1. Start With the End in Mind
In Step 1 of our 12-step course in how to design a Right-Minded Team Building Workshop, you’ll learn how to:
- Start with the end in mind
- Begin preparing for your first milestone – the First Draft Plan
OK, you’re here at the first step of your Right-Minded Teamwork (RMT) journey.
Your first goal is to get the end in YOUR MIND.
And in this case, the “end” is a well-designed workshop agenda.
Keep in mind that your teammates want you to create a worthwhile workshop, based on what they want and need. This means no hidden agendas on anyone’s part. They want a workshop where they can build a Team That Works … as One.
If you’ve worked with this team before, you’ll already have some ideas about what a well-designed workshop could look like. It could be something as simple as onboarding a new teammate or as complex as implementing a new work procedure.
But if you haven’t worked with this team before, you will have at least an inkling of what they want to achieve, and you will find out more when you meet with the team leader to discuss their hopes and expectations.
End in Mind Examples
- Bill needed a Conflict Resolution Meeting
- Ann needed a Strategy Development Meeting
Most of the time, all you know at this step is that the team needs to improve something or address a specific challenge, like:
- Merging or reorganizing two previously independent teams into one unified team, or
- Repairing a dysfunctional team and finding ways to genuinely collaborate.
So, the end is about you and your ability to design a workshop that all teammates can’t wait to attend, because they sincerely believe you have, with their input, designed a worthwhile agenda.
4 Milestone and 3 Face-to-Face Meetings
- Step 4: Create and Present the First Draft Plan
- Step 9: Finalize Agenda, Plan, Distribute
- Step 10: Commence: Achieve First Workshop Outcomes
- Step 12: Contract: Design the Second Workshop
You’ll also have a minimum of three face-to-face meetings with the team leader in addition to phone calls and email progress updates.
- Step 2: Understand the Leader’s outcomes
- Step 4: Create and Present the First Draft Plan
- Step 8: Present the Second Draft Plan
Prepare to Create the First Draft Plan
We won’t be actually creating the First Draft Plan until Step 4, but we need to begin thinking about it now. That Plan will include four core elements:
1. The Outcomes
Two to four statements describing the leader’s desired outcomes
2. The Agenda
A draft of the potential exercises designed to achieve those outcomes
3. The Punch List
This is a list of potential topics, issues, challenges, and/or conflicts the team could address and resolve. This first list will only include the leader’s ideas. The Second Draft Plan will include a longer Punch List because it will include ideas collected in teammate interviews.
4. The Announcement
Here you give the leader ideas on how to announce the workshop. In the Resources section, you will find specific ideas you can use.
All you need now is a clear end in mind as to what your first plan could look like. The best way to do that is to study our sample First Draft Team Building Plan in the Resource section of your book.
Before you read on, stop and take a few minutes to scan the example plan. It will give you a clearer picture of what you’ll be creating.
How Long Will it Take to Complete the Contracting Steps?
A real-world workshop takes time.
How long? Answer: 3 to 1.
The short answer is three planning hours for every one hour in the workshop.
For example, a two-day workshop might take up to six total days of planning.
Successful facilitators know this to be true. Don’t worry. Embrace it. Just follow the steps one at a time. Your workshop will succeed, and your team will be very happy with you!
Now that you have the end in your mind, you must get ready to meet with your team leader so you can understand their desired outcomes. We’ll cover this meeting in detail in Step 2, so stay tuned!
Can’t Wait? Links to All 12 Lessons
Over 2 Hours of Audio Instruction from Dan Hogan, Certified Master Facilitator.
These lessons will continue to arrive in your email.
| Introduction – How to Design a Right-Minded Team Building Workshop |
| Step 1 – Start with the End in Mind. Leader Defines Purpose |
| Step 2 – Leader Meets Facilitator. Shares Purpose & Outcomes |
| Step 3 – What the Leader Wants May Not Be What the Team Needs. Facilitator Uncovers Root Causes |
| Step 4 – Facilitator Presents First Draft Team Building Plan to the Leader |
| Step 5 – Leader Announces Workshop and Prepares Teammates |
| Step 6 – Facilitator Conducts 9 or 20 Question Right-Minded Teamwork Survey |
| Step 7 – Facilitator Interviews All Teammates |
| Step 8 – Facilitator Presents Second Draft Plan to Leader |
| Step 9 – Leader & Facilitator Finalize Agenda and Workshop Plan |
| Step 10 – Achieve Workshop Outcomes |
| Step 11 – Track & Report Progress for the Next 90 Days |
| Step 12 – Leader & Facilitator Begin Designing the Second Workshop |
Did you get here from a friend? This is the first lesson of our 12-step course, How to Design a Right-Minded Team Building Workshop. These steps are key characteristics of effective team building. Buy your copy today. Click here.