by Mike Faber

Dede Osborn is a Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. She’s also a student of Hawaiian leadership and values, and is the author of the paper Leadership Styles in Modern Hawaiian Organizations: Island Culture at Work. Looking at a variety of leadership measures, her studies determine that the three most frequent Hawaiian leadership behaviors are:

• Treats people with dignity and respect
• Follows through on promises and commitments
• Gives team members appreciation and support

Not rocket science, right? So why are these behaviors not practiced more widely and more consistently?

Part of the answer lies in what we tell ourselves. A study of leadership communication once showed that three-quarters of a group of business executives thought of themselves as “great” communicators. The same study polled employees, and their assessment of their leaders’ communication skills produced inverse results. Three-quarters of employees thought those same leaders exhibited “poor” communication skills! Those leaders were convinced of their mastery, without understanding that they had a huge blind spot.

Here’s a great exercise to learn more about your communication skills. Copy/paste/print the three leadership behaviors cited above. Post them in a prominent place at your workspace. When others come to visit, ask them whether they see these behaviors in you, and ask for specific examples. While they’re being candid with you, be a listener and do not react. Thank them for their honesty, and use what you hear to build action steps to improve your skills.

Better yet, bring an Aloha Leadership keynote or workshop to your audience and let them experience the change together!

Mike Faber is a speaker, trainer and certified professional coach who has taught thousands of business leaders to communicate passionately and effectively. His work with Hawaiian business and community leaders forms the foundation of Aloha Leadership™, a new keynote that teaches leadership with an “Island” twist! Mike brings the lessons of a 30-year career in sales, management and broadcasting to audiences in a unique style that combines humor, candor, and lessons that can be applied to all walks of life. He is the author of three books, including 89 Seconds to Sales Success and 89 Seconds to Leadership Success, and recently released The 52 Greatest Business Development Questions Ever! card deck.

by D.J. Vanas

The magical, mystical glue that holds teams together is trust.  With it, we see people follow their leaders through the fires of change, challenge, doubt and fear.  Without it, people won’t follow their leader to the bathroom.  But how do we build that trust and strengthen our relationships, our connections and ultimately influence how well we lead others?

Through communication.

We are all like human radio stations, transmitting information to those around us at all times.  We communicate through e-mail, texting and speaking, but also through our body language and most importantly, through the example we set with our actions.  In the end, our goal as leaders is to communicate in a way that strengthens the bond of trust and enables us to have more influence and impact with those we lead. Whether they are teammates, co-workers, fellow community member or our own families, good communication is a must.

In the extreme, miscommunication can cause injuries or even death in arenas such as the military, operating heavy machinery or medicine. However, if we don’t continually work to prevent miscommunications in our own lives, we can create disruptions that can break down trust, waste energy, time and money and cause confusion or chaos.  To prevent this, three elements of great communication require us to be:

Clear – Before we communicate, we must ask ourselves Am I trying to communicate clearly or am I trying to impress others?  Sometimes when egos get the best of us instead of trying to communicate clearly, we try to impress those around us with flowery speech and a stunning vocabulary.  Speak and write in the simplest terms you can get away with, not to “dumb down” the message, but to make sure it’s being transmitted in a way that all will receive.  The goal here is clear communication – not showing off.

Concise – Why write something in three pages that could be communicated in three paragraphs?  Why say something in ten minutes that should take two?  Bigger is not better, especially in communication.  We live in an era where information overload is the new normal.  The longer and more complex we make our messages, the less impact they have on the intended audience.  Instead, be concise in your communication with your people; trim the fat and the fluff until what you have left is a message worth their time – and attention.

Consistent – The first time water flows over a prairie, it spreads everywhere.  The second time, it starts to follow a pattern of flow.  By the thousandth time, it’s cut a deep channel.  Communication works the same way.  If we say positive, encouraging and clarifying statements to our people over and over again and they accuse us of being like a “broken record” we can just smile.  We’ll know that our communication is working.  And when your people are confused or stressed, what messages will cut through the clutter?  You got it, the broken record messages that you’ve provided will keep them resilient and on track.  Provide a safety net of good ideas and consistently affirming communication to your people and you’ll see how easy it is to keep the team headed in the right direction.

Follow the 3 Cs of great communication and you’ll become a more effective leader, see how much better your teams respond and perform, and how much easier life and work are when everyone is on the same sheet of music!

by Avish Parashar

Have you ever heard the expression, “do as I say, not as I do?”

