To render the missiles inoperable, they must be assembled and fired. Real model rockets are used. These accelerate up to 100 meters into the air to gasps of astonishment and cheers from the missile recovery teams.

Code breaking, approaching 'contacts', initiative and resourcefulness are required if the Mission is to be successful. Do your 'agents' have what it takes to take on this Mission?

Upon beginning this assignment I became acutely aware of the lack of literature available on how to manage a blue-collar workforce in a hardship posting. Given Australia is currently experiencing a mining and construction boom in many parts of regional Australia I was surprised by this. I had expected to find a plethora of information (both useful and otherwise) but was disappointed. This article will hopefully prove a useful and thought provoking read for other Managers, Applied Psychologists and HR professionals working in this challenging area.

Given this may be your first exposure to the Team Focus strategic HR approach I will also be outlining this throughout the article.

WHAT IS AN EFFECTIVE PEOPLE MANAGER?

We believe the best way to define effective people managers is by the outcomes that they are able to achieve. Managing people well results in a number of positive outcomes for the manager and their employees. However the most important outcome is an increase in the discretionary effort of staff towards the accomplishment of business objectives. The Team Focus approach maintains this as the primary goal of effective people management.

What is discretionary effort? We all know there is a bare minimum that employees can typically get away with, especially in a large company. In the right commercial environment this bare minimum might be enough to build a profitable business. However, it will rarely be enough to take that business and make it exceptional. Those of us who have worked for ourselves or in a small start-up business know the energy and enthusiasm that it is possible for people to employ when they are truly motivated. Your people managers should be able to elicit this same level of discretionary effort from each and every one of their employees.

THE FOUR INSTRUMENTS OF MANAGEMENT

We challenge customers to utilise all the tools available to them as managers. Often corporate strategy is put at risk because managers fail to use all the tools at their disposal, or worse, set them up in competition. The four main instruments of management that Team Focus encourages managers to consider are:

MINDSET - considering staff beliefs and attitudes and challenging these where necessary.

BEHAVIOUR - demonstrating that you mean what you say and say what you mean.

PROCESS - consideration of the regular and systematic influences that your organisations policies, systems and procedures have on your staff behaviour.

STRUCTURE - designing an organisational structure that reflects the most effective and efficient way to achieve your business objectives.

In this article I will consider some people management challenges that have been experienced at my most recent assignment in Port Hedland from the perspective of each of the first two of these instruments, being Mindset and Behaviour. In the next article I will complete my observations from the perspective of Process and Structure.

MINDSET

The most powerful driver of behaviour is underlying belief. In a way, you can liken a person's underlying beliefs to gravity. On a day-to-day basis you might be able to defy gravity for short bursts but you will always come back to earth. When we talk about beliefs at Team Focus we are not just talking about religious, ideological or theoretical beliefs, we are actually talking about the practical day to day beliefs that guide employee behaviour at work. For example:

"This is an engineering business and the most influential people here will always be engineers…"

"They know what they are doing."

"My manager cares about me and gives me the benefit of the doubt."

"We value the safety of employees above all else."

Gravity is a funny thing, you cannot actually see it or touch it but every day we see evidence of it in the world around us. The same could be said of beliefs. However, many managers do not take the time to consider what their employees actually believe in order to make sense of the way they are behaving. Worse still, many people managers do not spend enough time talking to their staff to come up with an accurate understanding of their beliefs in the first place.

As a senior manager at my current posting I have identified a number of common beliefs amongst staff that are potentially very dangerous. Just three beliefs that I think are quite common at this posting are as follows:

1. I am isolated from the broader business and it does not care about me.

2. The umbrella "project management" organisation is not working in my best interests.

3. This place is terrible and we deserve to be paid well just to be here.

All three of these contain an element of truth; we ARE working in an isolated place and the tyranny of distance certainly makes it hard to liaise with other projects or head office; the project management organisation does ensure that each contractor is held accountable for delivering against their commitments; and unfortunately, yes, Port Hedland is not the nicest place to live in the world. However, what is scary is that many employees would hold each of the above beliefs as entirely true (not partially so). Just think about the implications of this for behaviour. If the business does not care about me, will I be committed to seeing out the project to completion? If the project manager is not on my side will the information that I share with them be entirely accurate and transparent? If I'm paid just to be here then how hard am I likely to work?

