International Association of Teamwork Facilitators

The Spiritual Nature of Team Building -- New TeleSeminar Series

When I first began team building in 1987, I was drawn to the work because I felt good doing it.  My initial inexperience made it very challenging at first, and yet I knew I was doing the right thing.  These feelings were an indication I was following a spiritual path - - though I wouldn’t recognize it until much later.  I simply knew I was happy doing the work regardless of the circumstances.

As President & Founder of the IATF I've had many conversations with teamwork facilitators (trainers, coaches, educators) around the world and have discovered many of us share a spiritual grounding in our work building teams.

Many of us feel a "calling" (as Gregg Levoy says) to do this work.  It's not a job; it's our JOY to help groups have a direct experience of what it means to become a "high performing team".

One of the big goals I've set for 2012 is to explore this intangible we call "spirit" (or "spiritual") when it comes to team building.

Many in our industry are comfortable using the phrase "Team Spirit" which hints at this intangible.

Now I propose a series of live and interactive TeleSeminars where we directly explore and address the spiritual nature of team building.

I plan to invite leaders in the field of spiritual studies to be our guest on these TeleSeminars in an effort to more fully understand what it means to build and lead teams as a path of spiritual development.

Here are some of the people I plan to invite as speakers...

• Dr. Wayne Dyer
• Dr. Michael Beckwith
• Marianne Williamson
• Bob Proctor
• Brian Biro
• Jack Canfield
• Deepak Chopra
• Pema Chodron
• Dr. Lance Secretan

Who would you like to hear on this TeleSeminar series?  What speakers, authors and luminaries would you most enjoy learning from? Who would inspire and enlighten you?  Leave your thoughts in the comments area below.

Can you help me connect with anyone on the above list?  If yes, I'd love to hear from you.  Please call or email.

Please share your thoughts below.

Tom Heck
President & Founder
International Association of Teamwork Facilitators

Documentary "I Am" by Tom Shadyac Shares Teamwork Truth: WE ARE ALL CONNECTED

My wife and I recently watched the new documentary I AM by Tom Shadyac.  It was WONDERFUL!

The movie is a probing exploration of our world, what's wrong with it, and what we can do to make it better.

Shadyac is best known for his movies "Ace Ventura," "Liar Liar," and "Bruce Almighty" among others. I AM recounts what happened to the filmmaker after a cycling accident left him incapacitated, possibly for good. Though he ultimately recovered, he emerged a changed man.

The movie shares the powerful and important message that we are all connected. What happens to one of us impacts all of us.

Through our work as teamwork facilitators we can help people celebrate the connection we have with each other and learn how to leverage this connection to create a prosperous win-win outcome.

From the movie:

"The truth of who we are is that we are because we belong."

-- Reverend Desmond Tutu

 

Visit the movie's website HERE.

Watch the movie preview here:

 

Watch Director Tom Shadyac interviewed by Thom Hartmann here:

 

Leadership and a Plane Crash

Remember the US Airways Flight 1549 that crash landed in the Hudson River?  Can  you imagine what it must have been like to hear the captain say "Brace for impact."?  Ric Elias was on that flight and in this five minute video from TED Ric shares the three things he learned that day. 

I'm sharing this video with you because I want you to think about what is most important to you.

How would an experience like Ric's change the way you show up as a leader?

 

Martin Luther King -- I Have A Dream

Today, in the United States of America we honor the great work of Dr. Martin Luther King.  Dr. King shared a powerful vision and inspired amazing teamwork among diverse people to create a better world.  Thank you Dr. King.

 

What would you do if you lost your job?

What do people who were once paid to be creative for a living do when they’re laid off? They get creative with their own lives.

Lemonade is an inspirational film about 16 advertising professionals who lost their jobs and found their calling, encouraging people to listen to that little voice inside their head that asks, “What if?”

If you lead creative people or are building a team of creative people, how best to lead them?  Find out HERE.

View a 2 minute preview of this inspirational documentary below.