Well, as in most cases, that’s a pretty stupid way to go. Let’s look at an example…

I went to my local library the other day (which I love) hoping to find some material to broaden my mind – or at least a good novel to get lost in. As I perused the new releases, I noticed an interesting thing: the library was quite loud.

I had always assumed the library was supposed to be quiet, like a morgue, or an audience at a John Cage Concert. This day the library sounded more like a coffee shop or small cocktail party. I could hear at least three distinct conversations echoing through the large room.

I was confused. Why hadn’t the staff quieted these warblers? I looked up to see who these vociferous windbags were…

Yup, you guessed it: Library staff members were involved in all three of the conversations!

*Sigh*

Two of the conversations were between staff and customers (is “customer” the right word when it comes to people who use a library? What’s a better word? Patron? Client? Frugal reader?). The other was between two staff members behind the counter.

What the heck?!? Is it just me? Does no one else believe that:

1. Libraries should be quiet? And …
2. Employees should follow the rules they set for others?

Maybe I’m wrong, and libraries are no longer a place of relative silence. But if I’m not (and I don’t think I am), shouldn’t the people who work there be setting an example, not violating the rule?

Sadly, you see this kind of hypocrisy all the time:

• Rules and admonishments that the environment should be quiet, but the employees are the ones making the noise.
• A posted sign says, “No food or drink,” but the owner often eats openly in front of everyone.
• Offices that penalize you for being late but are always running behind schedule.
• A company with a strict “no personal calls” policy – except, of course, when the boss needs to make one
• And on and on

If you’re the one in charge, be it as an owner, manager, or employee, it’s easy to look at the rules and say, “eh, these don’t apply to me.” But if you want happy customers, content employees, and a growing business, you should rethink that mindset.

(For the employees, you might be saying, “why should they care, they’re not in charge?” To which I respond, “Yes, and with that kind of attitude they never will be.”)

If you are a leader, or aspire to be one someday, set an example, lead from the front, and stop being a hypocrite. Your customers, workers, and bottom line will thank you.

Avish Parashar is an innovative, energetic, and humorous speaker who uses his 18+ years of experience performing, directing, and teaching improv comedy to deliver unique and refreshing presentations to a variety of audiences. In his “Ding! Happens!” keynotes and workshops, Avish gives his audiences simple ideas they can use to deliver great leadership, service, and teamwork – even when things go wrong.

by Zoe Training staff

Did you know that unleashing your creative side helps bring about a new way of looking at life and business? As a speaker, improv teacher, and stand-up comedian, it’s Avish Parashar’s objective to show audiences how they can learn a lot about themselves and their potential for professional excellence – while having fun in a creative format. For Avish, teaching improv is all about helping participants learn how to respond to unplanned challenges, for with all things in life – no matter how well things are planned out – things tend to go wrong or the unexpected usually happens, and it’s good to know how to maintain your sanity and achieve success during those moments the Universe throws you a curve ball.

What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

“Ding Happens! How to Deliver Great Leadership, Service, and Teamwork – Even When Things Goes Wrong”

This topic lets me combine everything creative I love – improv comedy, stand-up comedy, and storytelling – with content and a message that resonates with audiences. I get to be funny and creative while helping people do better both professionally and personally. It’s awesome!

Three words that describe your presentation style:

Energetic. Interactive. Hilarious.

What are some things that surprise you or inspire you about your interactions with clients/participants?

In all of my presentations, I have the audience play improv comedy games. Even though I have done it for years, I still think it’s so cool how almost every audience – regardless of age, gender, industry, or position – are willing to play along and have fun. They also come out of each exercise with some great examples of creativity. There are exceptions, but most audiences, even if they don’t know it, are fun, playful, and creative, and that inspires me.

Do you have a favorite quote? What/why?

My favorite quote changes from time to time. Right now it’s Steve Martin’s answer when people ask him how to make it in show business:

“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

Everyone knows the value of being “good.” I’ve recently realized the critical difference between “being good” and “being so good they can’t ignore you.” The former is a way to keep happy clients. The second is a way to get people beating down your door to hire you. I keep this quote present as a constant reminder to myself to keep getting better.

What’s one thing on your “bucket list” you hope to do in the next year?

I have wanted to write a novel since I was eight years old (I’m little older than that now). I started one last year and am halfway through it. I fully intend to finish not just a first draft, but a completed manuscript by the end of the year. Whether it gets published, well, that’s another story…

Why did you become a speaker/trainer?