The truth is that often beliefs are extremely hard to shift. However, what an employee believes is a product of what they experience to be true each day and if we are able to change this experience in a significant way then we can begin to shape their underlying beliefs. The only long term way to ensure that an employee is experiencing a particular type of environment is to utilise all of the four instruments of management in harmony. As managers we must accept that what staff experience is a result of the processes we ask them to use, the structure that they work within and how they see us behaving. If any of the four instruments of management is misaligned or ill-directed it will detract from the impact of the other three.

What does this mean for this construction project that I am assigned to at the moment? The other three instruments will be discussed later. However there are a number of initiatives that managers should consider when setting up this project and throughout its operation to address this mindset problem. Managers should have at least considered the following:

(1) A project launch process that right from the start positioned the management of each contractor involved as one big team and ensured that that team was working in a productive and functioning manner. This does not happen by accident and a small investment in workshops up front can yield significant and measurable results.

(2) Embedding of appropriate principles and materials into induction and orientation processes.

(3) Symbolic intervention across the entire workforce. Establishment of awards and highly visible actions by senior management to reinforce the right messages.

While the above initiatives should help to reinforce or set-up appropriate mindsets for all employees it is important to note that all four instruments of management need to be utilised wisely so that sustainable success can be achieved.

BEHAVIOUR

Perhaps the most difficult area to master as a manager is behaving in a way that is consistent with the way you want employees to see you behaving. The way you think you are behaving is often quite different to the way you are perceived. This is because employees view their manager's behaviour via their own mindsets and tend to interpret what they see consistent with these mindsets. The challenge as a manager is to anticipate and accept these biases in your employees and to try and behave in a way that realigns their beliefs consistent with the goals of the business.

Thinking about behaviour as a manager should be an iterative process. As a manager, when you act, irrespective of what instrument of management you use, you should be constantly assessing whether or not your action has had the desired impact on employee behaviour. At Team Focus we can tailor a variety of programs to help you think about the way you behave as a manager, whether it be presentation skills, performance management training or general coaching sessions. Our approach is always to help managers to help themselves by training them to constantly assess and re-assess their own behaviour and adjusting based on what is best for the business.

In hardship postings, often all personnel working onsite have an air of machismo and outwardly portray a tough exterior. This project is no different. This makes people management even more difficult. One common pitfall for managers is assuming that if someone is tough they don't need the same level of attention or care. An example of this recently occurred at this assignment:

A front-line manager (lets call him Bill) recently came to me to advise that one of his crane drivers (lets call him Sam) had not been paid for a week. Crane drivers are well paid on site and annualised Sam can earn up to $200,000 pa. Sam is a pretty tough looking guy and so Bill decided, without Sam's input, that he would be able to cope without pay for a week until next weeks pay run. While in this particular situation, Sam was able cope, Bill had not checked on this. Bill had obviously assumed that he understood Sam's personal circumstances but he could not have been certain about this without asking. Equally, Bill missed out on a valuable opportunity to demonstrate to Sam that he cares, AND that he can be trusted to ensure that he is fairly paid for the work that he does.

If we consider the above as a case study in the context of the four instruments of management, it is clear that there was a real opportunity to behave in a different way as a manager that might have resulted in increased discretionary effort from Sam. While behaving in the way he did may not have caused visible damage to their relationship, if Sam develops any negative Beliefs about Bill, it is likely that this inaction will be seen retrospectively as confirmatory evidence.

While behavioural intervention is important as a manager, you can never be everywhere at once and nor should you be. Having robust processes that keep the business ticking along without you are essential and we will consider this in more detail in the next issue of "In Focus" the Team Focus newsletter.

For change to occur in individuals and organisations we believe it needs to follow a pattern, or process.

