Quick Team-Building Activities for Busy Managers: 50 Exercises That Get Results in Just 15 Minutes [Paperback]

Brian Cole Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2003

Every group can benefit from team-building exercises. But sometimes it's not practical to embark on a full-scale training initiative. Now, supervisors, managers, and team leaders have 50 team-building activities to choose from, all of which can be implemented with no special facilities, big expense, or previous training experience. Readers will find engaging exercises for: * Building new teams and helping teams with new members * Dealing with change and its effects: anger, fear, frustration, and more * Recognizing individual efforts and team accomplishments * Finding creative ways to work together and solve problems * Increasing and improving communication * Leveraging diversity and individual differences to meet team goals * Keeping competition healthy and productive within the team Instructions and tips for follow-up and variations are included for each activity, and an additional chapter provides valuable advice for working through unexpected difficulties in team-building.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"an excellent primer on how to conduct and debrief his well-designed activities." -- Training Media Review

"the activities are fun,challenging,and are easily implemented." -- The Facilitator

Book Description

Every group can benefit from team-building exercises. But sometimes it’s not practical to embark on a full-scale training initiative. Now, supervisors, managers, and team leaders have 50 team-building activities to choose from, all of which can be implemented with no special facilities, big expense, or previous training experience. Readers will find engaging exercises for:

* Building new teams and helping teams with new members

* Dealing with change and its effects: anger, fear, frustration, and more

* Recognizing individual efforts and team accomplishments

* Finding creative ways to work together and solve problems

* Increasing and improving communication

* Leveraging diversity and individual differences to meet team goals

* Keeping competition healthy and productive within the team

Instructions and tips for follow-up and variations are included for each activity, and an additional chapter provides valuable advice for working through unexpected difficulties in team-building.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1 edition (November 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081447201X
• ISBN-13: 978-0814472019
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Leadership

More About the Author

Brian Cole Miller (Dublin, OH) is the principal of Working Solutions, Inc., a management training and consulting firm whose clients include FranklinCovey, Nationwide Insurance, and the UPS Store. He is the author of the best-selling Quick Team-Building Activities for Busy Managers (978-0-8144-7201-9) as well as More Quick Team-Building Activities for Busy Managers (978-0-8144-7378-8), and Keeping Employees Accountable for Results (978-0-8144-7320-7).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reference for Today's Managers, November 26, 2003

By 

Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quick Team-Building Activities for Busy Managers: 50 Exercises That Get Results in Just 15 Minutes (Paperback)

This book brings together several mutually-supportive elements: managers with heavy, fast-moving schedules; team members who want to feel a greater sense of belonging; and an era that demands higher levels of collaboration....teamwork.

The book is organized into two parts. The first section is instructional; the second section consists of bullet-pointed presentations of fifty short easy-to-run exercises. The opening section has two chapters that are worth the price of the book all by themselves: How to Run a Successful Team-Building Activity and What Could Go Wrong with a Team-Building Activity. What a sense of security this section gives managers: these activities are simple to use...and your experience is practically fail-safe.

Each of the activities is presented using the same format. The bullet-point sections are This is, The Purpose is, Use This When, Materials You'll Need, Here's How, For Example, Ask these Questions, Tips for Success, and Try these Variations. It doesn't get much more comfortable than this! Understanding today's work environment, Miller promises no role-lays, demonstrations, outdoor activities, handouts, or touchy-feely stuff. The activities are organized by areas of need: Communication, Connecting, Cooperation, Coping, Creativity, and Teamwork. A strong index complements the well-organized table of contents, making the volume highly user-friendly.

Recommended for managers and supervisors, as well as training and development professionals. Consultants will also find this tool to be useful as they work to bring people together to achieve results. Everything is explained so that the exercises can be led by laymen or by professionals. A wide variety of tools is offered, enabling the reader/user to choose the experience that will be best for the participants and the circumstances.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource, October 13, 2004

By 

Rick Damato "Vice President American Medical ... (Roselle, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quick Team-Building Activities for Busy Managers: 50 Exercises That Get Results in Just 15 Minutes (Paperback)

Having a Master's Degree in Training and Development, I have read several books on this topic. This book was fun and informative as well as an enjoyable read. I've used several of the excecises and each have proven to be effective. The format is both easy to follow and well presented. It left no questioned unanswered.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes it so easy, November 26, 2003

By 

Caroline Cofer (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quick Team-Building Activities for Busy Managers: 50 Exercises That Get Results in Just 15 Minutes (Paperback)

This book is terrific and so, so easy to use! How many times are you asked to add some sort of quick teambuiling exercise to a meeting and you have to scour your brain to come up with new ones that won't get groans from the team? This is the perfect solution for on-the-spot energy boosting activities. The author really understands "busy managers!"