I have always loved doing two things: performing and teaching. I have been on stage since before high school, and devoted a lot of my life to it. I have also always loved to teach, but not in a traditional “classroom” setting. I remember training in karate and being excited to get my black belt, not because of the achievement (though that was cool) but because in my school getting a black belt meant you could teach! I love it. One day I went to a big motivational seminar and as I watched the speaker, I had a revelation: the speaker was doing a great job teaching and performing. The two things I most love combined in one. From that point, I knew I would be a speaker someday.

by Zoe Training staff

Perhaps Mike Faber’s face is familiar to you. Maybe it’s because Mike has been a regular pledge drive host for PBS television stations across the country since the mid ’90s and has been in television broadcasting since the late ’70s.

In this interview, Mike opens up about his personal philosophies and what motivates him to positively impact others.

What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

My focus is on leadership, and how we “show up” as leaders in our business, community and personal lives. It’s my favorite topic because we can all remember a leader who made a life-time impact for us in our growth – what better legacy to leave than helping others make the same impact?

What are your favorite groups of people to work with?

I love working with business groups, especially people who are relatively new to management and leadership positions. When I began as a corporate manager and executive, I believed that it was more important to know business, than to know people. Now I realize that institutional knowledge can be passed along, but relating to others in an inspirational and compelling way is the foundation for any great leader.

Are you involved in any community projects/issues?

The first five years after college I was a TV sportscaster and that began a lifelong connection to broadcasting. I’m in my 26th year of volunteering at Public Television, in markets as diverse as Brownsville, Tex., San Francisco, and for the last 15 years in Denver, Colo. As a speaker I contribute a portion of all event proceeds to charity, including the Campership Fund at Camp Pathfinder in Algonquin Park, Ontario. One of my talents is that I can right a capsized canoe in virtually any weather!

Do you have a favorite quote? What/why?

Many, but the playwright Arthur Miller captured the potential risk and reward of leadership when he said “One can’t stand forever on the shore. At some point, filled with indecision, skepticism, reservation and doubt, you either jump in or concede that life is forever elsewhere.”

Tell us a recent book you’ve read and would recommend:

“Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. The story of Olympic runner, WWII aviator and POW Louis Zamperini. Simply the most inspirational book of survival I’ve ever read.

What are you most grateful for in life?

My family, wife Terry and boys, Nick and Chris. In my keynote Aloha Leadership I share a story about a recent family trip to Hawaii. In the midst of paradise, we found ourselves in an urgent double health crisis. Without our Hawaiian “ohana,” the trip could have been disastrous!

by Zoe Training staff

Being a seasoned international trainer and coach since 1985, as well as having a long history of serving as a professor and lecturer at various colleges and universities in the U.S. and Singapore, Mark Zalkin has had plenty of thought-provoking – if not life-changing – experiences that he was willing to share with us. This is the second of a two-part interview.

What is your favorite quote?

I have many favorite quotes but the one I like the best is:  “You are an architect of your own misery.  You also have the ability to remodel.”  -  Stephen Marmer, M.D.

I really like Dr. Marmer’s quote because it reinforces the concept of taking responsibility of your own situation and then doing something to start making changes.

I like to feel that my workshops offer my participants the beginning motivation and tools to begin to start the remodeling process.

Why did you become a trainer?

One major reason is that this work affords me the opportunity to meet a very wide range of very interesting people.

I also love the opportunity to share information with people, to receive the feedback that they enjoyed the presentation, and that the information will be very helpful to them in their work and life.

What are your most popular presentation topics?

Working With Difficult People,  Introduction to Leadership, Leadership Coaching, Managing Conflict Effectively, Understanding Yourself and Others (Behavioral Styles), Are You Meeting More and Enjoying it Less? and Time Management ( when I have time to teach time management).

A presentation that went wrong – at least in the beginning:

I was doing a three-day conflict management workshop for a large defense company in Texas.  I was told that I had 32 participants.

At the time of this assignment, I had presented this workshop at least 12 -14 times, so I was very confident that it would work well again.  I used my normal opening with several true stories that illustrated common conflicts that happen in most organizations. These stories had always helped me develop a rapid rapport with participants.  After that, I usually went over the agenda and had them, in their table groups, come up with real conflict issues on index cards.  These issues would be processed during the last afternoon of the course.

I immediately noticed that this group was not the bit least interested in my stories and we were not developing any rapport.  The body language was pretty negative.  So, I did what most people do — I pushed harder and told another story that always got a positive response and laughs from participants; they just stared at me.  I said to myself that they couldn’t hate me in only the first three minutes of the program.  I tried again, and failed to connect.  I realized I had better move quickly to save this program.

