look at coaching and best practices to follow when implementing a coaching program.

Link or Attachment: https://dionleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Executive-Coaching-Leadership-Coaching-Toolkit-Dion-Leadership.pdf

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Title: 50+ Coaching Tools For Leaders

Type: Website

Description: This website gives tools to leaders when implementing coaching programs. It also covers GROW model, conflict resolution, and change navigation.

Link or Attachment: https://www.tobysinclair.com/post/coaching-tools

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Helping leaders confidently develop people, with coaching tools, that enable incredible results.You might already know it. A coaching style of leadership delivers results. In fact, Google did a study and found that coaching is the primary skill employees look for in a manager. You don’t need to be a manager to lead with coaching. Everyone can use coaching to maximise the potential in themselves and others.Coaching can be confusing. There are many coaching approaches and it seems everyone claims

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Title: The 6 Principles of Effective Coaching for Leaders

Type: Website

Description: This website provides leaders with principles to follow when implementing a coaching program: create, try, facilitate, advocate, promote, model.

Link or Attachment: https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/the-six-principles-of-leadership-coaching/

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In this episode, Alison and Ren discuss some leadership highlights and low points of 2022 and what they're most looking forward to when it comes to leadership in 2023. They explore examples of leaders who have used their power and influence to give back to others, and those who have not. This year, let's emulate those who are making purpose core to their leadership style, and lead with that.

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The 6 Essential Principles of Leadership Coaching

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In this episode, Alison and Ren discuss some leadership highlights and low points of 2022 and what they're most looking forward to when it comes to leadership in 2023. They explore examples of leaders who have used their power and influence to give back to others, and those who have not.

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Title: The GROW Model Explained for Coaches (plus .PDF)

Type: Website + PDF

Description: This website offers a look at the GROW Model in coaching. It also offers diagrams and extra resources to provide quality coaching sessions.

Link or Attachment: https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/the-grow-model-explained-for-coaches-questions-tips-more/?srsltid=AfmBOoqViJwpzwqDPtJIpVv0tV413K6DIlerHSXSsIiSttcq73mjISQr

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The GROW Model Explained for Coaches (plus .PDF)

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I still haven’t found anything that beats the GROW Model for simplicity, effectiveness—and results. Discover how to use this powerful model here.

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Title: Mentoring Toolkit

Type: PDF

Description: This PDF offers leaders best practices, activities, and meeting guides to follow when mentoring.

Link or Attachment: https://hr.untsystem.edu/sites/default/files/mentoring_toolkit.pdf

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Title: Coaching for Equity: Conversations that Change Practice

Type: Book

Description: This book teaches leaders how to implement transformational coaching in organizations. It also gives ideas for ensuring coaching practices are equitable for all team members.

Link or Attachment: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Coaching+for+Equity%3A+Conversations+That+Change+Practice-p-9781119592273

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About the Author xv

Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction
A Couple of Notes 4

On Bridge-Building 4

Defining Equity 5

What Is in This Book 10

Who You Are-The Readers 13

Who I Am-The Author 15

How to Get the Most from this Book 19

Before You Go . . . 22

Interlude: Compassion 23
1 Transformational Coaching: A Model for Change 25
Structures to Span Chasms 25

Assumptions behind Transformational Coaching 29

Transformational Coaching 32

The Three Components of Transformational Coaching 34

The Four Phases of Transformational Coaching 40

The Five Principles of Transformational Coaching 45

Before You Go . . . 46

Interlude: Curiosity 48
2 Jumping into Coaching for Equity 49
Building Relationships and Surfacing Strengths 51

Low Expectations and a Deficit Mindset 54

The Undulating Landscape of Emotions 60

Turning Inward 66

A Conversation about Crying 69

"Do You Think I'm Racist?" 72

Before You Go . . . 73

Interlude: Connection 75
3 How to Understand Race, Racism, and White Supremacy 77
What Is White Supremacy? 79

What Is Racism? 84

How Racism Manifests in Schools 88

The Power of Words and the Language of Oppression 92

It's Time to Take Action 96

Before You Go . . . 98

Interlude: Courage 100
4 How to Talk About Race 101
Recognizing What Is and What Could Be 103

Attending to Myself 110

A Time of Growth 113

The Path to Racial Healing 117

Why Calling People Out Doesn't Work 121

Ten Ways to Respond to the Question, "Am I Racist?" 125

Before You Go . . . 126

Interlude: Purpose 128
5 What You Need to Know about Adult Learners 129
The Gaps between Current Ability and Desired Ability 130

How to Sequence Adult Learning 137

The Coach as Learner 139

Before You Go . . . 141

Interlude: Compassion 142
6 How to Change Someone's Mind 143
Addressing Beliefs and Behavior at the Same Time 144

Six Conditions in Which Beliefs Change 148

How to Build Trust 160

What to Say When You Hear Racist Comments 163

For People of Color Doing this Work 168

Before You Go . . . 172

Interlude: Curiosity 174
7 What You Need to Know about Emotions 175
Toward an Appreciation of Emotions 176

Exploring and Embracing Our Needs 179

Responding to Resistance 186

The Connection between Emotions and Justice 193

Looking at Emotions through an Identity Lens 194

Before You Go . . . 196

Interlude: Connection 197
8 What You Need to Know about Identity 199
The Social Construction of Identity 200

How to Facilitate Reflection 201

Addressing Racial Differences 205

Before You Go . . . 209

Interlude: Courage 210
9 Surfacing Current Reality 211
A Prequel 211

Beginning a Coaching Relationship 214

Planning a Coaching Conversation 223

A First Classroom Visit 229

Before You Go . . . 231

Interlude: Purpose 233
10 Recognizing Impact 235
Debriefing an Observation 235

A Pause to Look Inward 241

Fostering Patience 243

Analyzing and Interpreting Data 243

Coaching a Way of Being: The Legacy Question 247

Determining Next Steps 248

When to Talk about Race 250

Before You Go . . . 254

Interlude: Compassion 256
11 Exploring Emotions 257
When Anger and Doubt Arise 257

Gathering Student Experience Data 260

Debriefing the Data 262

Confronting Bias 264

Before You Go . . . 273

Interlude: Courage 274
12 Creating New Practices 275
Developing New Behaviors 276

Scaffolding Learning for Adults 277

Data That Reveals Beliefs and Ways of Being 280

Practice, Practice, Practice 286

Role-Play Practice 287

Evidence of Deepening Will and Commitment 288

The Ups and Downs of Learning 291

Reflection 294

Celebrating Growth 295

Before You Go . . . 298

Interlude: Purpose 300

Conclusion: Towards Liberty and Justice for All 301

Compassionate 301

Curious 302

Connected 302

Courageous 303

Purposeful 303

Appendix A: The Phases of Transformational Coaching 305

Appendix B: The Equity Rubric 311

Appendix C: Transformational Coaching Rubric (TCR) 2.0 335

Appendix D: Advocating for Systems Change 353

Appendix E: The Core Emotions 359

Appendix F: Resources for Further Learning 363

Glossary 371

References 377

Index 383

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Coaching for Equity: Conversations That Change Practice

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Your Guide to Creating Equitable Schools If we hope to interrupt educational inequities and create schools in which every child thrives, we must open our hearts to purposeful conversation and hone our skills to make those conversations effective.

