Human Resources Team
Conflict Mastery & Team Development

Situation Summary
Human Resources team has asked Create-Learning-Team Building to develop a one day (six hour) team building program for the Human Resources division with the goals of (A) Increasing levels of trust amongst team members as well as highlight the transparency that is needed from Management and team members (B) Aid the HR team in becoming a model of conflict mastery for growth within the organization. By enabling conflict mastery to take place the HR team will create a culture of open communication and have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities to each other.

Create-Learning-Team Building believes we can facilitate a customized program for you that will help the existing team members increase their trust of fellow team members as well as the team leaders in the HR. Additionally Create-Learning-Team Building will facilitate with the HR team to create an understanding of what their roles are and what is expected for success within the team structure. With an additional emphasis on the creative and meaningful work that can be accomplished when conflict is approached that ultimately has the greater good of the team in mind and not the individual.

Approach
With this Human Resources Team a “non-standard” approach is needed. The program will be over 80% hands on and experiential. Less than 20% will be lecture based. The team members will be challenged to take accountability for their role in conflict within the HR team, and create action steps to move forward and grow as team players.

Create-Learning-Team Building knows that great teams are built when people do really fun activities together – activities that have:
• Specific challenges to overcome
• Significant interaction between team members
• Surprises and new obstacles
• Motivating, empathetic, and relevant facilitation of the group
• A relationship to work and life activities, allowing functional tie-backs

Team Building Format
Each Team Building initiative follows a similar pattern. Teams are briefed on a set of guidelines for the initiative with immediately measurable results. Initiatives are usually a large scale team puzzle or challenge. Teams are then given limited resources and set amount of time to plan the action steps for the initiative. Finally, the facilitator adds unanticipated obstacles – and they are still challenged to be successful – mirroring a work environment. During the Team Building initiatives team members often exhibit the same behaviors as when they are in work teams. It is in these moments when the team members become their true selves that the opportunity for success or failure becomes evident – and provides relevant material for reflection and learning. Through the Create-Learning-Team Building processing techniques and the open communication created in the Team Building programs teams create shared memories and beneficial habits that lead to long term positive results within their work place and lives.

Facilitation
Create-Learning-Team Building facilitators will lead processing and reflection sessions after each activity. This session may include the use of Metaphor cards, group drawing, Socratic question and answers, small group presentations of learning, personal reflection, as well as creating concrete plans of how the skills gained will be used in the work environment personally and professionally.
Create-Learning-Team Building has shown results using a variety of processing activities to actively engage each participant. Create-Learning-Team Building uses processing techniques and activities to give each individual participant the greatest learning possible for the time. Individuals and teams will learn about the different personalities and skills of their peers. This is learned through the hands on nature of the activities and the highly interactive processing session after each activity. Create-Learning-Team Building enables the group to take credit and responsibility for their own learning, and gives them tools that can be used immediately in the work environment and home lives.

Program Team Training (10:00 am – 5:00 pm: all times are approximate and subject to change)
(?) Participants will arrive at the meeting site ~9:00 – 9:30 am, have a light breakfast and the Program will begin at 10:00 am.

Program Goals
1. Build Trust: For the team members to speak the truth about themselves and the truth about what they expect from each other – by admitting truths about themselves to team members a culture of trust is established. Within a culture of trust team members are not going to engage in the kind of political behavior that waste’s time and money (Lencioni: Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide. pp. 14)

Additional Model: (Increase)Trust = (Increased)Speed (Lowered)Cost

(Covey: The Speed of Trust pp. 13)

2. Human Resources Team as Models of Conflict Mastery: For participants see learn models for working out conflict, and then gain skills to illustrate these models for use within their organization. By participants going through these conflict scenarios they are learning while working through lingering conflicts that are evident within the HR team. Enabling the participants to gain respect for the roles of each team member and hold other team members, as well as self, accountable for increased effectiveness in dealing with conflict.

10:00-10:10 Opening: Establish Team Program Atmosphere
• Introduction of Mike Cardus
• Logistics of Site - restrooms, general property layout etc.
• Agenda of the Program
• Expectations of team for the program
• What the team expects from Mike Cardus for the success of the program

10:10-10:30 Icebreakers and De-inhibitizers

Overview: Participants are led through a series of initiatives that will open them the team building experience.

Outcomes: Participants will have fun and begin to open up to others. The initiatives are all low risk, low physical and minimal touch. By creating an atmosphere of a slow introduction to the more challenging initiatives to come, the participants are part of the experience and take greater personal responsibility in the success of the program. These initiatives will also allow for the group to get to know Mike, and allow Mike to gain a greater idea of how to progress with the Team programs.

10:30-11:15 Full-Value-Contract

Overview: A full value contract is a partnership agreement between facilitator and clients that establishes behavioral expectations and norms for the duration of adventure training. An additional use of a Full Value Contract is a set of operating norms developed by a company, division or team that establishes behavioral guidelines in the workplace.

