Training and Teambuilding

     So, today begins RA training, and so as many of you will understand, it is not the ideal time to take time off to write a thoughtful blog post. Instead, I will share some of my favorite team-building quotes with you all:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." - Issac Newton

"If you can laugh together, you can work together." - Robert Orben

"Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another and of strength to be derived by unity." - Vince Lombardi 

"He who wished to secure the good of others, has already secured his own."          - Confucius

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." - Andrew Carnegie 

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." - Henry Ford  

     I apologize for what may seem a "cop-out," but will not leave you empty-handed. I have been thinking a lot about team-building lately, and part of my supervisor's training on student staff supervision involved Tuckman's Team Development Model (1965). If you have not heard of it, you can read more about it here. Basically, there are four stages - forming, storming, norming, and performing - and each one builds on the other as the team works towards working together as a successful, cohesive unit. I will let you know how a discussion on it works as a team builder!

    Finally, I would appreciate if you left in the comments one or two of your favorite team builders. Certainly I have enough up my sleeve, but if I am still planning a few training sessions and would love to try something new!

Citation: 
Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological         Bulletin, 63 (6), 384–99.

Photo By: Me