I stopped and made following statement:  ” I have a sense that most of you are not very receptive to my opening stories. I don’t think you can all hate me in just three minutes, so what’s going on?”   Silence is a great tool.  ( I figured it would take no more than 10 seconds before some spoke. I started counting ” 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand, 3 one thousand, etc.  I got to 20 one thousand and still nothing, I was getting a bit nervous, but kept a smile on my face.  Finally around the 26-second mark, one person raised their hand.  I called on him.  He said he had the longest tenure in this group. He went on to say that they were in the middle of a huge project with major time deadlines.  They had nothing against me, or the topic, it was just that they were being forced to attend by a new boss in their Atlanta office.  They resented having to be forced and now had to come in early and stay late to catch up.  Several other people spoke up as well confirming his comments.

I appreciated his sharing the situation and then said to the group, well now we have several options, of which I quickly put up on the flipchart:

1. Cancel the program and I go back to Denver and they go back to work.
2. Continue on with an understanding of their tough schedule and see if we can find a way to help them out.
3. Other options?

They had no other options so I went back to the first two:

1. I have no authority to cancel the program; I will teach this workshop for whomever is here. I cannot do anything about any person who chooses to leave.   (Someone responded that they could not leave — it was mandated that they attend.)
2. I asked them to brainstorm, at their table groups, and come up with creative ways we could squeeze a little more time for them and still keep the integrity of the program intact.  ( I gave them 10 minutes to do this.)

They responded with some terrific ideas that concluded with starting the program 30 minutes earlier each day, bring sack lunches so we had working sessions, 10 minute breaks instead of 15, etc. This activity helped them gain about 1 and 1/2 hours as we concluded the course at 3:45 p.m. each day.

I then asked them, at their table groups, to come up with three to four real world issues they were dealing with in their jobs. (Each group listed the manager in Atlanta.)  I told them that the material in this course would help them look at options for dealing with all of their issues.

Once we solved this problem, I decided to forget the stories and give this group what they wanted — precise, wanting data and specific information — not stories. They were still very reserved.   I started by taking out the assessment tool I was going to give them in the afternoon.  As I discussed the standard deviation and means of the instrument, I heard the click of their mechanical pencils as they wrote down the data.   I stayed very precise in my presentation all day and reduced my normal high energy approach. As I did this, I sensed that they were opening up.  By the end of the day, I tried a story or two and they laughed and let their guard down.

The lesson to me was to be honest and real, don’t be afraid to share your feelings and discuss it with others.   I know that it would have been a pretty unpleasant experience for all of us if I had just continued to plow ahead.

by Shari Harley

The news is riddled with stories of organizations in which CEOs allowed fraudulent practices to go on with no intervention.  Are these leaders guilty of fraud?  Or negligence?   I’d say neither.  They’re victims of pervasive insulation that is the norm is almost every organization worldwide.  In most organizations the most senior people get the least information of all.

No one wants to tell her boss that a division is losing money or that customers are unhappy.  Instead of speaking up, employees ‘protect’ senior leaders from bad news, putting on a front that everything is fine.  Or are employees really protecting themselves?

Most senior leaders aren’t typically guilty of fraud or negligence.  Rather, they’re guilty of not creating an environment in which people will tell them the truth.

Despite telling employees that risk-taking and failures are acceptable, employees don’t believe it.  It doesn’t feel safe to fail.  And thus it isn’t safe to tell the truth. Leaders need to create an environment in which it is not only acceptable to report bad news, but it’s embraced.  The question is how.

We tend to get what we ask for.  So, quite literally, what are the leaders in your organization asking for?

Tell employees you want to know the good and the bad, and visibly reward both.  Creating a candid culture requires publicly acknowledging mistakes and letting employees see that failing doesn’t result in being marginalized or terminated.  And the same way we want our employees to be honest with us, we need to be more forthright and transparent with them.  You can tell your employees more than you think you can.

Employees want to know how the organization is really doing.  They want to know the results and what is standing in the way of success.

The more information you share, the more information you’ll get.

Shari Harley helps organizations produce unprecedented results by developing and retaining key talent. Shari works with organizational leaders and professionals enabling them to say anything, making potentially difficult conversations easy.

by Ashley Andrus

With the “Where the Wild Things Are” movie taking the box office by storm it’s a good time to think about feral learning and the ways in which Training & Development are taking a walk on “the wild side.”