Mindsets

First Mindsets must change. People need to think differently. While this sounds simple, making it happen is one of the most challenging aspects of learning and development programs.
The ability to challenge an individuals thinking is a core benefit of including an experiential approach in your change program.

Behaviours

Once an individual is thinking differently they will be receptive, or in fact welcoming, of new skills and behaviours.

Systems

The results of the change you are seeking need to be reinforced in your organisation through appropriate HR strategies. For example, job descriptions, performance reviews, and other strategies should support the behavioural results you seek.

Results

Results can be measured through more than just bottom line, things like engagement, culture, satisfaction, contribution, and improvement can also be measured.

Team Focus follow these principles in all change programs that we undertake.

Experiential learning includes structured exercises which engage people mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially. Participants make use of their own information and experience to gain meaning and decide actions.

This brings improved business performance and profitable outcomes through organisational development which occurs through stimulating learning, change and commitment to action at both an individual and group level.

Team Focus is skilled at providing experiential learning on varying levels.

Whether it's a team building program offering a shared experience with minimal learning intervention or an organisational transformation we have the skill, experience, staff and depth of options to effectively deliver results to your organization.

The skill is to match the right activity and approach to achieve the desired outcomes. With over 20 years experience, Team Focus are the experts. The tables below indicates the possibilities:

With over 40 million users worldwide, DiSC is the most trusted tool for measuring preferred behaviour, or "type". DiSC will help your team:

The dimensions of Dominance, Influencing, Steadiness and Conscientiousness make up the DiSC model and interact with other factors to describe human behaviour. In short, DiSC provides a practical and intuitive framework for understanding what makes people tick.

A full range of DiSC services are available including:

What Does DiSC Measure?

The DiSC model measures behaviour across four primary dimensions:

Dominance: Direct, Action Oriented and Decisive
Influence: Optimistic, People Oriented and Outgoing
Steadiness: Supportive, Co-operative, and Team Oriented
Conscientiousness: Cautious, Detail Focused and Task Oriented

Why Do Organisations Use DiSC?

Organisations integrate DiSC into training and coaching to improve performance. DiSC helps people understand themselves and others better. Organisations who use the DiSC model achieve amazing outcomes.

Our Approach

Team Focus use DiSC in a number of our training and development programs. We know that the secret for achieving behaviour change is to use a behavioural approach, and DiSC is ideal because it analyses and described behaviour. This means we engage participants with appropriate experiential exercises expertly blended with simulations, questions, facilitation and interactive presentations. Participants absorb the learning far more effectively through this approach.

For more information about DiSC training workshops:
call 1300 551 274 or email

Sydney Olympic Park
Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach
Crowne Plaza Norwest
Westpac Conference Centre
Macquarie Graduate School of Management
The Sebel Resort & Spa Hawkesbury Valley
Peppers Resorts

Hunter Valley NSW

Cypress Lakes Resort
Tuscany Wine Estate
Hunter Valley Gardens
Eaglereach Wilderness Resort
The Sebel Kirkton Park Hunter Valley

Central Coast NSW

Horizons Golf Resort
Noonawena

Southern NSW

Novotel Northbeach Wollongong
Craigieburn Resort
Milton Park Country House Hotel
Rydges Resort Eaglehawk Hill ACT

Let Team Focus make your conference team event easy for you and memorable for the participants!

Contact us today!

The Team Focus group has almost 20 years of experience in structuring events that blend learning with fun. Our team building sessions are stimulating and engaging and will help you communicate your message and achieve your objectives. Using the activity guide below will broadly help you determine which product is best for your goals.

Competitive Events

Amazing Race, Beach/Bush Olympics, Quest, Raft Rumble, Survivor, Trek

Collaborative Events

Activate, SplashOut on Canvas, Mission Possible II: Rocket Race, Mission Possible III: The Heist, Puppets, Team Challenge, Team Pyramid, Rhythm Works.