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Title: Evidence-Based Practices in Mentoring for Leadership Development

Type: Article PDF

Description: This text explores what makes leadership mentoring effective, offering practical advice and critical insights for mentors and program leaders.

Link or Attachment: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1123&context=aglecfacpub

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Title: Mentoring Matters

Type: Book

Description: This book is a great resource for mentors of new teachers. It offers strategies, tools, and insights to help mentors. It also covers the mentor’s role, the needs of beginning teachers, and how to build effective mentoring relationships.

Link or Attachment: https://www.amazon.com/Mentoring-Matters-Practical-Learning-Relationships/dp/0966502221

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Mentoring Matters: A Practical Guide To Learning Focused Relationships

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An invaluable reference for mentors of beginning teachers, this guide offers structures, strategies and tools for developing expertise in teaching. Sections include specific information about the mentor's role, the needs of beginning teachers and the attributes of effective mentor-protégé relatio...

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Title: Mentoring in the Workplace: Program Examples & Best Practices

Type: Website

Description: This website breaks down what mentoring is and what it is not, how to choose which employees to be mentors, and how do to best match a mentor with a mentee.

Link or Attachment: https://ccc.bc.edu/content/ccc/blog-home/2024/01/mentoring-in-workplace-examples-best-practices.html

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Mentoring in the Workplace: Program Examples & Best Practices

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Mentoring in the workplace is becoming an increasingly popular tool for attracting and retaining top talent, including diverse talent and the next generation of workers. Read this overview of mentoring program models, best practices, benefits to the different parties involved, and ideas for measuring impact.

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Title: 8 Employee Mentoring Tips to Develop Your Team

Type: Website

Description: This website offers tips to implement when using mentoring programs in an organization.

Link or Attachment: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/employee-mentoring

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Title: Negotiation Skills for Leaders: A Complete Guide with 7 Proven Tips

Type: Website

Description: This website includes different types of negotiation, tips for leaders, and real-life examples for leaders to reference.

Link or Attachment: https://www.risely.me/negotiation-skills-for-leaders/

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Negotiation Skills for Leaders: A Complete Guide with 7 Proven Tips - Risely

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As a leader, your negotiation skills are crucial to your success. Negotiation is more than just haggling over prices and deals; it’s about building

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Title: Leadership Essentials: Negotiating

Type: Website

Description: This website offers insight on win-win strategies and how to be assertive when in a high-stakes meeting.

Link or Attachment: https://leadership.global/learning/membership-tools/leadership-framework/collaboration/negotiating.html

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Develop your negotiation techniques and skills with free tools and resources from The Institute of Leadership & Management.

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Title: The Program on Negotiation

Type: Resource Website

Description: This website offers free resources for leaders to use to aid in negotiation.

Link or Attachment: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/

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PON - Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School

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The Program on Negotiation (PON) is a consortium program of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tufts University and serves as an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to developing the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution in a range of public and private settings. PON's mission includes nurturing the next generation of negotiation teachers and scholars, helping students become more effective negotiators, and providing a forum for the discussion of ideas.

Founded in 1983 and based at Harvard Law School, PON is a consortium program of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tufts University, with scholars and students from numerous fields of study, including law, business, government, psychology, economics, anthropology, the arts, and education. PON activities include conferences, seminars, research projects, publications, a film series, and an annual event honoring a Great Negotiator for singular achievements as a skilled negotiator in complex situations. Each year over a thousand students take PON negotiation courses, and instructors throughout the world depend on PON materials to teach their courses.

Insight. Expert Analysis. Tips. Research. Advice.

All brought to you from the blog at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. The blog examines past and current negotiations from many fields including business, government, education and law. Read the blog daily and you will learn how to improve your skills at the negotiating table.

The Program on Negotiation offers a number of courses taught by leading Harvard faculty and experts in the field of negotiation, mediation, and conflict management. The courses range from one-day, three-day, and five-day workshops to semester-length courses. Participants come from around the world from both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, as well as a wide range of professions, including business, diplomacy, government, the military, law, and education. The diverse participant mix creates a dynamic interchange of perspectives and a network of friends and contacts that often last long after the seminar has ended.

The Program on Negotiation publishes the quarterly academic journal, Negotiation Journal. This publication draws on ideas from leading authorities and scholars in the field of negotiation - academics who are the best in their fields.

The Program on Negotiation Teaching Negotiation Resource Center offers a wide range of educational materials for university classroom settings and corporate trainings, for mediators and facilitators, and for individuals seeking to enhance their skills and knowledge. Materials include role-play simulations, videos, books, periodicals, and case studies.

This new three-day program will take place at designated partner facilities in host countries, and will largely mirror the extremely popular Executive Education program that PON has offered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for more than 30 years.

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The Program on Negotiation (PON) is a consortium program of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tufts University and serves as an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to developing the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution in a range of public and private settings.

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Title: 17 Motivation Worksheets, Exercises & Activities (+ PDF)

Type: Website

Description: This website includes goal-setting, visualization, and self-reflection exercises for leaders to implement with their teams.

Link or Attachment: https://positivepsychology.com/motivation-tools-worksheets-activities/

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One size does not fit all when it comes to motivation, so we will often find that we have to try new techniques, new mindsets, and new approaches in our search for that perfect ensemble.

All the same, it's good to have a few tricks up our sleeve, whether trying to motivate ourselves or someone on our team, classroom, or at home.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Tim Notke

This article is a form of motivation toolbox that contains several motivational activities and worksheets as well as suggestions (new and old) for how to intervene in our motivational states.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

Motivation Worksheets

In our search for the just-right recipe for motivation, we need to understand first what motivates us. We begin with awareness building tools in the form of questionnaires.

The first worksheet will help us assess the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Then we will move to the exploration of our mechanisms that support or thwart motivation. We will explore our self-esteem and take an inventory of our curiosity before we dive into what else might get in the way and cause us to procrastinate.

Once equipped with a good map of our current motivational needs, we move on to interventions that help alter our emotional states toward the positive and bring on a sense of well-being, which can be used to increase our motivation toward goal pursuit.

Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction in General (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Gagné, 2003)

According to the self-determination theory, the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness must be continually satisfied for people to develop and function in healthy and optimal ways (Deci & Ryan, 2000).

Please read each of the following items carefully, thinking about how it relates to your life, and then indicate how true it is for you. Use the following scale to respond:

Scoring information: Form three subscale scores, one for the degree to which the person experiences satisfaction of each of the three needs. To do that, you must first reverse score all items that are worded in a negative way shown below with (R) following the items numbers.

To reverse score an item, simply subtract the item response from 8. Thus, for example, a two would be converted to a 6. Once you have reverse scored the items, average the items on the relevant subscale:

Autonomy: 1, 4(R), 8, 11(R), 14, 17, 20(R)
Competence: 3(R), 5, 10, 13, 15(R), 19(R)
Relatedness: 2, 6, 7(R), 9, 12, 16(R), 18(R), 21

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965)

The scale is a ten-item Likert scale with items answered on a four-point scale - from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

Instructions: Below is a list of statements dealing with your general feelings about yourself. If you strongly agree, circle SA. If you agree with the statement, circle A. If you disagree, circle D. If you strongly disagree, circle SD.

