Supercharged Teams Best Practice- Top Tips from 5 Recent Case Studies

Working in a team is harder than ever, work is faster, leaner and busier.

Change is constant and pressure ever more intense.

Teams are remote, multi-functional, multi-cultural, and often operating in a complex  networked or matrix model.

Work is changing, new technologies and market disruption create new  challenges that can only be solved by experts working well together across different functions and geographies.

And still sometimes we forget that great teamwork needs work. We understand the challenges that teams face. For 13 years we have been designing bespoke experiences to help any team become a dream team.

Top Tips from recent case studies:

Here are some of examples of successful Supercharged Teams experiences we have delivered for our clients:

TRANSFORMING A SERVICE PROVIDER TEAM TO BECOME AN INDISPENSABLE PARTNER

What if… you want to supercharge the influence and impact of your team  within your business? Our client wanted to step-change the impact the team are having on key stakeholders, moving from the role of ‘trusted provider’ to become indispensable strategic thought partners.  We designed a journey to inspire and enable the team towards three pillars of action: 1. Be the change 2. Expand our network 3. Promote ourselves. We used a range of tailored tools including stakeholder role-play and empathy building, network mapping, asking great questions, and active listening.

Top Tip: Create a safe, supportive space for teams to ‘be the change’ and practice building their personal impact. Role playing scenarios that they find difficult and openly discussing any barriers and concerns can have a powerful impact on their development.

ACCELERATED BONDING IN A NEW, VIRTUAL GLOBAL TEAM

What if… you have a new, geographically dispersed team who need to get to know each other and get working together, fast?Our client had a new group of approx. 20 people who were located all over the and didn’t know each other well, but needed to quickly become an agile and effective team.We designed a 2 day team experience using the Formula 1 analogy of the Pitwall Crew. We started by creating engaging profile cards for each team member to share their skills, personal passions, superpowers and working preferences in a group exercise, highlighting what is ‘common’ and ‘complimentary’ between individuals. This was followed by Pitwall Crew  exercises and a vision setting session where the function’s role was expressed as a brand hero, including sidekicks, villains and the hero’s journey.

Top Tip: Creative tools and techniques harness the team’s creative energy and inspire team bonding. Profile cards help accelerate ‘getting to know you’ in a team. Include a mix of professional and personal cues and make it engaging and memorable.

STRATEGIC TREASURE HUNT FOR A MORE CONSUMER-CENTRIC DIGITAL FUNCTION

What if… you want to bring your digital teams closer to your consumer so they understand their reality and experience key digital projects in action?Our client wanted to build consumer understanding in a group of 300 digital leads and to show them the real world implications of their digital projects.We created a ‘Consumer-centric Adventure’ inspired by ‘Emily in Paris’ where teams went on a curated, immersive journey in small teams, in one evening in Paris. The teams were given a set of Missions and Challenges, based on strategic initiatives, to help them dive into brand and consumer opportunities and build their consumer insight.

Top Tip: Getting your teams away from the desk and onto a structured immersive journey will build teamwork and provide immersive learning that they will never forget.

SUPERCHARGING A FATIGUED TEAM TO EMBRACE A NEW ORG MODEL

What if… a mission critical team, who has been re-shaped in a new matrix organisation model, are feeling fatigued and unclear about new ways of working? Our client wanted to reset and recharge a new networked team, after a period of significant change in the business had left motivation levels low. We created a series of structured workshops, blending face to face and online interaction, to work through fears and concerns. We codified ways of working and helped to highlight, for senior leadership, the risks and critical interventions that were needed to sustain expertise through the transition. To re-energize the team between sessions we curated a fun London sightseeing task.

Top Tip: After a painful period of change for any team in transition under high pressure, it’s important to take time out to have fun together while they embark on the change journey together.

BUILDING A NEW CO-LEADERSHIP DREAM TEAM

What if… you have new leadership team in unfamiliar co-lead roles and need to create a dynamic, frictionless ‘dream team’?Our client had two leads, with very different styles, and who were used to working independently, who now find themselves in a co-lead situation after an organisational redesign. They needed to find a way to collaborate that works for their individual styles.We created a bespoke journey for the team, leveraging individual and small group coaching, a stakeholder survey, as well as using a range of tools from our ‘Supercharged Teams’ toolbox including ‘Conflict Predictor’ and ‘Our Team Rules’.

Top Tip: A mix of coaching and practical tools can help provide a good balance of empathy and tangible action, building trust and communication to reset and recharge any new working relationship.All of our tools and best practice can be found in Pam’s book Supercharged Teams: 30 tools of great teamwork.

All of our tools and best practice can be found in Pam’s book Supercharged Teams: 30 tools of great teamwork.