Activate

Activate is a carefully selected sequence of team problem solving initiatives. It is a very popular conference event as the session can be designed to best suit the specific needs of your group. Continue reading »

Amazing Race

Amazing Race requires groups to work together, overcome Roadblocks, Detours, and Yields to be the first team home. For the more adventurous group. Continue reading »

Beach/Bush Olympics

Enjoy the Olympic Challenge. All will leave with strengthened relationships and elevated spirit. 2 to 3 hours of outdoor fun. Continue reading »

Mini Olympics

Create your own Mini Olympics in this Olympic year. More than just physical prowess, teams will need initiative and cooperation to succeed in these ‘unusual’ events. Choose from a range of games including Volleyball, Holey Bucket Brigade, Earth Ball, Blind Shot-Put or make up your own. Continue reading »

Masterpiece

Is it important for your people to keep the big picture in mind as they work on their own team tasks? In this creative conference event, teams have to literally keep the big picture in mind if they are to create a true masterpiece. Communication between teams is essential to success. Continue reading »

Mission Possible

The Mission, should you choose to accept it, is to locate, retrieve, and render inoperable, a shipment of missiles that have gone missing. Your people become international special agents, on assignment. Code breaking, approaching ‘contacts’, initiative and resourcefulness are required if the Mission is to be successful. Continue reading »

Moonlight Robbery

Beginning with a video briefing to the team this program involves recovering stolen property. In the first phase, participants are lowered into an alarm protected vault and required to remove clues (without setting off any alarms). Once the information is retrieved the exercise becomes open ended and ambiguous. The unique elements of working in silence, electronic sensors and alarms, aerial antics and achievement against the odds ensure the fun, frustrations and realisations are firmly anchored in the participants memory. Continue reading »

Puppets

Puppets is all about preparing and delivering a presentation with a big difference - the presenters are puppets! Teams produce a five minute puppet show, based on a pre-determined topic. A high degree of team work is required to co-ordinate the creative efforts and have the presentation ready to deliver on time. Continue reading »

Quest

This competitive team event is designed to promote planning before action, risk/reward analysis, initiative, and teamwork. The aim is to score as many points as possible through answering an amazing array of questions about the local area. Quest can be customised to almost any urban area and is an excellent way to explore the sights, sounds and features of the local community while competing against other teams to win. Continue reading »

Raft Rumble

Do you have a high energy group that thrive on competition? Raft Rumble comprises of three stages: raising capital, purchasing materials and construction. Creative and cleverly constructed craft that initially appear to float high on the water soon convert into semi-submersibles when loaded with crew, increasing the laughs, screams and challenges as teams churn the water toward the finish line. Continue reading »

Rhythm Works

Discover the sound, the beat and the pulse that demonstrates the connection and communication in your group. This unique experience is open to all - a true team experience which unleashes the creativity of everyone involved. Those who have been involved in ‘Rhythm Works’ before will reveal that the sense of unity and shared achievement created is truly amazing. Continue reading »

Road Rage

Imagine cars, driver, navigator, stages, time trials, support team, competition, thrills and spills. Now shrink the car rally course so it all takes place onsite at the conference venue and you have all the makings of Road Rage! Continue reading »

Round Robin

Do you need to energise your team? Do you want a series of activities that will help your team mix, mingle, get to know each other and have fun? Then the Round Robin is for you. Continue reading »

Survivor

Our adaptation of this long running and very popular reality TV show sees teams paired up to compete against each other in a series of activities. The twist is that at the end of a challenge each team votes on two members from the competing team. Continue reading »

Take One

Take a team of people, a video camera, access to technical support and edit facilities and you have Take One! A crowd-pleasing production will require the contribution of each individual’s unique skills and creativity, brought together through effective teamwork. This creative conference event for multiple teams can be adapted to many conference themes and/or corporate issues. Continue reading »

Team Challenge

The thrill of the chase, the desire to achieve, and perceived competition often result in non-stop action as teams race against the clock in the Team Challenge. This event is not always about winning - but rather about maximising opportunity! Teams may choose to compete, with winning in mind. However, a twist emphasising co-operation can do more to maximise point-scoring opportunities for a collective ‘win’. Continue reading »