Scoring: SA=3, A=2, D=1, SD=0. Items with an asterisk are reverse scored, that is, SA=0, A=1, D=2, SD=3. Sum the scores for the ten items. The higher the score, the higher the self-esteem. We also discuss the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale with questionnaires in detail in our blog.

Curiosity Inventory

Curiosity has been positively linked to intrinsic motivation and is considered by some a vital psychological mechanism for achieving more of it. Trait curiosity and exploration inventory designed by Kashdan to measure our inclination to inherently rewarding pursuits. Curiosity has been linked to many health and social benefits (2009).

Rate the following statements on how they describe how you generally feel:

Statements

Extremely Characteristic

Moderately Characteristic

Neutral

Moderately Uncharacteristic

Extremely Uncharacteristic

Procrastination Scale (Lay, 1986)

Students may use the following statements to describe themselves. For each statement, decide whether the statement is uncharacteristic or characteristic of you using the following 5-point scale.

Note that the three on the scale is Neutral - the statement is neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic of you. To the right of each statement, write the number on the 5-point scale that best describes you.

Note: Reversed-keyed items: 3,4,6,8,11,13,14,15,18,20

Changes in emotion and perceptions of well-being can be used as feedback in the effort to motivate others in productive ways. Several subjective experiences of wellbeing can be achieved through practicing gratitude, cultivation of hope through visualization, or through learning to exercise one's strengths. These, in turn, can be used to support increased motivation and produce a gradual change in behavior.

Here are some examples of worksheets used by Robert Biswas-Diener as tools for increasing positive emotions and cognitions from his manual for coaching positive psychology. These are prime examples of intervention that alter emotional states toward the positive or re-frame our way of thinking toward the more optimistic end of the spectrum.

Happiness is liquid

Happiness is liquid, in the same way, that monetary instruments such as stocks are liquid. Humans are built with emotional systems that include the capacity for happiness. It is a type of emotional currency that can be spent, like money, on the outcomes in life we truly value, such as our health, our relationships, and success at work.

One way to appreciate the existing wealth we all possess is to notice and magnify moments when we either receive from or give kindness to others.

Reflect on the following questions:

Who acknowledged you today?

How did it feel when you were acknowledged? Try visualizing that moment.

What else would you like to be acknowledged for?

Who had a hand in the day's greatest successes?

Who rose to the occasion?

Who took initiative?

Who offered support?

How were these people acknowledged?

How does it make you feel when you think of these things?

What does it make you feel like doing?

Coaching Questions for the Ideal Self

Reflect on the image of your ideal self by answering the following questions. This can be done in the form of powerful open-ended questioning during a coaching session or assigned as a writing exercise.

How well articulated is the ideal self?

How important is it to you to achieve the ideal self?

When are you planning to make the changes associated with achieving the ideal self?

What resources and opportunities do you have that will help you work toward your ideal self?

What hurdles do you anticipate? How can these be part of the growth process?

What factors inform your vision of your ideal self?

How internal (as opposed to external) are the values that inform your ideal self?

What person, living or dead, is similar to your ideal self?

Name a single, small behavior you can change as the first step toward your ideal self.

How can you chart your progress toward your ideal self?

Creating an ideal self-imagine in the future

It may be the near future or several years from now. Imagine this is a future in which you have gotten many of the things you want from life and accomplished many of the things to which you aspire.

Take a couple of minutes to picture what you are like and what your life is like. Imagine where you would be living, where you would be working. Imagine what your commute is like, your health is like, your friendships are like. Imagine the skills you have and the opportunities you have for growth.

Picture the types of decisions you have made and the goals you have achieved.

This can be done in the form of powerful open-ended questioning during a coaching session or assigned as a writing exercise.

Describe where would you be living.

What is it you value in living arrangements and circumstances that you would like to achieve?

To what extent is this vision of your future living arrangements internal versus the product of some external factor or someone else's values?

Describe your work life: your commute, your office, your position, the type of work you would do.

What is it you value in work that you would like to achieve in this ideal future?

To what extent is this vision of your future work the product of internal versus the product of some external factor or someone else's values?

Now that the client has a vision of a desired future, we can help him or her move toward goal setting.

Setting SMART+R Goals

Setting SMART+R Goals offers a different take on SMART goals that assigns more importance to indicators of making progress and measuring progress against specific targets.

This flow also incorporates room for scheduled rewards, to encourage positive reinforcement when a target is reached.

Another way to track progress would be to use technology. Feedback tracking technologies have been designed to help address progress feedback.

The pursuit of quantifiable objectives often guides our lives. When something gets in the way of sustaining the motivation necessary for achieving those goals, we can use self-tracking technologies to motivate ourselves and others.

Goal progress feedback with valences and visualization features can influences commitment and persistence across a broad range of domains, including physical tasks and purchasing behaviors, according to recent data from social and consumer psychology research.

Here is a quick list of what's out there:

Building New Habits

Implementation Intentions, also known as ' If, then ' plans can be very helpful in planning for all the eventualities when something gets in the way of achieving our goals. Normally we would brainstorm ahead of time to have a back-up plan for when known detractors get in the way of getting things done.

We suggest that occasionally, we introduce a reward into this plan of action to even further motivate persistence on goal. This Building New Habits exercise helps you do this by working through the three steps of The Habit Loop: cue, behavior, and reward.

Motivational Activities

Goal setting is often best supported through coaching. One model of goal setting conversation is the Auerbach GOOD coaching model (2015). It can be used for structuring coaching sessions in a way that progresses from goal setting and exploring options to action planning and accountability.

Auerbach GOOD coaching model:

Goals - define the most important goals a client wants to work toward

Options - explore option is available to help them move forward

Obstacles - name obstacles that might get in the way of progress

Do - specify what is the client going to do specifically and by when

To expand on these steps of the GOOD model, here are questions you can ask at each stage and all while practicing empathy, active listening, and providing support.

Goal phase:

What is a goal you want to focus on?

When you are successful with this goal, what will it look like?

What makes this goal important to you?

How does this goal fit into your vision?

When you reach your desired outcome, how would you like to feel?

What type of change would make your life even better?

Options phase:

What is some way your goal could be accomplished?

Tell me about a time you accomplished something similar?

What ways have you seen others approach such a task?

What action can you take to achieve your goal?

If you choose not to take some of the actions, what will be the impact?

Obstacles phase:

What could get in the way of you moving forward with pursuing your goal?

What external challenges might interfere?

What internal challenges might get in the way?

Who can you get support from?

Do phase:

What strategies are you willing to employ to reach your objective?

What specifically are you going to do, and when?

How will you know you're making progress?

What is the most immediate action you can take, and when?

How long will it take, and when will you complete it?

Work-style scale questionnaire

Designed to distinguish four distinct types of motivational approaches to work: procrastinators, incubators, planners, and triflers (Biswas-Diener, 2010).

4= perfectly describes me
3= describes me somewhat
2= does not describe me
1= does not describe me at all

A= I always get my work completed on time
B= The quality of my work is superior
C= It takes a looming deadline to motivate me
D= I do my best work under pressure
E= I like to get started on the project right away

Use the following description to score the work-style questionnaire by looking for the following constellations of high scores:

Planners: are self-motivated, strategize their work, and tend to start right away even on the long-term project. Planners generally score high on items A, B, and E.

