3 min read

Idea #79 Team Building in the Corona time

Do it whenever your members are at the different locations and it is hard to be at the same place.

✔️ Since you are all members of the same team, it is good to have some team building activities occasionally so to refresh team vibes.

However, you live in the different states or even on the different continents, which requires some extra efforts to make it happen.

✔️ Here is one of various games you can play and enjoy your time spent together. The aim of this one is to make a whole person from different parts of your team members.

Someone with a good sense of humor may call it Frankenstein, but it is all up to you how you will name it.

When you say ready, you count to 5 and then print screen. All members will comment about all made Frankensteins. After all comments you can debrief the team members about associations, crossing their heads during the game.
This game can be a start kicker for anything you want to do further. tim bilding u doba corone
There are some questions for you:
1. During this time of the Corona virus do you recognize yourself as a victim or as someone … Read more

1 min read

Idea #78 Exercise for raising self-awareness

Do it When you want to raise self-awareness

✔️ Which part of yourself believes there is something wrong with you?

✔️ Describe the qualities of this part of yourself.

✔️ What is s/he afraid of?

✔️ What do you get out of maintaining this belief?

I look forward to your comments.
019 selfawareness 1
Thank you for sharing your ideas!
If you are willing to try a Coaching Drama session please visit www.CoachingDrama.com

     
 
 
 
    
… Read more
3 min read

Idea #77 Make a creative story for your brand

Do it When you want to develop creativity
Divide participants in the group of three. Give 3 cards with famous or less famous brands to each group. It doesn’t matter what the industry is. The most important part is that they have the picture of that brand in front of them. Each group will choose just one card (one brand). Then they will have to make a story connected to that brand. Dedicated time work is 5 minutes. After that they will forward their 3 brands to the next group and receive 3 new brands from the previous group. You can stop this circling (or implementation of World Café methodology) depending on the dedicated time. Leave at least two minutes for each presentation of the created stories. Most probably the stories will be fictitious. However, I have one true story for you. It is about the beer company and its famous label. The person in the picture is famous Milosav Mitrović Losa. He was a soldier in the WWI from 1914-1918. During that war he was badly wounded and the both legs were amputated. He had a coach with two horses and whenever he wanted the beer he used that … Read more

2 min read

Idea #76 Life in a virtual reality! Yes or No?

Do it during an individual or team session. Imagine your world as a game with significant others who would act different roles. Let them become how you would like them to be in reality. You can change their personal traits by adding or taking away whatever you find important or irritating. Create your own rules and boundaries and see how the game is going to develop.
#76 vaš programThere are some questions for you:
1. Did you take part in this game actively as a protagonist or you only observed the game as a creator?
2. Whose personality in the game differs most from his/ her real personality?
3. How satisfied are you with your life on a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 stands for maximum satisfaction and 1 stands for minimum satisfaction.
4. How would you change the other people’ s behavior by changing your own behavior? Make a list of activities.
Thank you for sharing your ideas!
If you are willing to try a coaching session with me, Call me at Skype vlada.srma

     
 
 
 
    
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2 min read

Idea #75 Icebreaker Emotions we remember

Do it When you want to warm up participants’ emotions.
Divide participants in a few pairs. Each pair has to recall 10 situations and identify the most dominant emotions such as joy, fear, sadness, anger that appeared then. Then each pair makes a list of 10 situations with the identified emotions. In addition, participants should dedicate a name of movie or book to each situation and emotion. After that each group will talk about the situation and its associated emotion. Then all other pairs will have to guess the name of the book or movie dedicated to each situation. After this the participants will be ready for any activities you are planning to do with them.
#75 školice

Now coaching questions for you:
1. What is your most dominant emotion on a daily basis?
2. How does that emotion affect you both personally and professionally.
3. What can you do to benefit from that emotion?
Thank you for sharing your ideas!
If you are willing to try a coaching session with me, Call me at Skype vlada.srma

 

     
 
 
 
    
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2 min read

Idea #74 Old cell phones for Team Building

Do it When you want to share awareness about recycling during your Team Building.
Ask everyone from the team to bring their old cell phones with their chargers. Put all phones in one box, and all chargers in another. Now ask all participants to take a phone in the right hand and a charger in their left hand. The task is to form a circle by finding a pair on the left that has the appropriate phone for the charger in its hand. To the right, you need to find a person with a phone charger in the right hand. When all this is done, it’s likely that they will make one tangled knot. Without breaking this connection, they should form a circle in which they will be arranged according to the described invention: The phone and the corresponding charger on the right side and the charger and the corresponding phone on the left. I wish you a pleasant party.
#74 connection TB
Now coaching questions for you:
1. Think about your past life. What part of your life do you think you can use differently?
2. What would you do differently?
3. What kind of person would you become if you applied
… Read more
3 min read

Idea #73 Speed up your Reading

Do it When you want to develop your team members. 
As you know team members do not have time to read books. Consequently, if they do not read, they cannot develop their skills. So here is one tip how you can motivate them to develop themselves on a daily basis. Every week one of them should start to read a book. During that week he/she should read only 30 pages of the book. At the next meeting he/she should make a small presentation on what he /she has learned. Then, all other members of the team should write down their own ideas about: How it can be implemented in their organisation. After you do that just once per week for one year period, you all will have 6 books read. On the top of it, you will have a special box full of ideas that can be implemented in your organisation. This is something that I suggest to all companies I cooperate with. Everyone is in the good mood praticing: presentation skills, brainstorming ideas, as well as learning something totally new and developing each member of the team.
narrative-794978_1920