Team Music Challenge

Feel a song in your heart? Have you ever heard a song on the radio that is just begging for new lyrics? Ever wanted to lead people in a rousing chorus? Your Team will be in stitches as they compete for music knowledge supremacy. This program can include Rhythm Works and/or karaoke or even a live band - the options are endless. A perfect Christmas party option for your team! Continue reading »

Team Pyramid

Collectively your team will build a 6m tall triangular pyramid and celebrate their achievement with a banner raising ceremony. Resources to build the pyramid, diagrams and building advice are all available, however, they must work for this - it doesn’t come for free! Continue reading »

Team Trivia Challenge

Hilarious fun, bringing people together and relaxation after a long day in the conference room are the essential ingredients of the Team Trivia Challenge. Your group is divided into small teams and given a range of tasks and challenges including solving intriguing questions, putting other teams to the test and co-operative and creative problem solving. Continue reading »

Tomb Raider

Your people have become international special agents required to retrieve stolen missiles. Real rockets, code breaking, problem solving, unravelling clues, initiative and resourcefullness make an exciting and memorable experience. Continue reading »

Tower Tussle

The Ultimate Team Challenge comes to life in Tower Tussle. Teams compete in a series of challenging activities, competing for resources in order to build their own tower. A healthy mix of competition, resourcefulness, ingenuity and energy is needed to win. Continue reading »

Trek

Trek requires a combination of navigation and problem solving skills. Teams decipher and follow a progression of navigation clues around a set course - similar to orienteering. Instead of looking for markers to score points, teams encounter a series of problem solving activities to challenge their teamwork. Continue reading »

Vegas Casino Night

A Vegas Casino night is an excellent way to host a corporate function, party or fund raiser. By providing atmosphere and all the popular casino games we deliver a unique experience that all guests will remember. Continue reading »

Other Activities

• Office Idol 2: Songwriter Star
• Mission Possible II: Rocket Race

We all know that improving team performance can enhance productivity and profit. The challenge is that while Teams are the heart of most organisations they rarely function effectively. Developing teams is our passion. Our approach of blending powerful team concepts with experience lends itself to creating lasting change for your organisation.

Assessment

When working with teams we use a number of assessment mechanisms including:

Quite often an experiential activity will highlight the issues that exist within a team. As such they can often be used as a means of assessment.

Development

We acknowledge that all teams are different, and have different needs, so all our development programs are different. We design each opportunity with your specific objectives and team in mind.

Typically most development programs will include:

Where needed Team Focus also provide:

Transfer

As our programs are tailored for your needs, so are the transfer strategies. Typical strategies include:

If you would like to know more about developing Your Team, call us on 1300 551 274
or email

We tailor all workshops to suit your needs. For more information:
call 1300 551 274 or email

“We have found Team Focus to be the ideal partner for our development needs. They have provided advice on our HR Systems as well as Team and Management Workshops. Our people respond well to the practical way the workshops are presented.”
Robert Tapsall, General Manager, Engineering & Technology - Rail Systems, United Group Ltd

Profiling tools can be used effectively in the workplace to:

To learn more about how your team may reach it’s potential, call us on 1300 551 274
or email

Human Synergistics - multi-level system that measures performance at an individual (LSI), group (GSI) and organisational level (OCI), and offers development strategies for each.

DiSC- a tool that gives insight into preferred behaviour. It is particularly useful for feedback and strategies to improve self and team management;

HBDI - the assessment tool for Hermann's Whole Brain Thinking^TM methodology, which helps individuals to act outside of their own preferred thinking style;

TMS - Team Management Systems looks at the roles people prefer when in groups;

MBTI - Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a widely used personality assessment that identifies people as one of sixteen types using four main personality indicators.

“Thanks again for a great session today. The feedback has been extremely positive….and generated a lot of conversation. It really brought the team together. Your team were professional, friendly and engaging….I was most impressed with the entire ‘package’. Please pass on my thanks to your team.”
Kerry Palejs, CEO, MAS National
MAS National is an Australian Apprentice Centre- we Make Apprenticeships Simple!