Incubators: thrive on deadlines, put off work till the last minute but always complete work on time, and produce high quality. Incubators generally score high on items A, B, C, and D.

Triflers: start work early but get distracted and lose interest easily. Triflers generally score high on item E and low on items A and B.

Procrastinators: put off work till the last minute and often hand in mediocre work. Procrastinators generally score high on items C and D and low on items A and B.

FLOW questionnaire

Intrinsically motivating activities can be identified through the experience sampling method originally used by Csikszentmihalyi to identify the states of flow (1990). The below questionnaire can help clients understand how they allocate attention throughout the day and if they spend a lot of time investing their energy effectively.

This should be done over at least a week but preferably two. Ask the client to set their phone to prompt him or her during the day at random times to notice what they are doing and jot down the answers to the following questions:

At this moment, what are you doing, and who are you with?

How satisfied are you on a scale of 1 to 10?

How much skill is needed for this activity? Choose one:

No skills needed

Some skills required

A moderate amount of skills used

Had to stretch to do this activity

Describe your level of motivation

Doing this because you have nothing else to do

Doing this because I am told to

Doing this because I have to

Doing this because I want to

How challenged are you by the activity on a scale of 1 to 10?

How much are you concentrating on a scale of 1 to 10?

A recent study where subjects were asked to deliberately not engage in intrinsically motivating activities showed a decrease in the sense of wellbeing in just two days (Pink, 2009).

Path that's right for me

Using strengths, according to Govinji and Linley leads to wellbeing and vitality and promotes self-efficacy and believing that you can accomplish your goals (2007). Here is a questionnaire their study was based on, followed by reflection questions about using strengths in a new way which often leads to better progress toward goals:

I am regularly able to do what I do best

I always play to my strengths

I always try to use my strengths

I achieve what I want by using my strengths

I use my strengths every day

I use my strengths to get what I want every day

My work gives me a lot of opportunities to use my strengths

My life presents me with a lot way to use my strengths

Using my strengths comes naturally to me

I find it easy to use my strengths in the things I do

I am able to use my strengths in a lot of different situations

Most of my time is spent doing things I am good at doing

Using my strengths is something I am familiar with

I am able to use my strength in a lot of different ways

Here are questions that can be used for reflecting on leveraging strengths toward goal pursuit:

What are some new ways in which you can use strengths?

What strengths are you using today?

How can you spend more time this week doing things that you are good at?

How can you use your strengths this week to achieve your goal?

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)

Although the methods themselves have not been scientifically tested, some of the techniques used by the neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) have shown to be effective in increasing positive emotional states and can be linked to well-known psychological phenomena.

NLP has been used to increase self-awareness and to help spot negative patterns, thoughts, and assumptions that may be worth replacing. We discuss two commonly used NLP methods below; first to alter emotional states toward the positive in the moment, and the second to combat thoughts that trigger anxiety by visualizing alternative responses.

Anchoring technique is based on the psychological concepts of operant conditioning, where a stimulus triggers specific responses that were conditioned through repetition. The goal of the practice is to learn to elicit positive emotional responses at will so one can use them as needed. Anchoring is intended to improve our ability to control emotions and allows us to take an active role in self-regulation.

How to use the anchoring technique:

Bring to mind a memory of the time you felt really good where you experienced intense positive feelings you want to trigger in other situations (e.g., feeling achievement the moment you got a promotion).

Try to remember details of what you saw, felt, smelt, and heard to bring in sensory cues associated with that memory and to intensify it to be as vivid as possible.

At this point, associate your feelings to an anchor, which could be a gesture of any kind like twisting a ring on your finger or pinching your earlobe, for example.

Take a short break and repeat the steps above.

Test the anchor by performing the action and observe if it elicits the positive feelings.

You can then use this method whenever you need an emotional pick-me-up.

The Swish Method attempts to identify mental and emotional triggers of negativity and replace them with a typical response.

In this technique, you don't have to take any action but become aware of the alternatives available to you in terms of how you respond to negative thoughts and emotions.

Driven by the principle that seeing is believing, the Swish Method is a visualization technique based on the assumption that our mind often does not differentiate between real and visualized events, as they both activate the same parts of the brain.

How to put the Swish Method into action:

Identify a thought and the associated feelings that usually trigger anxiety for you. You're about to deliver a speech and feel nervous and uneasy.

Notice how your mind and body react. This can be a sensation of butterflies in your stomach or brain fog.

Bring to mind a visual image of the context in which this happens. This could be as you walk into the room or get up to the podium.

Think about how you would ideally like to respond as you physically enter the context in which the negative thoughts take place. You may choose to be calm, confident, well-prepared, optimistic, etc.

This will become your replacement thought. In your mind, visualize the negative state and figuratively place the replacement thought over it, make sure it appears bigger, stronger, and more vibrant while making the negative emotion appear in black and white or blurry.

You will need to practice the Swish Method a few times to ensure the replacement thought becomes the default response. Do it at least five times and speed up the visualization with each round. To check for effectiveness, evoke the trigger thought/feeling and its context, and see how you feel about it.

Oblique Strategies

Last but not least, completely unscientific but fun and artistic way of getting unstuck and introducing a bit of unexpected creativity are thought-provoking statements that add an element of surprise.

Oblique Strategies (subtitled Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas) is a card-based method for promoting creativity designed by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt, first published in 1975.

Here are examples of these statements:

Don't be afraid of things because they're easy to do.

Honor thy error as a hidden intention.

Turn it upside down.

Go slowly all the way round the outside.

Make a sudden, destructive unpredictable action; incorporate.

What is the reality of the situation?

Look closely at the most embarrassing details and amplify them.

You can only make one dot at a time.

Are there sections? Consider transitions.

Infinitesimal gradations.

Ask your body.

Look at the order in which you do things.

What are you really thinking about just now? Incorporate.

Use unqualified people.

Disconnect from desire.

Into the impossible.

Work at a different speed.

Discover the recipes you are using and abandon them.

Make an exhaustive list of everything you might do and do the last thing on the list.

Do nothing for as long as possible.

Accretion.

Humanize something free of error.

Define an area as 'safe' and use it as an anchor.

Emphasize repetitions.

Take away the elements in order of apparent non-importance.

Ask people to work against their better judgment.

Listen to the quiet voice.

Trust in the you of now.

Abandon normal instruments.

Repetition is a form of change.

Make a blank valuable by putting it in an exquisite frame.

The inconsistency principle.

Not building a wall but making a brick.

Faced with a choice, do both.

Be less critical more often.

Motivation Board

Creating a motivation board that includes all your goals, aspirations, and dreams can also be an effective form of motivation.

Some call it a vision board, and it is basically a visual incentive that can help you find excitement and enthusiasm through pictures of what you want, making it harder to ignore than words. It should be placed somewhere where you can see it every day because out of sight is out of mind.

Other Visual aids such as drawing, video recordings, viewing images of others accomplishing what you want to accomplish are all powerful tools to make your subconscious mind aligned with your conscious desire.

Motivation and Meditation

Practicing meditation can help increase and sustain motivation toward goal pursuit. Meditation helps with concentration and allows us to stay focused for longer. Meditation also reduces stress as it promotes relaxation. Meditation improves cognition and increases the ability to perform tasks that requires focus. Meditation allows us to become more aware of our emotions.