In today’s “Google World” it’s possible to find instructions and information on almost anything you might need.

• Looking for that new BBQ restaurant? Google it.
• Wondering how many Rocky movies are in the series? A few keystrokes, a click, and voila.
• Need to know how to change out the filter in your furnace? You know what to do.

Most of us search online every single day. For 2009, Google reports a little under 300 million searches per day on average—almost 9 billion searches in the month of September alone. Technology has changed—forever—the way we gather information. The question is whether your organization’s training & development model has effectively adapted to that reality.

In the P.G. (pre-Google) days, the standard people development model was all “push.” Show and Tell. The company set the framework and the timeline. Both the content (the ‘what’ employees needed to know) and the time frame (the ‘when’ they got it) was determined by the organization. On-the-job learning was still taking place, of course, but without the speed and depth that the internet has made possible.

Over the last decade we’ve seen many organizations shift towards employee-driven development, in which the individual employees have a stake and a say in their own individual development plans. A recent google search for “personal learning environment” returned more than 280 million results, while “Training 2.0″ garnered 105 million. This attitude, in conjunction with technological advances, has resulted in a huge efficacy leap in the ability of learners to figure out what they need to know and to actively seek that precise information.

The result? Feral learning. The term “feral learning” was coined in the 1990s by Ted Nunan, perhaps, or by Dr. Roy Lundin (see here for an overview of the history of the term) with regard to the increasing trend by students of using the Internet to supplement formal curricula, to learn from other learners, and to adapt on the fly to situational changes.

Many K-12 and post-secondary school systems are actively experimenting with ways to more fully integrate this collaborative learning environment into 21st century classrooms (see a thought-provoking video here and an overview on how the Internet is tearing down classroom walls here.) It can be more difficult to incorporate into corporate culture (see here for some potential pitfalls in the realm of employee-driven development) but it’s here to stay and smart organizations are identifying ways to blend “push” content with “pull” capabilities.

3.5 tips for putting this trend to work for your organization:

1. HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES BECOME BETTER LEARNERS. In addition to providing the technology to access online resources, help them refine their “human Google search terms” to more effectively gather info from co-workers. Help them understand how to better gather information internally and externally through social networking, both online and in-person. As networking expert Sarah Michel notes, “in the 21st Century your network is your netWORTH™”…do your employees know how to utilize their networks on the job to help the organization accomplish its objectives?

2. HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES BECOME BETTER TEACHERS AND MENTORS. All organizations are being asked to do more with less. Therefore it’s critical to give your employees appropriate tools and techniques so they can serve as a resource for others without negatively impacting their own job performance. Todd Hudson‘s excellent peer mentoring program is an example of a framework that works for organizations from copper mines to call centers with regard to effectively on-boarding new employees AND for helping existing employees tap into the knowledge that those new employees bring in with them.

3. IDENTIFY WHICH CRITICAL AREAS ARE SUITABLE FOR “PULL” LEARNING and which you still need to offer as “push” programs. There isn’t a single structure that’s right for all organizations. Your ideal training structure depends on a variety of factors. Hone your offerings and make them timely and relevant.

3.5 OFFER THAT CONTENT IN MULTI-MEDIA FORMATS. Face-to-face is excellent for some topics and some learners; some people hate podcasts and prefer to read. Offering your internal learners a variety of media from which to choose enhances the likelihood of information transfer…

…which is the point, after all.

Ashley Andrus is President of Zoe Training & Consulting. Her passion is making HR folks and meeting planners look like *rock stars* by providing one-stop access to 90+ speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and consultants.

by Anna Conrad

“Making change part of the organization’s internal dialogue is critical to successful firm management.”

Fear, anxiety, and resistance can quickly take over an organization during tough times, causing employee productivity, morale, and engagement to plummet. When change occurs — or is simply rumored to occur — stress can take over and cause serious disruption to firm operations.

A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management showed that gossip and rumor-spreading among employees has increased 54 percent since the recession began. Such practices may seem harmless, but they can quickly hijack emotions and productivity among your firm’s attorneys and staff alike. If talk around the water cooler goes unchecked, an innocent closed-door meeting to discuss travel limitations could turn into (in the minds of the uniformed) a massive layoff plan. Consider the following strategies to keep this from happening at your firm.

Over-Communicate

Making change part of the organization’s internal dialogue is critical to opening lines of communication and successfully managing the firm. Employees do not need to be made aware of every development, but acknowledging shifts in policy and other relevant details that accompany internal change will help keep morale high and staff calm.

