Team Effectiveness Consulting
In solving problems in today’s complex, on-demand organization, everyone is under pressure to come up with the right answer to complex problems immediately without having all the information. The ability for team members to effectively work together to share relevant information collaboratively is one of the most crucial challenges facing organizations today.
For over 29 years we have specialized in helping teams tear down communications barriers and build common ground. Our practical, fact-based approach to team development has been proven in a wide variety of Fortune 500/Forbes 1000 firms. We not only train teams to collaborate more effectively, but our consultants also provide “real-time” facilitation to help your teams solve complex problems.
We stand ready to provide consulting support to you and your team in the following capability areas.
Team-based Assessments
Diagnostic instruments are essential elements of our team-based consulting practice for two important reasons:
First, formal assessments provide an effective starting point in helping team members clearly express their opinions and perceptions about complex, and often times "soft", team-related issues. This enables our consultants to more accurately separate and analyze the team-related issues in order to understand the root cause of the problem.
Second, once the issue has been clarified, our diagnostic tools provide a disciplined means for feeding-back the key issues to team members clearly and gaining their commitment for change. Learn more about our team-based assessments.
Business Process Redesign (BPR) Meeting Facilitation
No one knows your business and its processes better than you and your key stakeholders. You are the experts and have the knowledge of how the work currently gets done. You also have many ideas about how the work can be done more effectively and efficiently. MMi consultants facilitate a series of meetings to help these experts unlock their ideas and to express these ideas in a systematic and orderly way.
We then work with your team to incorporate them into a comprehensive business process management system. This allows you and your team to leverage workforce performance, eliminate waste, and streamline your current cost saving initiatives.
Whether your goal is meeting Malcolm Baldrige criteria, achieving ISO or Six Sigma certification, or simply improving your processes to increase organizational and team efficiency, our highly trained consultants will work with your team to make it happen. Learn more about our five step approach to facilitating BPR meetings.
Meeting facilitation to address team-specific problems, decisions and planning situations
It’s important for a problem solving team to leverage its time and resources when conducting high priority meetings. MMi consultants work with you and your team to ensure that your meeting agenda is well planned and that the problem solving meeting itself stays focused on the priority issues and results to be achieved
Team-building and conflict-resolution interventions for in-progress teams
Your success as a manager or team leader depends on how well your team functions and produces business results. Are your people focused on solving tough business problems? Are they motivated to collaborate and work together? Do turf wars, disagreements and differences of opinion continually escalate into interpersonal conflicts? Or does your team simply need to be refreshed?
Whether your team simply needs to be rejuvenated or is seriously bogged down in counter-productive behaviors-- we can help. Our senior consultants can help you unleash the talent of your individual team members or address unresolved conflicts that are draining their energy. We will partner with you and your team to develop the appropriate plans and techniques to establish or regain the positive culture of work that is necessary for consistent and sustained high performance.
Team start-ups for newly formed teams
The early days in a newly launched team’s existence can be unproductive and highly frustrating. During this start-up period, team members struggle to define their roles and responsibilities, team deliverables and the procedures for accomplishing these deliverables. If these upfront tasks are not adequately managed, the team will have difficulties throughout its life cycle.
Therefore, developing the team’s identity early in its existence is crucial if the team has any chance to perform effectively in the future. Using our proven Quick-Start™ process we can help your newly formed team get off to positive and productive start and then sustain its’ momentum as it moves through the five stages of its life cycle.
Learn more about our custom tailored workshop for newly launched teams.
While there’s no way to skip the early stages of team development, our seasoned consultants can speed the process by using a combination of team training, individualized coaching and real-time facilitation. Using this unique hybrid process, new team members not only learn the key teaming skills but are guided in creating their appropriate team structure, interaction skills and goal focus.
Learn more about the five stages of team development.