Meditation, when practiced for as little as 10 minutes per day, can help clear the mental clutter that distracts us from our goal, not to mention decrease anxiety and improve our cardiovascular health.

There are many guided meditations that target specific outcomes: learning relaxation, practicing focus and concentration, reducing stress, rumination, anxiety, and chronic pain, cultivating self-awareness and body awareness as well as insight meditation for practicing acceptance.

Many can be downloaded as an app or found on websites, meditative music playlists, podcasts, videos, blogs, and for those who are so inclined, nature is always a great option. There are courses and classes on meditation, both online and in-person, offered through local providers and even employers.

Ironically enough, many complain about not being able to find the motivation to meditate as there are some preconceived notions about the amount of effort required. It is often best to start small with something readily available, perhaps as a replacement of something that may not be the best use of our time, like browsing the social media while waiting for the next appointment.

Motivational Questions

Empowering questions are basically motivational questions. They are always open-ended and often thought-provoking. They are a well-known tool for any coach and, when expertly used, can be quite effective as a motivational technique at any point and in most situations.

It is a skill that requires some practice; however, empowering questions is rarely something we learn at home or school.

What value does this goal represent to you?

How will you celebrate your victory?

How would that contribute to the world?

What about this goal demonstrates what you stand for?

What keeps you going?

What really excites you about that?

What about this goal fits into your purpose?

What part of this relates to your dreams?

If you had all the time, energy and money to achieve your goals, what would you do?

Why is that important to you?

What do you want to experience?

What works well?

What's another way to look at that?

How can you reframe that to help you move on?

How will you demonstrate motivation and perseverance?

Motivation Courses

Many coaching programs offer mastery courses, and it is often a part of the curriculum to teach self-mastery to coaches who impart their knowledge to their clients. Courses on motivation are also offered as online courses through:

And if you're overwhelmed with choices offered through these platforms, you can go to Class Central website to see a complete list of MOOC courses.

You can also enroll in a personal mastery program, and some of the well-known institutions that offer those are:

There are also several Mastery Programs for teens. Those are most effective as in-person after school or summer camp type programs that allow the teens to develop self-mastery through activities that:

Give Responsible Tasks

Work in Groups

Positive Competition

Evaluation Programs

Switch Roles

Field Trips

Finally, there are many ways to hold Team building activities for employees. From local providers to HR or employee organized events, at the office or off-site, team building has been used to bond, promote collaboration, and spread fun through the office.

Some companies like Atlassian take team building to the next level. They use innovation fairs where teams go offsite and am given all the beer and chocolate cake they can handle, as long as they originate, develop, and deliver new products, new services, or business process improvements overnight.

Motivational Quotes

Men's best successes come after their disappointments.

Henry Ward Beecher

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.

William B. Sprague

Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.

Stephen R. Covey

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

Albert Schweitzer

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.

Napoleon Hill

You can have anything you want if you are willing to give up the belief that you can't have it.

Robert Anthony

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Albert Einstein

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful.

Eric Thomas

A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.

Vince Lombardi

The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.

Ayn Rand

Motivation Resources

Our suggestion for creating a toolbox of motivational resources would be to take the time to try out a few motivational strategies and choose a few that can be used in the moment as well as some that are more appropriate for long term goal setting, as well as cultivating motivational muscle and investing in the future ability to find motivation at will.

In the moment strategies could include:

Long term motivation

Ideal future-self visualization

Explore strengths and use them in novel ways

Find moments of flow through ESM method to get straight to intrinsic motivation

Investment in the future of growing the motivational muscle:

Assess the satisfaction of psychological needs

Hire a coach

Take a motivational course or mastery modeling program

While the suggestions for how to get motivated abound, the actual value of motivational tools comes from learning to use them and use them well.

I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.

Abraham Maslow

The law of the instrument, otherwise known as Maslow's hammer, remind us that we have a cognitive bias to over-rely on a familiar tool.

17 Motivation & Goal-Achievement Exercises - If you're looking for more science-based ways to help others reach their goals, this collection contains 17 validated motivation & goals-achievement tools for practitioners. Use them to help others turn their dreams into reality by applying the latest science-based behavioral change techniques.

A Take-Home Message

The irony in writing this article was trying to find the motivation to do it. Because having learned a lot about it was a small part of the process. We all know how to live our lives well, yet few of us can bring ourselves to do it. Although it is important to understand what motivation is, ultimately, it is much more important to experience what motivation does.

Do you have a favorite motivational strategy or technique? Please share it with us here.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free.

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17 Motivation Tools, Worksheets and Activities for You and Your Clients

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One size does not fit all when it comes to motivation, so we will often find that we have to try new techniques, new mindsets, and new approaches in our search for that perfect ensemble. All the same, it's good to have a few tricks up our sleeve, whether trying to motivate ourselves or someone on our team, classroom, or at home.

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Title: RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

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Description: This video breaks down autonomy, mastery, and purpose in regard to motivation.

Link or Attachment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

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RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

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Title: The Motivational Pie Chart Activity

Type: PDF Resource

Description: This tool helps managers and individuals identify what truly motivates people at work by creating a personalized “motivation pie chart.” The exercise reveals how different people’s motivators can be, while also highlighting shared needs like meaningful work, growth, and connection.

Link or Attachment: https://greatresultsteambuilding.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The-Motivational-Pie-Chart.pdf

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Title: 17 Tips for How to Motivate Employees Effectively

Type: Website

Description: This resource offers managers practical, actionable advice to boost employee motivation.

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Title: Boosting Business Success: The Benefits of Highly Motivated Employees

Type: Website

Description: This article explains why having motivated employees is critical for business success. It outlines how motivation boosts engagement, productivity, company culture, and innovation.

Link or Attachment: https://www.business.com/articles/the-benefits-of-highly-motivated-employees/

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There are several benefits of having highly motivated employees in your ranks, but for business owners, all roads eventually lead to the bottom line. High levels of employee motivation are intrinsically linked to high levels of employee engagement, which companies are paying close attention to these days, and for good reason. Gallup reported that nearly half of U.S. employees were actively searching for new job opportunities in 2021, with disengaged employees at the highest risk of leaving.

If employers want to retain their employees, it's essential they focus on the employee experience, including workplace engagement and motivation. However, retention isn't the only benefit of a highly motivated workforce. Read on to learn how (and why) to motivate your employees.

Benefits of highly motivated employees

Every business owner should strive to have a highly motivated workforce. A company that focuses on motivating its employees and enhancing the employee experience will see several benefits from doing so.

Increased employee engagement

High levels of employee motivation can be linked to high levels of engagement, and a highly engaged workforce can do wonders for your bottom line. If an employee feels motivated to complete a specific task, they're also likely to feel more engaged while completing said task.

There are three levels of employee engagement: engaged (the employee works with passion), not engaged (the employee feels "checked out") and actively disengaged (the employee is unhappy and acting out). It can be helpful to understand each employee's level of engagement to identify their motivation - and eventually improve both. For example, if an employee is not engaged with their work because they feel they aren't being recognized or valued, you might extrinsically motivate them through an employee recognition program. That in turn could make them become reengaged with the company.

