Certified Professional Facilitator

Keen to do a quick team building session that is effective and low cost?

Here are some activities that can be done with very, very little resource.

Click this link for recycled team building activities.

This document was developed for the Experiential Educators Conference in Spain in 2008.

If you have questions please get in touch.

Procrastination can be a big blocker to your personal success, that of your team and ultimately impact the effectiveness of your organisation. If your energy drops when thinking about a task or you start to thing negatively about something, more than likely, you will procrastinate and put it off. This, as you know, only leads to you feeling even more pressure later. Here are ten tips to help you get more proactive and get on with what you know you need to do. By getting on with the tasks and creating more free time, you can dedicate it to being the leader you want to be!

Procrastination tip 1
Get clarity: Create a complete to-do list that has everything you need to do on it.
Once developed look over it and underline those that fill you with dread or create negative energy.
Aim to work on those ones sooner rather than later
Just think about how good you will feel when you have done them!

Procrastination tip 2
Precision focus:Deal with the thing you want to put off first thing in the day.
Just get it done and be liberated to do all of the other great things you need and want to get done.
Don't take a peek at the internet or your email before, just head straight for it and do it!

Procrastination tip 3
Think positive: Reframe in the positive your thinking about the task your doing.
Think about how completing the task will help you and what you will gain by getting it done sooner rather than later.
It can't be that bad so as Nike say, "just do it!"

Procrastination tip 4
Be supported: Get help if you need it.
A task shared is a task halved.
Think about who might be able to help you complete at least a part of the task, if not a significant part of it.
Do you need to struggle alone? Perhaps not! If you don't ask you simple won't get the help you might beed.

Procrastination tip 5
Keep focused: Work in 30 minute blocks
Don't go off daydreaming and worrying about things that are outside of your sphere of control or influence or are not related to your task
Get your head down for 30 minutes of hard work and then take a 5 minute break.
After the break assess whether you can keep focused for another 30 minutes.
Keep on doing this until you complete the task or really need to do something else.

Procrastination tip 6
Keep focused: clear distractions
When working on your task, turn off your phone, automatic email notifications and ensure people around you know you are busy.
Consider blocking a meeting with yourself in your electronic diary (outlook, notes) so no one else can request time with you.
When you are looking to procrastinate you will look for any excuse not to continue so stop giving yourself reasons to do so!

Procrastination tip 7
Bet at your best: Understand when you have your most energy in a day and use that time to get your stuff done.
Figure out if your a morning, afternoon or evening person and use the time when you at your highest energy to get those procrastinated tasks done.
If you have more energy you are more likely to zip through them rather than have them drag on!

Procrastination tip 8
Motivate to complete: Set yourself a small pleasure to take or do, when you have finished the task you are procrastinating.
Give yourself some free time, take your favourite drink or go for a relaxing work. What ever will help you move on.
Look for something simple but motivating that will create energy and drive for you to complete the task you are putting off

Procrastination tip 9
Challenge yourself: Set a tight time limit to complete the task.
Calculate how long you need to complete the task you are putting off and try and complete in 20% less time.
By reducing the time and upping the pressure you will take your mind off the task and focus on completing the challenge you have set yourself.

Procrastination tip 10
20:20 Vision: Link the tasks you are procrastinating to your goals.
Think about how the task you need to complete links to the bigger picture and especially your personal or professional goals.
By creating clarity of the linkage you will be more likely to want to complete it.

Don't try and do all 10 tips at one. Choose a couple and work with them. Potentially this can be enough to refocus and free up time for leadership. If not, choose another two and use them also.

Good luck!

>> Andi Roberts as a Professional Certified Coach works with leaders at all levels in organisations to help them up their game and create high performing teams and organisations. If you want to be a more effective leader simply get in touch!

I am a big fan of Alexander Osterwalder, Ph.D, and Professor Yves Pigneur, Ph.D's book on Business Model Generation.
Whilst the book is focused on assessing and changing business models to compete for the future it also serves as a great coaching tool for teams and leaders.

The book examines a business from nine areas that are pulled together on the Business Model Canvas and challenges businesses owners and leaders to examine their model and be fit for the future.

As my main focus is around leadership development and team development, I looked at adapting it to help build teams and lead change from an executive level.

From a team coach perspective here are some questions I might use when working with a new team or an intact team that needs to refocus and reenergise:

• Customer segments : Who are there internal & external customers the team serves?
• Customer relationships : What does good customer service look like for this team (and the clients) and how can the team ensure that they exceeds expectations continuously.
• Channels : What systems and process are needed an effective managing of the relationship with the client?
• Key partners : Who do we rely on to ensure we can do our job well? Are they clear on the impact they have on our customers success? How can we improve our relationship with them and our joint performance?
• Key activities: What are the key activities that the team need to carry out to exceed their key performance indicators.What activities do the team need to do to improve as a team.
• Key Resources: What skills do the team have? what skills do the team need? What resources do the team need and what can the team do with out?
• Value proposition: What value do the team provide to their customer and there other important stakeholders? What makes this team unique?
• Cost Structure: What budget does the team need to work with? What other costs need to be considered? What are the things that decrease the teams energy or motivation?
• Revenue stream: How and when does the team receive the resources it needs to work well? What do the team members expect to get from being in the team?

For more information on Business Model Generation visit here

Some programs that I have developed around the canvas are:

• A 1 day Business Model Review that examines a current business models and looks for incremental change.
• A 2 day Business Model Generation workshop that examines the current model and pushes the boundaries for future success.
• A 2 day Business Team Generation workshop that builds a new orexisting team based on the principles outlined here and supported with a powerful team 360 instrument and team coaching.

If you think about any one leader that stands out to you or anyone person who has had a significant positive impact on your life you will probably recognise that this person had strong principles based around a set of deeply held beliefs. These beliefs are themselves values. These influencers on you, are people, who have lived, taught, developed others and shared their values through the way they have modeled their unique style of leadership.

Values are effectively who you are and guide your beliefs, attitudes, and the principles you live and lead by. Your values guide and inform your choices, decisions, and actions, whether you know it or not. You need to explore and define your values so that you can live purposefully by them. Values need to be present and should be visible in your everyday actions as an effective leader.

This Leadership Coaching Values Exercise has been designed to help you reflect on the influencing leaders in your life and the values that are important to you. Feel free to print off and use and also share with others.

Leadership Coaching is an occasional series of activities and reflections to be posted over the course 2011.

Happy New Year!