CLICK HERE to watch the full movie for free HERE on Hulu.com

Leadership Book: "A New Earth" -- Oprah interviews author Eckhart Tolle

Oprah just finished a fantastic 10-week webinar on a must-read personal and leadership development book entitled "A New Earth -- Awakening To Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle.

If you've had a desire to become a more conscious leader then download and listen to (or watch) all 10 sessions for free HERE.

In A New Earth, author Eckhart Tolle shows how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world.

Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.

A New Earth is a profoundly spiritual manifesto for a better way of life—and for building a better world.

Building a better world is what leadership is all about.

Team Hoyt: Inspirational Father & Son Team

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races.  And if they're not in a marathon they are in a triathlon.  Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.

It's a remarkable record of exertion -- all the more so when you consider that Rick can't walk or talk.

For the past twenty five years or more Dick, who is 65, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines.  When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing.  When Dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike.  When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by Dick.

At Rick's birth in 1962 the umbilical cord coiled around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain.  Dick and his wife, Judy, were told that there would be no hope for their child's development.

"It’s been a story of exclusion ever since he was born. When he was eight months old the doctors told us we should just put him away — he’d be a vegetable all his life, that sort of thing. Well those doctors are not alive any more, but I would like them to be able to see Rick now."

What are some lessons here for teams and those who lead teams?

• When things look tough you still get to choose how you will respond.
• 100% dedication to your teammates can be an inspiration to others.
• Listening to the well-meaning advice of "experts" will not necessarily give you the life you desire.

Here's a heart warming video of Team Hoyt that's been viewed on YouTube over 8 million times.

A lesson on giving joy

Here's a video of "The Balloon Man" visiting a nursing home that will likely touch your heart.

Are you clear about why you're here?

Do you know what it means to be living your personal mission (life purpose)?

Is your team clear about how their personal mission aligns with the organization's mission?

I can help you and your team get clear.  Contact me to learn how.

Team Skills Trainer Creates New Movie: "Closer Than Close -- A Portrait of Seeking And Finding Our True Self"

My friend and fellow teamwork trainer Shawn Nevins has produced a fascinating film entitled "Closer Than Close -- A Portrait of Seeking And Finding Our True Self".

"Closer than Close" is a spiritual cinema documentary that investigates the spiritual search – the search for the essential questions of human life...

Is there an eternal part of ourselves?

What has lasting meaning?

Where do we find certainty?

Rather than philosophical discussion, Shawn's documentary explores the possibility of living a life devoted to a search for answers, and the radical possibility that answers exist, closer than we can imagine, within our selves.

When an individual (team member) becomes clear on (awakens to) their True Self magic happens.  Organizations also benefit from clarity.  And you'll find true power when the individual team members are aligned with the mission and vision of the organization.

Watch this  clip from Shawn's film:

Using Teambuilding Games to Teach Spiritual Lessons -- Tom Heck of the International Association of Teamwork Facilitators Interviewed by Linda Pannell of ConsciousAlliances.com

What is the relationship between teamwork and spirituality?

Why is it that teaching team skills through experiential learning activities (games, simulations, etc.) that people learn at a deeper, more heart centered level?

What will happen when we come together as one on a global level?  What will be different?

I answered these questions and more when Linda Pannell of ConsciousAlliances.com interviewed me for her TeleSeminar series entitled "Healing The Heart of the Earth and Her Children". 

CLICK HERE to listen to the 60 minute interview (mp3 file).

How are we all "One" and yet separate?

Teams are made up of individuals who, when they are fully living their passion, share their unique gifts so that all may prosper.

It's a paradox. 

We are all One.  We are all connected.

And yet...

We are separate.  (at least it appears that way)

How to explain this paradox?  Check out this amazing and GIANT piece of art.  Look very carefully at the small pieces (squares) and you'll discover each square is it's own picture.  All pieces are unique and when assembled just right (when the pieces work as a team) a beautiful picture emerges.