Higher productivity and performance

Highly motivated employees are often more productive and better performers than their unmotivated colleagues. They tend to work harder and focus on completing their tasks to the best of their abilities, which results in better output for their organizations. When you understand the reason behind an employee's actions, you can use that insight to motivate them and ultimately improve business productivity, performance, and efficiency.

Greater levels of creativity and innovation

Motivated employees handle uncertainty more easily, are better problem-solvers and have higher levels of innovation and creativity. When an employee is motivated to achieve a certain goal, they won't let an obstacle stop them; instead, they willingly think outside the box to create a new solution. A flexible workforce that rolls with the punches is key to a successful company, especially for fast-paced small businesses and startups, since employees tend to wear many hats. A team that's motivated is going to be more likely to innovate.

Improved manager-employee relationships

Many employees quit their jobs due to bad managers. If you want to retain your employees long term, you need to foster positive manager-employee relationships throughout your organization. Managers can build positive relationships by learning what motivates their team members and offering them work opportunities based on those motivators. This not only encourages employees to work harder, but it also demonstrates that their managers truly care about their needs, which can lead to better relationships and retention.

Better customer service

When an employee is motivated to perform well in a customer-facing role, it often translates to better customer service. This can create higher levels of customer satisfaction and ultimately increase sales down the line. In an era where customer satisfaction and online reviews are paramount, it's crucial to maintain a positive customer experience. Highly motivated employees can help you achieve that.

Great company culture

Employee motivation is great for driving collaboration and company culture. When employees feel motivated and connected to their job and the company, their positivity and hard work can rub off on their co-workers. This is a great way to build a positive company culture full of employees who feel motivated to perform well and work together to reach company goals.

Positive company reputation

A workforce full of happy and motivated employees can improve your overall company reputation. Motivated employees are more likely to speak highly of your organization, which is great for attracting new talent. When employee motivation improves customer service, it can also improve your reputation in the eyes of your consumers.

Lower employee absenteeism and turnover

Motivated employees tend to show up to work on time and accomplish their tasks when they're supposed to. Additionally, motivated employees usually stick with the organization longer, improving overall employee retention. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the cost of replacing an employee can be 30% of that employee's first-year earnings, so it's financially important to maintain low employee turnover.

Employee motivation defined

Motivation is the force that drives people to start, continue or stop certain behaviors to achieve a goal. Employee motivation is when your workforce is driven to perform tasks that help your organization reach its goals. Employees can be driven by intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. For example, an employee may be encouraged to work hard to meet a project deadline because they are promised bonus compensation (an extrinsic motivation), or they may work hard simply because they love their work and the feeling of accomplishing a goal (an intrinsic motivation).

What drives motivation and engagement

The UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School broke down a whitepaper by Kimberly Schaufenbuel, then an executive development program director at the school, to explain how the science of motivation as it relates to the brain can be used to improve employee motivation.

Schaufenbuel highlighted the work of Harvard professors Nitin Nohria, Boris Groysberg, and Linda-Eling Lee, who studied the neuroscience behind motivation, and how the brain can be "retrained to increase a person's motivation for rewards." That can lead to improvements in employee engagement, productivity and retention.

The research identified four behavioral drivers that influence human behavior: the drive to acquire, the drive to defend, the drive to bond and the drive to learn.

"When HR and talent managers understand what drives a person's behavior in this context, they can design systems, policies, procedures and practices that will appeal to each driver," Schaufenbuel said.

Another expert Schaufenbuel referenced was David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, whose SCARF model also examines motivational theory and neuroscience. SCARF (status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, fairness) is a "framework for understanding how the brain responds to perceived threats and rewards," she said.

According to Rock, "a job should not be viewed as a business transaction - do the work and get paid - but rather as a part of a social system in which the brain is rewarded (or punished) based on how well the business environment is meeting an employee's need for status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness."

With all of this in mind, a company can aim to meet each need, or driver, to keep its employees motivated and engaged.

How to improve employee motivation

There are many strategies that experts recommend to improve employee engagement and motivation. If you're looking to boost motivation at your organization, these strategies can get you started.

Ask for (and act upon) employee feedback. One of the best ways to improve employee motivation is to simply ask for employee feedback on how you can make work more meaningful to them. Listen to your staff and use their feedback to modify their responsibilities and strategies to capitalize on what motivates them.

Build positive manager-employee relationships. Not surprisingly, a major influencer on engagement and motivation is an employee's manager. Consistent communication and feeling that managers are invested in them are linked to higher engagement. Have managers hold regular one-on-one meetings to form positive relationships with their subordinates and learn what motivates them.

Set clear employee expectations. A lack of clarity can lead to greater frustration for employees, resulting in lower motivation over time. Instead, set and discuss clear employee expectations to eliminate those frustrations and improve motivation.

Focus on strengths over weaknesses. Focus on each employee's strengths instead of weaknesses to find a good job and organizational fit for them. This mindset helps employees grow and develop within their roles, and it encourages them to produce more and significantly better work.

Recognize your employees. Recognition can be a great motivator for employees. Consider creating a formal employee recognition program, as well as establishing a culture that informally celebrates employee "wins" as they happen in real time.

By understanding the benefits of highly motivated employees and implementing specific strategies to make sure they stay that way, you'll improve the culture of your business - as well as your bottom line.
Alison Napolitano contributed to the writing and research in this article.

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Learn the links between highly motivated employees and high employee engagement - and how both can benefit your business.

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Title: 5 Tools to Delegate Effectively and Unlock Your Team’s Potential

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Description: This website provides leaders with tools they can use to better delegate tasks. These resources include readiness assessments and conditions of satisfaction.

Link or Attachment: https://widelensleadership.com/5-tools-to-delegate-effectively-and-unlock-your-teams-potential/

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5 Tools to Delegate Effectively and Unlock Your Team’s Potential - Wide Lens Leadership

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Learning to delegate effectively is not just about offloading tasks; it’s about strategic empowerment and trust-building.

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Title: How to Delegate Effectively: 9 Tips for Managers

Type: Website

Description: This website provides leaders with nine delegation tips they can implement in their leadership style.

Link or Attachment: https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/how-to-delegate-effectively

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Delegation is a vital management skill. But for some, it's the hardest to put into practice.

There are several reasons why managers may shy away from delegating work. They might:

Think it would take longer to explain the task than actually completing it themselves

Want to feel indispensable to their team by being the keeper of specific knowledge

Enjoy completing certain projects so prefer not to reassign them

Feel guilty about adding more work onto another employee's to-do list

Lack confidence or trust in who they need to transfer the project to

Believe that they're the only ones who can do the job right

Whatever the reason, it's important to continue honing the skill, as refusing to delegate can have negative consequences. Not only will you overload your schedule and prioritize the wrong tasks, but your employees will miss out on valuable learning and growth opportunities.

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What Is Delegation and Why Is It Important?

Delegation refers to the transfer of responsibility for specific tasks from one person to another.

From a management perspective, delegation occurs when a manager assigns specific tasks to their employees. By delegating those tasks to team members, managers free up time to focus on higher-value activities while also keeping employees engaged with greater autonomy.

According to a Gallup study, CEOs who excel in delegating generate 33 percent higher revenue. These executives know they can't accomplish everything alone and position their team to tackle tasks they're confident they'll achieve-in turn empowering employees, boosting morale, and increasing productivity. In the process, CEOs free up their time to focus on activities that will yield the highest returns and grow the company.

