Culture-Building vs. Team-Building
So, Your Teambuilding Failed? Last week we discussed the uncomfortable subject of failed teambuilding. Turns out, quite a large number of groups that subject themselves to “teambuilding events” aren’t even teams in the first place. No wonder the results so rarely live up to either expectations or the vendor’s hype! Companies invest in “teambuilding” and wonder why their group’s performance doesn’t improve. That’s a lot like thinking you’re buying fantastic new tires and wondering later why the roads are still so bumpy. Let me give you a new way to think about the conference slot where you’ve been putting what you thought “teambuilding” activities. Instead of tires, let’s go get some asphalt. Culturebuilding French novelist and art theorist Andre Malraux said that “Culture is the sum of all the forms of art, of love, and of thought, which, in the course of centuries, have enabled man to be less enslaved.” While he wasn’t referring to corporate cultures, the underlying idea – with some modification – can be applied as a definition for any organization’s culture. Art :: Expression This is analagous to all forms of expression in an organization. How do people speak, write, email, telephone, whisper, or otherwise communicate? How are people addressed? How are the organization’s stories shared and preserved? Love :: Relationships This applies to the way people relate to and interact with each other. How hierarchical is the organization? Do people from different divisions and levels of the organization interact? Is that interaction required? Natural? Forced? Tense? Relaxed? Thought :: Processes This relates to the practical and analytical activities that occur within the organization. This may span everything from work habits to clarity of mission to the choice of hardware and software used in attempting the mission. (There are good and not-so-good things to be said about both Macs and PCs, but there is no doubt that the choice of technology platform can affect an organization’s culture!) Of course I’d never suggest that we are enslaved, but the sum of these things can allow us to be more engaged, enthusiastic, and productive in our work. We aren’t throwing off shackles of enslavement, but rather those of drudgery. Do you see? All those concepts you learned about culture in drama, art, music, or language arts classes in school aren’t limited to the academic or artistic realm. Your organization can benefit from your ability to see parallels in the way culture is built and strengthened in the community and the way corporate culture affects your business model and your workplace relationships. Culturebuilding Objectives Now that you understand the distinction between teambuilding and culturebuilding, how does that change the way you engage in activities in the future? Here are some ideas. Instead of teambuilding, look at the group activity as an opportunity to have a shared experience that contributes to strengthening the culture of your organization. Save your ‘high performing teams’ management-book-of-the-month for groups that are actually teams. Measuring a group on the basis of characteristics of teams is doomed to create unneeded stress and no useful insight. How does the activity support one or more of the three overarching principles? Measure that, not whether a group of people who won’t interact again until next quarter or next year are now performing as a “team.” (If you need a refresher on what teams are, see last week’s post.) Create objectives for your group activities based on how they relate to the three overarching themes of culture. For example: Does this activity provide the opportunity for people to share our organization’s stories with our newer people? Does it provide the opportunity to create new ones? Does this event encourage people to interact across functional divisions in our organization? Does it encourage interaction across hierarchical levels? Back at the office, will people be encouraged or restricted from communicating with the people they interact with during this activity? Why or why not? Will this activity be used to communicate and emphasize our core values? Does this activity provide an opportunity to emphasize our mission and vision? Etc. What Do You Think? As I’ve written the last two blog posts, I have been struck with the idea that these ideas might form the basis of a new keynote. What do you think? Do you think HR managers, meeting & event planners, and other audiences might find value in understanding the distinction between teambuilding and culturebuilding? Am I complete off-base in drawing that distinction? Your comments are not only welcome – I’m actively soliciting them! Please share this article and let’s get a conversation going.
“One Enchanted Evening” in Vicksburg Sept 8
Mississippi Native Turner Brings Magic, Music From Atlanta to Vicksburg NOTE: Listen to a radio interview about this upcoming appearance! Interview by Annette Kirklin on The Directors Report, WVBG Radio, Vicksburg, MS (8/17/2011) Atlanta speaker and entertainer Joe M. Turner will perform “One Enchanted Evening” at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center on Thursday, September 8. Turner, a Brandon native, will present a unique show of sleight-of-hand illusions and music performances. The Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation takes immense pride in welcoming acclaimed international speaker, corporate entertainer, and Brandon, Mississippi native Joe M. Turner back to his home state for a one-night-only, one-of-a-kind theatrical performance on Thursday, September 8th at 7:00pm in the SCH Auditorium. Turner will present a multi-faceted evening of variety entertainment including unreal sleight-of-hand mysteries, uncanny psychological illusions, and unforgettable piano and vocal classics, all woven together into what some consider “a 21st-century one-man vaudeville.” Don’t miss this unique entertainment event! This limited engagement will sell out, so don’t miss out! Tickets are $25 for SCHF Members, $30 for Non-Members and $225 for a Corporate/Private Table. Ticket price includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, punch, a cash bar, and an unforgettable evening of magic, mentalism, and music! Tickets are on sale now at the SCHF Business Office, Paper Plus or charge by phone at (601) 631-2997. You can get tickets and directions online at https://www.southernculture.org Joe M. Turner combines seven years of corporate experience in training design and development, business communication, human performance development and change management initiatives at Fortune 100 clients with extensive theatre experience and magical talents to create customized magical presentations for his clients. Joe is a member of the National Speakers Association, the Academy of Magical Arts at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, the Society of American Magicians, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, The Magic Circle in London (A.I.M.C. with silver star), and the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. He is also a popular speaker, onscreen and onstage talent, a professional pianist, an accomplished vocalist, composer and playwright. Visit his website at https://turnermagic.com Space is limited and an advanced ticket purchase is suggested. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the SCHF office at 601-631-2997 or email info@southernculture.org ### Based in Atlanta, Georgia, professional speaker, mentalist, and corporate magician Joe M. Turner delivers unreal entertainment and keynotes for corporate meetings, events, trade shows, conferences and private events worldwide. Category Entertainment, Event, Arts
