Pathways to Excellence
Encouraging Teamwork: Celebrating DiversityMarch 18, 2013
Greetings!

Building and maintaining an effective team... during the past few months, I have received more than double the number of usual requests for information and training on this topic.
  
leadership challengesPerhaps it's the current climate of the economy... or of the tug-of-war between the younger and older workers... or the added pressures on leadership... or the combination of all these, and others.
  
For the next four weeks, your Monday Morning Leadership Tip will focus on different aspects of teamwork. Today we look at celebrating diversity. Check out today's tip for a simple activity you might use to let your team be creative in defining reasons to celebrate, or increase, the diversity of their team.
  
Leadership 101 will launch later this spring. The number one requested topic is Building and Maintaining an Effective Team... so you can be assured this will be one of the topics.
  
Sign up here to give input on the topics and to receive up-to-date information on Leadership 101 as its development continues!
  
Unleash the Leader Within!
Teresa


Teresa Gilbert
Pathways to Excellence, LLC

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IN THIS ISSUE
Monday Morning Leadership Tip #219: Encouraging Teamwork: Celebrating Diversity
Leadership Training
About Teresa

 MONDAY MORNING LEADERSHIP TIP #219
Encouraging Teamwork: Celebrating Diversity


This idea is a simple group activity that promotes the concept of team-diversity and respect towards the other.

 

Lands of Many Colors:

 

Divide the team into several small groups, with 3-4 people in a group. Give each group materials for creating or constructing their "land of the group". The materials you give to a group should be made of a single color only (each group gets a different color).

 

colorful world These materials could include colored dough, paints, colored papers, stickers, etc. Encourage the groups to make their land the most beautiful manifestation of their chosen color -- make them proud of their color.

 

After a few minutes of building these "monochrome" lands, quietly take one person from a small group, and ask that person to take with them some materials of their original color. Move the person into a different group and tell that group that this person has just joined their group. Give them the opportunity to blend this new color with their "land" and see how things develop.

 

Repeat this color mix-up process a few more time and watch and record the team members' reactions carefully. Sometimes -- group will reject the newly-offer colored. In other cases, they will cease the opportunity to make their lands creative and colorful. In other cases, they will, on their own, find new and creative ways to blend the colors. Discuss these reactions with the team and demonstrate the results of acceptance of diversity by showing the beauty of the more colorful groups.

 

As needed, let the groups help each other to blend the new colors into their monochrome ones. Lead discussion as needed on the importance of diversity.

 

newNeed additional ideas, tips, and activities to promote diversity in your organization? Sign up to be on our Leadership 101 "Launch List" so that you will have instant access to purchase this on-demand training (and we'll even give you some secret coupon codes!). Click here.

  
  
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
 
Would you like to learn more about leadership topics such as this one?

 

leadership trainingLeadership training opportunities are offered in many ways to meet your organization's specific needs and budget. Take a look at our different training approaches, including these On-Demand traning courses:

  • Supervisor 101
  • Bringing Out the Best in You and Others
  • Managing Staff in Stressful Times: Celebrations and Challenges of Leading Multiple Generations
  • Dealing With Difficult People
  • Creating a Culture of Customer Service Excellence
  • The Healthy Leader: Learning to Lead Yourself
ABOUT TERESA
 
Teresa GilbertTeresa Gilbert is founder of Pathways to Excellence, LLC, a company devoted to inspring excellence in others, empowering them to rise to their potential and "unleash the leader within"! She is also a Consultant, Leadership Coach, and author.  

If you liked today's issue, you'll love Teresa's dynamic coaching and training in the form of on-demand training, on-site presentations and one-on-one consulting. See more about Teresa and Pathways programs here.

Teresa Gilbert, "Live Your Leadership Mentor"
Pathways to Excellence, LLC
teresa@teresagilbert.com
Phone:  618-521-1917   |  Fax:  618-223-5181