Here are nine ways you can start delegating more effectively to cultivate high-performing teams.

9 Delegation Tips for Managers

1. Know What to Delegate

Not every task can be delegated. For example, performance reviews or any personnel matters should be handled by you. After all, hiring the right talent and knowing each employee's strengths and weaknesses will ultimately make you better at assigning deliverables and transferring responsibility to the appropriate team members.

Several other day-to-day activities don't require your oversight, though. Is there a task you regularly tackle despite knowing your co-worker is better equipped to complete it? Would assigning the project to other employees help bolster their careers? If there's someone who could do the work better, or you think this could be a teachable moment, delegate. It will show you trust and value your team, while also giving you time to focus on more strategic projects.

2. Play to Your Employees' Strengths and Goals

Every employee should have goals they're working toward, and within those goals are opportunities to delegate. For example, maybe you have a direct report who wants to gain management experience. Is there an intern they could start supervising, or a well-defined project they can own the execution of? The type of work you delegate could factor into their professional development plan.

For other tasks, there's likely someone on your team with the specific skill set needed to achieve the desired result. Leverage that and play to your employees' strengths. When someone has a higher chance of excelling, they're more motivated and engaged, which then benefits the entire business.

How to Become a Better Manager

3. Define the Desired Outcome

Simply dumping work onto someone else's plate isn't delegating. The projects you hand off should come with proper context and a clear tie into the organization's goals.

"You've got to have real clarity of objective," says Harvard Business School Professor Kevin Sharer in the online Management Essentials course. That includes having alignment on "what does good look like" and by what timeline, and "the technique of measuring accomplishment."

Before anyone starts working on a project, they should know what they need to complete and by when, including the metrics you'll use to measure the success of their work.

4. Provide the Right Resources and Level of Authority

If the person you're delegating work to needs specific training, resources, or authority to complete the assigned project, it's your role as a manager to provide all three. Setting someone up for an impossible task will frustrate both sides; your colleague won't be able to achieve the desired outcome, and then you'll likely need to put that work back on your to-do list.

This is also where you need to fight the urge to micromanage. Telling your co-worker, step-by-step, how you would accomplish the task and then controlling each part of the process won't enable them to learn or gain new skills. Focus instead on what the desired end goal is, why the task is important, and help address any gaps between the outcome and their current skill set.

5. Establish a Clear Communication Channel

While you want to avoid micromanaging, you do want to establish a communication channel so that the person you're delegating to feels comfortable asking questions and providing progress updates.

"You've got to have some way to communicate so that the person you delegated to can come back to you and report," says Sharer in the Management Essentials course. "You've got to have some way along the way to see how things are going. It isn't fire and forget. That is, 'I just give you the task and I don't worry about it anymore. We've got to have some way to monitor the progress along the way without me getting in your way.'"

Setting up regular check-ins and providing feedback throughout the project can help with this.

6. Allow for Failure

This step is particularly important for the perfectionists who avoid delegating because they think their way is the only way to get the work done. You need to allow for failure-not because your employees might fail, but because it will enable experimentation and empower the people you're assigning tasks to, to take a new approach.

If you're open to new ideas and approaches to the work, you'll have an easier time delegating when able.

7. Be Patient

As a manager, you likely have more years of experience in your field. Because of this, a task you can complete in 30 minutes might take an employee a full hour the first time they complete it.

You might be tempted to refrain from delegating certain tasks knowing that you can get them done faster, but be patient with your employees. Think back to the first time you completed a specific task early on in your career. You probably weren't as efficient as you are now; your time management skills have improved.

As you continue to delegate and your employees become more familiar with the tasks that need to be completed, you'll notice that the work will get done faster over time.

7 Strategies for Improving Your Management Skills

8. Deliver (and Ask For) Feedback

In addition to monitoring progress, you should also deliver feedback to your employees after the tasks you've delegated are complete.

If a task wasn't completed as assigned, don't be afraid to offer constructive criticism. Your employees can take this feedback and make changes the next time a similar task is assigned. On the other hand, remember to provide positive feedback and show your appreciation when a task was done well.

To ensure you're delegating effectively, you'll also want to ask your team for any feedback that they can give you. Ask your employees if you provided clear instructions and determine if there's anything you can do to better delegate in the future.

9. Give Credit Where It's Due

After you've delegated tasks and they've been seen through to completion, credit those who achieved the work.

"Recognizing that success is because of your team is not only right, but it has the added benefit of making those around you more engaged-making you even more successful," writes HBS Online Executive Director Patrick Mullane for Richtopia. "It's counter-intuitive, but not claiming success for yourself will lead to more future wins."

The more you thank and credit those you've delegated work to, the more likely it is they will want to help you on other projects in the future.

Honing Your Delegation Skills

Delegating isn't easy; it's a skill that must be practiced and honed over time. But the better you become at aligning the right people with the right tasks and responsibilities, the more effective you'll become at your job as a manager.
Are you interested in further improving your managerial skills? Download our free leadership and management e-book to find out how. Also, explore our eight-week online Management Essentials course, which will provide you with real-world tools and strategies to excel in decision-making, implementation, organizational learning, and change management. This post was updated on June 2, 2021. It was originally published on January 14, 2020.

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How to Delegate Effectively: 9 Tips for Managers | HBS Online

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Delegation is a vital management skill. But for some, it's the hardest to put into practice. There are several reasons why managers may shy away from delegating work.

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Title: How to delegate effectively: 10 delegation tips for leaders

Type: Website

Description: This website offers leaders practical advice for task assignment and team empowerment.

Link or Attachment: https://asana.com/resources/how-to-delegate

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Summary

Delegating is when you reassign work to other team members because it's more relevant to their workstreams and priorities. If you're getting started with team or project management, it can be intimidating to delegate work. It's okay if you don't know exactly what or how to delegate. In this article, we'll walk you through when to delegate, and give you 10 tips to help you delegate work effectively.

Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can do as a manager is to delegate work. Not only does delegating work give you more time to focus on high-impact tasks, it also gives your team members a chance to get involved in interesting projects.

But knowing what-and how-to delegate can be daunting for new managers. Delegating is a leadership skill you can develop over time. In this article, we'll walk you through 10 tips to help you become a better delegator.

What is delegation?

Delegation is the act of redirecting tasks and initiatives to other team members. You might delegate work to distribute responsibility more evenly, or because the task or initiative is more relevant to another team member's priorities, skills, or interests.

Knowing when and how to delegate makes you a better manager. Not only does delegating help you get your high-impact work done, but it also gives team members an opportunity to get involved in interesting projects. Effective delegation builds team skills and allows team members to develop new strengths.
Create a prioritization matrix template
Why is delegation important?

Delegating work is important for two main reasons: maximizing personal productivity and showing your team that you trust them with important work. The whole is more powerful than the individual-with effective delegation, you can accomplish more together as a team than you can alone.

Successful delegation also helps prevent burnout and overwork. It isn't your job to do all of the work. Instead, as a manager, you're responsible for seeing the big picture in order to delegate the right tasks to the right people. Building your delegation skills is all about understanding a given initiative's desired results and allocating work to different members of your team based on their varied skill sets.

