Building Your GO Team® Learning Agenda:
“Where Do I Start?”
With a menu of 18 modules to choose from, GO Team allows you to customize learning to your teams’ exact needs. There is no “correct” sequence to the modules; you choose the ones that are relevant to your teams’ challenges. Still looking for a little guidance? Okay, here are a few “recipes” for combining GO Team modules to address common needs that your teams have likely experienced.
"Our team has been together for a while, but has never done any kind of formal training."
Consider using these modules:
1. Getting Grounded in Team Basics: Begin by exploring some foundational team concepts. This includes a rich discussion around “what kind of team are we?”
6. Assessing the Team: Since your team has been together a while, members likely have enough self-awareness to begin diagnosing and self-assessing the team’s need.
Another good strategy may be for members to simply review the list of 18 titles in the GO Team library. Are there some topics that immediately capture most members’ attention? Is there easy and quick agreement that “we really need that module?”
"Our team members don’t trust each other."
Surprisingly, you might choose NOT to begin with 13. Building Team Trust. Instead, think about some of the basic skills and processes that may be hurting team trust:
2. Creating Team Operating Guidelines and 3. Establishing Team Purpose and Goals are often the ideal place to start. Many trust issues stem from lack of clarity around operating guidelines and team roles.
Think about other processes that can damage trust, including running meetings, making decisions, communicating, and resolving conflict. (Modules 8, 9, 7, and 11, respectively.)
13. Building Team Trust, is ultimately a great conversation for the team to have as it identifies the unique behaviors that damage and build trust in this team.
"We are a brand new team of people who have never worked together before."
That’s an easy one! Normally we say that GO Team does not have a set sequence. But this is a case where you may want to run through the first four modules in order:
1. Getting Grounded in Team Basics will give all members an overview of the value of teams, and a shared understanding of what to expect from their experience.
2. Creating Team Operating Guidelines: This is an essential conversation in which members discuss and agree upon “how we will work together.”
3. Establishing Team Purpose and Goals: No purpose and no goals? Then no success!
4. Clarifying Team Roles: This easily overlooked topic provides great leverage to the team’s long-term health. The team may explore roles many times over its life cycle!
"Our team is struggling because of personalities or interpersonal issues."
Consider using these modules:
5. Building on Style Differences provides insights into the style differences of members… and builds appreciation for how those differences are important gifts to the team.
11. Resolving Team Conflict provides a process for analyzing what is happening and the shared outcomes everyone desires… all without blame or personalizing the issues.
"Our team meetings are terrible / We waste a lot of time when we are together."
Consider using these modules:
8. Running Effective Team Meetings offers a repeatable process for having better meetings (including a refreshing conversation over whether a meeting is required at all!)
9. Making Team Decisions offers a toolbox of multiple decision-making approaches, and begins with a critical conversation around “deciding how we will decide.”
10. Avoiding Groupthink. It plagues even the best teams. Take steps to make sure you don’t fall into the groupthink trap!
14. Giving and Receiving Feedback: Often, teams are stuck because members won’t say the things that need to be said. Work on your feedback skills together with this module.
"Our team is struggling because of external factors that are beyond our control."
Consider using these modules:
12. Solving Team Issues. This module will lead the team through a process for defining exactly what is happening, boundaries for taking action, and strategic interventions.
17. Managing Change helps team members make plans within the unpredictability of a fast-changing environment. This may be a change that is coming; a change that has already happened; or a threat of a change that will take place if they don’t act now.
"We are an effective team. Nothing is wrong. We just want to be even better!"
Consider using these modules:
15. Sharing Leadership. Perhaps now is a good time to begin expanding your capabilities by embracing new areas of leadership!
16. Sparking Team Creativity. Everyone talks about “thinking out of the box.” This module provides a process for bringing fresh thinking to your current challenges.
18. Leveraging Team Learning offers an illuminating look at the team’s learning styles. The team will plan specific opportunities to extend their capabilities in ways that are best suited to each member’s learning styles.