Outcomes: The Human Resources Team will create and develop their own Full-Value-Contract that is applicable to the team training for the day, setting a tone for the conflict and communication within the program. This empowers the team to decide on behaviors and norms within their community. Additionally it opens up the discussion of having a voice and being cautious of a “group think mentality” allowing ideas to be shared openly and objectively discussing what is best for the Human Resources Team.
Example Tenets;
Be Present
Pay Attention
Speak Your Truth
Be Open to Outcomes
Create a Safe Environment

11:15-11:30 Tying the Knot

Overview: For the group to tie an overhand knot in the middle section of rope without anyone releasing their ropes. Palms stay flat on the ropes.

Outcomes: This deceptively easy challenge is a good indicator of the teams ability to problem solve and share leadership amongst each other. The conflicts arise when the “Shouters” start to panic and the “quiet ones” cannot voice their ideas because the “Shouters” are not listening. Listening and testing team members’ ideas as well as a reflection on how our teams behavior is effecting our speed at accomplishing tasks.
Following tying the knot the facilitator has a greater idea of the teams’ current level for conflict.

11:30-12:00 Interactive Power Point Presentation – Other Directed vs. Self Directed Behaviors

Overview: This power point is highly interactive (like all things Create-Learning-Team Building). The ideas brought forward are change in yourself and empowering others to behave in Self-Directed ways. The application to the lives of Human Resources Team members as well as the team members they serve will be incorporated into the Presentation and Discussion.

Outcomes: The concept of Self-Directed and Other-Directed is that self-directed people believe at all times they have a choice, and other-directed people believe they have no options but to comply. When you ask a self-directed person to do a task, their thinking is to either agree or disagree with doing it. They accept the consequences of their choice and actions because they feel ownership of them. This applies to team members and dealing with team members in empowering them to have a choice while at the same time the staff must illustrate boundaries in behavior to keep the team members in a self-directed manner. The boundaries do not remove their choice to behave in certain manner, they aid in the building of self-directed behaviors. After they make the choice the consequences are not something that can be controlled. If team members are set up to make choices and learn from experience that positive choices can have negative consequences. If these negative consequences come they have the ability to accept them because they were the ones who made the choice for the action (they do not have to like them).

12:00-12:15 2B or Knot 2B

Overview: The group will be split into small teams with each team assigned to an arrangement of four colorful pieces of rope that have been joined together by a fifth piece. This is presented in a manner which the answer is not obvious. The challenge for the group is to discover which rope is holding the other ropes together, and to achieve full team commitment on this selection, before touching any of the ropes.

Outcomes: 2B or Knot 2B works well by creating a focus on decision making, achieving full commitment to a decision, as well as ways to influence others. Discussing the other-directed vs. self directed team behaviors by examining after the team choice was made if responsibility was taken for success or failure.
Additionally how important is it to have a unified team commitment and to take accountability for your actions within a team process, with success and failure.

12:15-1:15 Lunch

1:15-1:45 Frenzy!

Overview: The group is split into 3 units that must collaborate to achieve a win-win scenario for the Human Resources Team.

Outcomes: A view on how we create our own conflict amongst teams by viewing others within our own teams as competitors.

1:45-2:45 Puzzle Connection (team time)

Overview: Participants are split into two sub-groups. Each group must work together to accomplish a challenging goal with a tight time deadline. The team is shown a large wooden puzzle with complicated directives to follow. Each sub-group must switch from being active to being inactive during the activity.

Outcomes: Dialog on effective team work and team feedback. View conflicts that took place within and between the sub-groups and gain a better understanding of what caused the conflict, and effective ways to grow from the conflict.

2:45-3:30 Site-Central Object Retrieval 

Overview: The site central variation involves dividing a group into smaller units with specific roles. One unit us the Management Team; they are physically removed from the activity area and typically have their own problem(s) to solve. The second unit is the Liaisons; they are part of management team but are allowed to move back and forth to the work site area where the activity is set up. The third group is the Site Team; they are the group that actually attempts to solve the problem. They remain at the work site for the duration of the activity.

Outcomes: The overall goal of the activity is to explore the relationships among the three roles and assess the impact of each role on the performance of the entire group.
Sample process question: Based on this experience, what would you want to do the same or differently to be more effective in managing these types of situations in the workplace??
This will lead to a discussion between the team of expectations and deliverables for Management and the Human Resources Team.

3:30-3:45 Sticky Situation

Overview: The group is challenged to unroll an entire roll of masking tape without breaking the tape. The only thing that the tape can touch in the process of unrolling is skin! The only time the tape may touch itself is when it is coming off the role.

Outcomes: FUN!!!

3:45-4:30 FutureScape (?? We can do this as one large team or two smaller teams)

Overview: The team is supplied with a large canvas, paint and several brushes. They are asked to paint the future of the Human Resources Team as the team sees it.

Outcomes: By having the team paint the future of where they see the team going it serves as a powerful reminder of their commitment to each other, and trust in each others ability to be open and honest with the team about what is best for Human Resources Team and other team members.
The FutureScape will be hung on the Wall of the HR office proudly displaying their commitment to healthy conflict and positive growth.