Knowing when to delegate responsibility to other team members is a great way to become a more effective leader. This important management skill offers key development opportunities for your team members. Depending on the type of tasks you delegate, delegation can help you build new team skill sets and monitor progress towards professional development plans.
Read: Leadership vs. management: What's the difference?
What stops people from delegating tasks

It can be difficult to know what to delegate, especially if you're a first-time manager. Some people struggle to delegate because they:

Worry that it'll take more time to explain how to do the work than to do it themselves

Don't understand the priority of the work

Want to work on interesting projects themselves

Feel guilty about assigning more work to other people

Aren't sure who else can do this work

Want to feel important to their team

When to delegate work

There isn't just one straightforward scenario for when you should delegate work. But in general, ask yourself a few questions in order to determine if this work is beneficial to delegate.

Questions to ask before delegating tasks:

Is this work more aligned with another team member's priorities?

Is there someone else who has the information and context to do this work?

Is this work an opportunity for someone else to grow and develop their skills?

Will this work recur in the future?

Do I have time to effectively delegate this work, including training the other person, answering their questions, and reviewing their work?

Is this something I should personally work on (because it's high-impact or business critical)?

Would failure impact the success of the project?

Do we have time to re-do the work if necessary?

You don't need to answer "yes" to all of these questions in order to delegate work. But asking yourself these questions before delegating work helps you identify the best work to delegate.

10 tips to delegate work

Learning to delegate work makes you a better manager and allows your team members to get involved in exciting projects. Try these 10 tips to get started with the delegation process:

1. Identify work to delegate

Not everything can be delegated. Some work is strategic or business critical, and would benefit from your personal attention. Before you begin delegating work, evaluate the importance of the work and the implications of delegating it.

That isn't to say you can't delegate important tasks. If there's another team member with the context, experience, or skill set to do this work effectively, delegating it might be a good option. But keep in mind that achieving a good end result is still your responsibility.

Good work to delegate includes:

Work that will recur in the future: If you have a recurring task, it's often worth delegating it to someone else who has the time and energy to do the job well.

Work that aligns with team member's interests: If a team member has expressed interest in developing a new skill or honing an existing one, see if there's any work you can delegate to them to help them build those skills.

Work that connects to team member's goals: One of the best ways to delegate is to assign work that connects to a team member's professional goals.

2. Practice letting go

Delegating can be difficult for first-time managers and leaders because you're putting important work into someone else's hands. You probably feel connected to your work and responsible for it getting done well.

Learning to delegate is a critical skill, but you also shouldn't be uncomfortable every time you delegate. So instead, practice handing off small types of work at first, before building up to bigger projects. Be patient-both with yourself and your team members. It will take time to build your delegation skills. In the same vein, team members may take longer to get this work done than you would. But by delegating work, you're giving team members the opportunity to develop their skills over time and also taking one more thing off your plate.

3. Clarify priorities

Understanding the priority-and difficulty-of tasks makes it easier for you to delegate. If something is high priority, it needs to get done soon-either by you or by someone else. Depending on the type of work, you can then make the decision to do it yourself or to delegate.

The best way to clarify priorities is to connect work to team and company goals. When you and your team have clarity on why your work matters, it's easier to effectively prioritize and get high-impact work done. If you haven't already, do this by putting all of your team's work into a shared source of truth, like a project management tool. That way, everyone has direct visibility into who's doing what by when and why.
Create a prioritization matrix template
4. Understand each team member's strengths

Part of delegating is making sure the person you're handing work off to is set up for success. Effective delegation has two elements: delegating work to team members who have skills in that area, and giving team members opportunities to develop new skills.

To do this, make sure you clearly understand each team member's strengths-as well as their interests. Take some time during your next 1:1 meeting to ask them what skills they currently have that they want to develop further, as well as what skills they want to develop that they don't currently have.
Read: The difference between hard skills and soft skills: Examples from 14 Asana team members
5. Provide context and guidance

When you hand off work, make sure the person taking on the task is set up for success. This includes:

Guidance on how to get the work done

The due date for the delegated task

Context, documents, and details about the work

Tools required to get the job done

The priority, goals, and expectations of the work

The desired outcome

Any related work

Keep in mind that this work might be easy for you to do, but it might be totally new to the person you're delegating the work to. Take some time to walk them through the assignment and answer any questions they have before they get started to ensure they're set up for success.

6. Invest in training

There may be work that no one on your team can do but you. Some managers think that means they can't delegate the work. But depending on your priorities, it's often better to train team members how to do the work so they can tackle those assignments moving forward.

Training takes time-so it's tempting to just do it yourself. But think of training as an investment in your team members and your own workload. Over time, you'll recoup the time you spent training since the person will be able to do work. Delegating time-consuming tasks is a great way to build your own time management skills, while also giving team members new opportunities.

Part of training someone else how to do the work is to give them space to solve problems instead of immediately providing a solution. If the team member doing the work does hit a roadblock, ask questions to prompt how they think they can overcome the roadblock. Instead of providing solutions, try asking the other person for suggestions in order to help them build their own decision-making skills and guide them towards the right answer.

7. Prioritize communication and feedback

Delegating work is a really good opportunity for two-way feedback and communication. Make sure the person you've delegated work to has a way to contact you with any questions, and set up a regular check in, like a 1:1 meeting, where you can review things in more detail.

Provide feedback on their work for any future tasks you send their way. Also, ask for feedback from them-did you give them enough information to succeed? Were there any open questions that would have made getting the work done easier? Keep in mind that delegation is a long-term skill you're beginning to build, so soliciting feedback helps set you up for long-term success.
Read: How to give and take constructive criticism
8. Focus on results

When you delegate work, the goal isn't to have the team member do the work exactly like you would have done it. It's okay if someone does something differently than you if they achieve the desired results.

As you delegate and coach team members through work, avoid spending too much time explaining how things should be done. Instead, focus on the end goal, and give the team member the space to come up with their own process for doing the work. This gives them the space to develop their own skills, and also demonstrates that you trust them with the responsibility of figuring out how to do the work.

9. Trust but verify

Once you've delegated work, try to take a step back and give the team member the space they need to do the work. Check in with them periodically to make sure they don't need any additional support, while also being hands-off enough to show your team that you trust them.

Ultimately, however, you're responsible for the success of the work. If it's your first time delegating this type of work, implement a review cycle or follow-up period to review the work that was done, and nudge it in the right direction if necessary.

10. Give credit once work is completed

Effectively delegating work gives other team members the opportunity to develop new skills and get involved in important projects. Once the work is completed, make sure the team member who did the work is credited for completing the task.

Other cross-functional team members might give you credit for the work, especially if it's something you've done in the past. Make sure you aren't taking credit for someone else's work, and take some time to appreciate your team member for a job well done.

Delegated and done

Delegating work is a great way to not only build your personal management skills, but to support professional development across your team. To set your co-workers up for success, make sure they have all of the information they need to get the delegated task done correctly.

If you haven't already, do this with a project management tool. A shared source of truth, like a project management tool, gives team members increased visibility and unlimited access to the context they need to get good work done.
Create a prioritization matrix template

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How to Delegate Effectively: 10 Tips for Managers [2024] * Asana

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Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can do as a manager is to delegate work. Learn when to delegate and get 10 tips to delegate work effectively.

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A delegation matrix is a mental model allowing team leaders, or team members, to decide what to delegate and to whom.

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