Away Day or No-Way Day Carole Ann Rice looks at the Pitfalls of Team Development.

For the singleton it’s an opportunity for romance or expense account booze up and for those with kids it’s a nightmare of childcare arrangements and disgruntled partners. The team away day or residential development event can build morale and create an inclusive, motivated workforces or it can simply divide, disengage or downright disillusion the reluctant team player.

From solving faux business dilemmas to psychometric testing, where individuals are divined as either Earth Mothers or Warriors, the away day can be a minefield of bruised egos and battered expense budgets. When a team is pulling in different directions, blame and scapegoating is the culture and there seems to be an issue around shared goals and outcomes, time out and training can solve the issue.
But how many times have you seen folk return from these events flying high and geared up for change to find it dissolves into the same old routine?

Donna from sales may have been the high wire heroine abseiling her way to team glory in the badlands of Shropshire last week, but is back to being as obstructive as ever as soon as her heels hit the office Axminster. Something appears to have been lost in translation from away day to work day.
To ensure that a team away day really does do more than bond a disparate group of people but have real and sustainable effects it might be worth considering these pointers.

• Be very clear from the outset what the desired intention of the event is. What exactly is it you want to achieve? How will that be done? What needs to be in place? What benchmark with you use to know you’ve got there?
• Make sure you will be able to measure results and take away accumulated data (contributed by the teams) that you can use effectively thereafter.
• Don’t assume everyone wants sporting terminology and Will Carling-esque motivation exercises; that people like to be physical, extrovert or do things that get them out of a comfort zone and straight into the psychiatrist’s chair.
• Inform the team what you would like them to get out of the event and invite them to make suggestions to as to what they would like to achieve, learn and contribute to the exercise.

• Use psychometric tests from the outset so that they can identify theirs own strengths and weaknesses and learn about the qualities of their colleagues too and how best to work and interact with them.

• Work, rest and play – make sure the event has its highs and lows and at the end there is a social time in the bar or restaurant to socialize, de-brief and consolidate what has been learned.

• Check in with the team a week later to see if what they have learned has been useful and put into practice.
• Avoid death by away day. Too many psychometric tests and physical challenges could lead to confusion and burn out. Remember, this is training and development not the Apprentice.


Find out more about Carole Ann Rice http://www.realcoachingco.com/

Coach Carole Ann Rice looks at how to get unstuck from PVA – Pre Vacation Panic

You’ve made those guilty impulse buys in the soar away sales; packed a suitcase the size of the Empire State and triple checked the tickets, passport and money situation that it’s almost become pathology. So why are you feeling stuck in PVA – that’s Pre Vacation Panic?

Preparing to leave the workplace for a fortnight in a palm-fringed nirvana should have you kicking back and living in margherita time up until the departure lounge.  But instead a dread-like fear has entered the equation making you even question why you booked a holiday in the first place.

There’s so much to prepare, loose ends to tie up, people to inform and work to complete before you leave, and you just know you’re working yourself towards a fortnight on a drip in a foreign hospital.

Will they cope without you?  What if they cope too well in your absence?  Will or wont you be missed?   Will your clients move to a competitor?

 And what about that Machiavellian newcomer waiting in the shadows for the ideal time to “cover” for you while you’re away?  What if said wanna-be does a better job at it too, become the blue eyed Next Big Thing and you’re out of the picture before you can say P45?

No wonder we have to pay a king’s ransom to throw yourself to the furthest corner of the world to get away from it all.  We live and work in environments dominated by emails, voice mails, deadlines and targets and all with demands on our time that expect a five minute response and turnaround. 

Lunches are for working through, commuting is catch up on the laptop time and evenings are for preparing for the next day.   Weekends? What weekends?

 The idea of taking the Blackberry to the beach and a few work files to glance through on the plane is becoming increasingly attractive but that way madness lies.

Coaches often work with executives close to burn out working to the mistaken belief that they are indispensable.

 They are perhaps failing to trust their own value, have forgotten the meaning and purpose of what they’re doing and think that work/life balance means having a half a day at the weekend in which to sort the laundry.

Some self coaching questions at this time could include:

•    What can I do, dump or delegate in the time remaining?
•    What do I need to believe in order to leave work happy and contented for my holiday?
•    How have I created this situation of ……….
•    What unhelpful thoughts do I need to let go of here?
•    Is the fear real or my imagination?

None of us can ever truly predict the future and trusting that all will be well in our absence takes a leap of faith.  But with the right amount of preparation, trust and a reasonable assumption that the world wont come crashing down as soon as you wave “adios” to your colleagues, you can have the holiday you deserve and return refreshed to the situation you left a fortnight before.

Carole Ann Rice is MD of The Real Coaching Co.  Find out more at www.realcoachingco.com