Key approaches:

1. Explain why a change is needed and how it will affect employees. Articulate this in straightforward, honest language, such as, “We’re cutting expenses to avoid having to make layoffs,” followed by a “Call to Action” (see section below).
2. Decide when and how employees will get updates. Schedule weekly meetings, e-mails, or other ways to disseminate information regularly – and stick to them.
3. Acknowledge individuals’ intense emotions. Let people know it’s normal to feel anxious — even panicked — and that you still value their contributions to the firm.

Call to Action

In turbulent times, strong leadership is critical. In law firms, administrators are ideally positioned to deliver that leadership — facilitating positive change and motivating their colleagues to achieve and embrace it.

One strategy: Reframe a change or issue your firm is facing as a challenge. You might say, “What we need to do is learn how to become lean and use our resources optimally. When this economic crisis is over, we will be the ahead of other firms.”

Seeking Answers

Sometimes questions lack immediate answers, but don’t use that as a reason to sidestep them. Saying “I don’t know” is better (in the short term) than ignoring the elephant in the room — as long as you can give a date (or an approximate one) for when the answer can be expected. Utilize these simple strategies and watch your firm flourish.

If these guidelines will help during tough times, imagine how impactful they will be during the better times that are sure to come.

Anna Conrad, JD, is an expert in organizational effectiveness and leadership development, and she is President of Impact Leadership Solutions. Anna Conrad has over a decade of experience in executive and leadership coaching, group facilitation, leadership development, and training. She has been a trusted confidante to leaders in numerous Fortune 500 companies, including the financial, telecommunications, legal, and health-care sectors, as well as in academia, government, and nonprofits.

by Ashley Andrus

“Tell me and I may forget. Show me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.”—Confucius

You can learn sitting in a classroom. You can learn listening to somebody talk to you. You can learn watching a webinar or listening to a teleconference or sitting around a conference room table or reading a manual. But it’s not the only way you can learn.

Why not invite some “fun and games” into your meetings and workshops and daily office routine? Incorporating some get-up-and-walk activities with your sit-and-talk sessions can be an effective catalyst in taking the team and the discussion to the next level.

You don’t have to take your team to a ropes course, white-water rafting, skydiving, or high-speed driving to benefit from experiential activities. Those experiences are exciting and can be very effective, but if your budget or timeframe doesn’t allow for that possibility, consider some alternatives that can be done closer to home.

INSTRUCTOR-LED OPTIONS include program like:

• In Hi-Tech Treasure Hunt, teams use handheld GPS systems to race around a geocached course. The challenge level rises as participants progress from one station to another.
• In Lessons from the Herd, horses—perhaps the ultimate team animals—teach valuable leadership and team lessons. No riding required!
• In Adventure Past Kilimanjaro, teams travel to Africa and encounter lions, elephants and hippos—without ever leaving the conference room.
• Team Work & Team Play utilizes games, improv activities, and more to demonstrate the power of laughter & leadership.
• Juggling Master is an innovative program in which participants learn to juggle in the process of learning lessons such as “count on dropping the ball” and “you can’t learn to juggle for somebody else.”

Continued advances and price decreases in technology have paved the way for a wide variety of GAME-BASED AND VIRTUAL-ENVIRONMENT SCENARIOS. MSNBC reports that Hilton Garden Inn is rolling out a program called “Ultimate Team Play” that offers timed scenarios to give employees a chance to practice job skills before interacting with customers. Scenarios include everything from housekeeping and maintenance to front desk operations. (Article here). Kansas City-based Assurant Employee Benefits rolled out a series of online training video games called “It’s Your Business” with a “CEO vs. CFO Smackdown Challenge.” (Article here.)

Full-blown hands-on workshops aren’t the only option, of course. There are endless SHORT ADD-ON ACTIVITIES that require no materials and only a few minutes of time. For example:

• The warmer weather of spring provides a perfect opportunity to take some of your team meetings outside.
• At the start of your next regular staff meeting, take a few minutes and have everyone introduce the person next to him or her as though you were newly-formed team.
• To get a team’s energy level up, incorporate a scavenger hunt into the start of one of your meetings.  Give the team 5 or 10 minutes to find items such as an out-of-state driver’s license, a cell phone less than 2 months old, someone who took a Psychology class in college, 2 people whose ages add up to 100, a 2009 quarter, etc.

Ashley Andrus is President of Zoe Training & Consulting. Her passion is making HR folks and meeting planners look like *rock stars* by providing one-stop access to 90+ speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and consultants.