CLICK HERE to view this picture and be able to click on the smaller pictures to see what's really going on.

Are you looking for an opportunity to bring your team together as One?  Do you want your team members to get clear on their talents and gifts so they can more fully contribute to the team effort?  I can help you.  Contact me to schedule a time to talk about your needs, goals and dreams.

Spiritual Movie Will Help Us Connect And Advance World Peace - - Mark your calendars now for April 6, 2008 peace vigil

I've been teaching teambuilding since 1986 and if there is one clear truth I've seen demonstrated over and over again it's this...

We are amazing creative beings and when we come together (work together as one) our power is magnified ten fold.

TeachMeTeamwork.com member Niek van Duivenbooden in the Netherlands points us to an amazing and delightful movie event to be held in venues around the world on the weekend of April 5-6, 2008.

Here's what the movie website says:

For the first time a major spiritual film release is being combined with a worldwide prayer vigil focused on shifting the planetary consciousness.

Join millions of people from every corner of the globe in learning the most powerful manifestation tool in the history of the world. Then on one momentous day we'll use the code to promote peace and compassion for all beings through over 1000 gatherings worldwide.

This is the chance for humanity to use the Law of Attraction to create peace on the deepest level.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

Joe Vitale on How To Get From Where You Are To Where To Where You Want To Be -- A lesson for individuals and teams

How does a team get from where they are to where they want to be?

How does a team make the shift from good to great?

Dr. Joe Vitale says

The secret to getting what you want is to totally appreciate this moment. When you are grateful for this moment, then whatever is next for you will bubble up out of this moment. You'll be inspired to take action of some sort.

Vitale says his favorite line these days is

"I'm totally satisfied, I just want more."

The key to success (individual or team) is to want more without NEEDING more.

Read Joe's entire post on this subject HERE.  It's worth your time.

I interviewed Joe Vitale in November 2006 about his book The Attractor Factor.  Listen to the audio interview with Joe Vitale HERE

Does God Want You (or Your Team) to be Rich or Poor?

In a recent post on his blog, James Ray asks "Does God Want You to be Rich or Poor?" 

This got me thinking...

Does God want your team to be rich or poor?  To prosper or be impoverished?

Like James Ray, I believe the answer to this question is ... BOTH.

Both?

How could this be the answer? 

God wants whatever you (and your team) want.

You and your team are creating your experience. 

You create your experience by what you habitually focus on.

What you habitually focus on is what God wants for you.

James Ray explains...

Quantum physics proves that we create and attract whatever is the focus of our attention. If you focus your energy and attention on poverty and make it righteous, that's how it is in your world. Conversely, if you focus your energy and attention on prosperity, more of that energy will flow to you.

A team's focus and attention is - primarily - determined by the questions they ask themselves on a habitual basis. 

For example, when the team encounters a major challenge and then habitually asks disempowering questions like:

"Why does this always happen to us?"
"Whose fault is this?"
"How are we going to survive this?"

Then the team will find itself creating MORE of these types of experiences.

Conversely, if the team chose to focus their attention on the positive by asking questions like:

"Where is the opportunity in this situation?"
"What can we learn from this?"
"How can we use this to grow stronger as a team?"

Then, because the team's focus is on their desired outcome (opportunity, continuous learning, team strength) they will attract MORE of that.

God (Spirit, Universe, etc.) wants for us what we want for ourselves.

This Universal Law is often referred to as the "Law of Attraction".  You can learn about this law in the movie entitled "The Secret".  Also, Dr. Joe Vitale writes about this law in his book entitled "The Attractor Factor" (CLICK HERE to listen to the audio interview with Dr. Vitale).

So the question I have for you is...

What experience is your team creating?

Start with Gratitude

I receive lots of emails from people who have problems with their team and they want to know how to fix them.

The place to start with anything in your life (including problems) is to have gratitude.  Be thankful for the situation you are experiencing.  Know that the situation is perfect and so is your desire to change it.

