After almost 15 years of working with teams I am still so fascinated with communication within teams and the impact that it has. For me personally, some of the key factors that contribute to the effectiveness of communication within a team are intent, ego and self-awareness.

Where are you coming from? Do you really want peace in this situation or are you just after an argument? This is so often the case and potentially, some people are parked in this place permanently. This can be due to generational legacy, conditioning and state of mind. The ability to recognise and then shift your intent is a very powerful tool. If you want war that’s what you will be faced with. Shift your intent to peace and harmony and that’s what you will encounter. Be careful what you project.

The shape, tone and make up of our communication can also have many origins and therefore many varying effects. Ego is a factor for all of us. Within teams the ability to keep your ego in check and being aware of it can be a key factor in communicating within the team. Transactional Analysis is a great theory to read up on. Please click here with thanks to Business Balls. This theory of Eric Berne may help to explain the type, tone and impact of communication within your team. How do you communicate with others and what impact do you have upon them?

Self-awareness – oh I wish it could be purchased at a hardware store. That statement in itself is self-righteous. We all believe we are right and potentially also aware. Self-Awareness is having a clear perception of your personality, your strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions. It allows you to understand other people, how they perceive you, your attitude and your responses to them in the moment. But you can’t get it at the shops. For me, the most amazing teams are able to be very truthful and open with their communication to each other around impact. People are made aware of the impact they are having upon others in a helpful and supportive manner. If this doesn’t take place in a trusting environment there will be defensiveness and frustration. All of this meaning there is truth in it for the person involved.

So keep on track and persevere with the practice of being a good communicator and a good team player.

Escape sessions create laughter, fun and a highly unique experience that will be remembered around the office for a long time to come while giving companies the opportunity to practice and analyse their skills in communication, organization, critical thinking, logic and creative genius in a high pressure apocalyptic zombie survival scenario ….kind of like your office right? At the end of your session, we can facilitate a debrief session where our staff will analyse your moves, decisions, how you communicated and what you could have done to escape or possibly the reasons why you managed to escape quicker than other groups.

To succeed teams must:

COMMUNICATE – You won’t escape unless you share information. It isn’t simply good enough to just yell out something you found. That won’t yield the key! There is so much going on in the room that you must make sure that your idea is being heard and followed.

LEAD – Teams that do not escape do not have enough leaders in their group to suggest concepts, decide on path’s to follow or stir the group toward an outcome. It will take more than one strong leader to put everything together as there are multiple tasks that need to be completed simultaneously.

FOLLOW – Too many leaders in a group and no decisions will be made.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX – Your creative genius and speed by which you unleash it will be crucial to your team Escaping!

LISTEN – Everyone on your team is equal and could very easily hold the creative genius inside of them that is required to find the key.

WORK TOGETHER – Individualism is awesome! But it is a one way ticket to the belly of a zombie at this show.

ADMIT YOUR MISTAKES – There are multiple solutions for various puzzles in the room. If you are dead set on a solution simply because someone who you believed was “smart” gave you the answer, yet the answer doesn’t lead you further to finding more clues… then the “smart” person was wrong.

BELIEVE YOUR GROUP CAN ESCAPE! – With the time dwindling on the clock and a serious of what appear to be dead end clues, it will seem as if your fate is sealed. Those that do escape, have to practice positive thinking and never give up no matter how much time is left. The majority of groups that escape do so with seconds on the clock in a movie like scenario that yields ample amounts of adrenaline!

Call us today to participate in one of the most adrenaline packed team building sessions you’ll ever experience!

As a launch offer we are offering a 10% discount of Escape bookings in July, August and September.

The end of financial year, winter blues, political and economy uncertainty has seen us all experience a trying month or two. Pinnacle Team Events are busy helping companies navigate their way through these tough times. Personnel are the driving force of most organisations who need to be motivated, inspired and energised to perform – even more so in tough times. Our winter special has proven to be very popular with companies arranging events from within their office or local area to remind their team of their importance to the bigger picture.

If you think that your team needs to reboot and find itself having fun again give us a call!

The cornerstone to every relationship be it workplace, business, romantic or otherwise is TRUST. Creating moments for your team to build that trust in one another takes time and planning. The best leaders begin by framing trust in economic terms for their companies. When an organisation recognises that it has low trust, huge economic consequences can be expected. Everything will take longer and everything will cost more because of the steps needed to compensate for their lack of trust.

Stephen M. R. Covey in his article “How the Best Leaders Build Trust” states that;

“The true transformation starts with building credibility at the personal level. The foundation of trust is your own credibility, and it can be a real differentiator for any leader. A person’s reputation is a direct reflection of their credibility, and it precedes them in any interactions or negotiations they might have. When a leader’s credibility and reputation are high, it enables them to establish trust fast — speed goes up, cost goes down.”

Creating the time and the opportunities for your team to build that trust is easier and than you may think. It also doesn’t have to cost you a cent! We here at Pinnacle Team Events like to practice what we preach and are gaining huge benefits from our work in this area. We have started a program where every two months we as a team donate a night to a charity organisation to assist with cooking food for a hospital shelter. It is a night where we are together doing something great for the community, building the relationship within our team and inadvertently building trust amongst our colleges.

In closing please let me share with you my favourite quote on trust from the great Ernest Hemingway:

 “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”

Why?

Welcome to 2013! We have loved a holiday here at Pinnacle Team Events and found ourselves reflecting during the break on WHY?  We feel that our valued clients and supporters know WHAT we do and we want to start the year with WHY?

 We believe in making a genuine difference to the teams that engage our services. We want to provide all workplace teams with the education, motivation and inspiration to achieve their best. We believe that a workplace should be a funplace!

It is through our huge range of events that we aim to achieve “our why”. This list of events is larger in 2013 than ever before with a range of products offered under the umbrella of Pinnacle Team Development. We have also launched a new indoor team building event called Battle of the Minds – perfect for conference venues or office situations.

2013 brings exciting news with the addition of Pete Chapman to our team. Pete is a fantastic facilitator with 8 years’ experience in outdoor education and facilitation and training. Pete is a keen AFL player who is looking forward making a difference to the teams he meets in the year ahead. He is a country boy who loves to have a laugh and thrives on meeting new people – he has found the perfect workplace! Keep an eye out for Pete at your next Pinnacle event.