Whenever I experience some kind of difficulty -- whether it's locking my keys in my car or the sound system going out during my workshop -- I respond with gratitude.  Responding in this way can be a challenge for me sometimes and yet this is my goal - - to respond with gratitude.   

Why would I be thankful for locking my keys out of my car?

This is a tricky one.  I'm not really thankful for locking my keys out of my car so much as I'm thankful for the lesson or gift this event brings me.  You see, I choose to believe I am responsible for everything in my life (listen to my interview with Dr. Vitale) AND everything serves me in some way.

So let's apply this to real life...

I locked my keys out of my car while on vacation in Hawaii a few years ago.  I called AAA to get my rental car unlocked and they said it would take an hour or two to get someone to the car (I was in a remote area).  My wife and I decided this was a good thing and that there must be someone close by that we needed to meet.  So we started looking.

We walked in a couple of shops and then it happened.  We had a great conversation with a shop owner who shared a secret place where sea turtles came in each evening to eat seaweed in a secluded bay.  He encouraged us to take our snorkeling gear down to swim with the sea turtles - -  and we did!  It was pure magic. Had I not locked my keys in the car we would have never found out about the secret sea turtle snorkeling spot.

Start with gratitude.  Know that everything serves you in some way.  Look for the blessing and you will find it.

Check out this cool flash movie about gratitude.  Click here

What's your team ready for?

Is your group ready to take on the most difficult team challenge you have?  Are they really going to “get” the advanced distinction or model you have to share with them?

As a team leader or teamwork coach, you need to deliver a message that is within reach of your team.  If the message is too far out it will get lost. 

Think of a six-year-old in first grade.  If you introduce math to him by starting off with advanced calculus, it’s highly likely he will be lost.  The six-year-old just isn’t ready for it.

If a group operates at a level 1 (low) and all your material is level 10 then the group will likely have difficulty getting your message.  They may only be able to make the jump to level 3 or 4 and then have to sit with that for a month or two before they are ready for the next jump to level 6 or 7. 

How can you determine where the group is along their path of development so you can design your training to match their growth needs?

First thing, and this is important, is wherever the group is along their path, its perfect AND they can choose at anytime to evolve/progress/move forward.  Healthy teams enjoy the challenge and the rewards of evolving.

There are several assessments I use to determine where a group is along their path of development and the one I want to share with you now is called the "Path of Development" (clever name, huh?).  This assessment was originally created for an individual however it also works for teams. 

Download path_of_development_assmnt.pdf

As you’ll see, there are six stages of development:
1. Restoration Stage
2. Personal Foundation Stage
3. Adult Stage
4. Attraction Stage
5. Fulfillment Stage
6. Legacy Stage (the most advanced stage)

The length of time a team has been together does not necessarily reflect where they are along their path of development.  There are many well-established teams that are at the Personal Foundation Stage (and may remain there for the life of the team). 

One way to determine the stage of the team is to administer the assessment to all the team members.  Compile the data from all of the individual assessments and average the scores and you’ll get a clear sense of where the team is along their path of development.

If your content is designed for a team at the Legacy Stage but the team is actually at the Restoration Stage then you’ve got problems.  Conversely, if your material is designed for teams at the Restoration Stage and you are trying to sell it to a team at the Legacy Stage then you’ve got problems.  Knowing where the team is along their path of development will help you design your training event to meet the needs of the team.

Moving along the Path of Development takes dedication from the team and the team leader.  It’s not possible to move quickly along this path just like it’s not possible to grow corn quickly.  A short (1-3 day) workshop is only the beginning.  The team must commit to a long-term (6 months to 12 months) plan, which involves team and individual coaching most of which is delivered via telephone.  The coaching program is designed to help the team members make significant progress along the path – and this is important – they progress together.  As the individuals progress so will the team as a whole.  The benefits to this approach are remarkable, both for the individual and the team.

If you lead a team and you want to find out more about my team coaching program send me an email and we can schedule a time to talk.