Now coaching questions for you:
1. Which book do you suggest that … Read more

2 min read

Idea #72 The World We Live In

Do it When your want to open up participants. You need only 2 chairs. If the participants are from the different continents, then one chair will represent the North Pole and the other the South Pole. If they are from the same country, then one chair will represent the northernmost town and the other will represent the southernmost town in the country.
Ask them to find their place and to stand between those two chairs according to the distance from their hometowns and the northest or the southest part of the country.
When they finish that, they have to prepare a two- minute presentation of their hometown. What is important for that town? Who else was born there? What is a song that mentions the town? We all like to talk about ourselves and to explain how special we are!
world we live in

Now coaching questions for you:
1. Which famous person was born in your hometown?
2. What are his-her 3 personal values that you admire?
3. Concerning your life which advice will be appropriate to receive from him-her?
4. In which way would that advice change your life?
5. What kind of person would you be with accepting that advice?… Read more

4 min read

Idea #71 Fables for the 21 century

Do it When your want to talk about desirable characteristics in your company.  Aesop’s Fables or the Aesopica is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. Every fable has a story in which characters of the people are personified in animals. In addition, every fable has its morale and because of that fables are told to the children while they were building their value systems. I think that nowadays fables should be used in companies to build value system of the organizations.  Divide your participants in small groups and in each group tell them to find 3 characteristics that are totally unacceptable in your organization. After that, tell them to reverse those characteristics and find 3 positive. Now, for each characteristic they have to find one animal that will represent it. After that each group just has to make its unique fable. To make it more interesting each group will make a drawing about its fable. In the end, read them all and show the morale of each fable. While preparing the workshop for my group, 3 fables came to my mind. … Read more

3 min read

Idea #70 Motivation book

Do it When your want to motivate yourself whenever you feel like that. In addition, a motivation book could be used as a present for someone you want to make tick. Motivation is like hygiene. The same as we have to wash our face every day, we also have to motivate ourselves day to day. In the picture is the reference book I made for my friend. I asked our colleagues, each of them to write or draw on paper their thoughts about him. Then, I collected all paper sheets with their drawn thoughts and put them in a binder. I decided to use a special occasion, his birthday, and prior to his lecture to give him the motivation book as a present. He was so touched, and we were all so happy. Like Charles R. Swindoll said: “I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy.” I know that we gave him “a heart full of joy“, but more than that we gave him The Reference book for Motivation. Whenever he wants to boost his motivation, he just … Read more

3 min read

Idea #69 Life is a carousel

Today is my birthday and I want to thank all my friends on social networks who have made this day even more special to me. So, I want to give them something in return. This idea is dedicated to all of you. You can do it When your employees have to think about your company’s values.  A carousel or merry-go-round is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The “seats” are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gear work to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music. The earliest known depiction of a carousel is in a Byzantine bas-relief dating to around 500 A.D., which depicts riders in baskets suspended from a central pole. Your employees will have to make a carousel from a candle, a wire and paper. The instruction is shown on the picture below, but the main task is to choose seats for the riders. Just imagine that your company is represented by carousel. What would be the presentations for seats? Horses are not allowed! What seats will you choose? … Read more

3 min read

Idea #68 3 years to retirement

Do it When your employees have to think about themselves. From time to time it is necessary that we all make this exercise. You are going to get retired. Be relaxed, it will not happen this year, but in 3 years. So, you will have a lot of time to make some changes. Imagine that during that ceremony 3 persons will talk about you. The first one will be your boss. Write down what will be his/her 5 sentences about you. The second person will be your colleague, someone that is at the same level of hierarchy in the company with you. Write down what will be his/her 5 sentences about you. The third person will be your subordinate. If you have no one that is at lower level of hierarchy than you, imagine that you have someone that is just 3 months in your company. Write down what will be his/her 5 sentences about you. When all employees finish with this task, ask them to grade their satisfaction on the scale from 1 to 10 when the 10 is maximum. Ask them to write down one action for each from those 3 people that will … Read more

3 min read

Idea #67 Are Salesman born or made?

Lets hear another story for sales force. The kids filed back into class Monday morning. They were very excited. Their weekend assignment was to sell something, then give a talk on productive salesmanship.
Little Mary led off: “I sold girl scout cookies and I made $30,” she said proudly, “my sales approach was to appeal to the customer’s civil spirit and I credit that approach for my obvious success.”
“Very good,” said the teacher.
Little Sally was next: “I sold magazines,” she said, “I made $45 and I explained to everyone that magazines would keep them abreast of current events.”
“Very good, Sally,” said the teacher.
Eventually, it was Little Johnny’s turn. The teacher held her breath. Little Johnny walked to the front of the classroom and dumped a box full of cash on the teacher’s desk “$2,467,” he said.
“$2,467,” cried the teacher, “what in the world were you selling?”
“Tooth brushes,” said Little Johnny. “Tooth brushes,” echoed the teacher, “how could you possibly sell enough tooth brushes to make that much money?”
“I found the busiest corner in town,” said Little Johnny. “I set up a Chip and Dip stand. I gave everybody who walked by a sample. … Read more

3 min read

Idea #66 Do your Best At All Times!

Do it When you have to discuss with employees why to do their best now. An old carpenter was getting ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. The employer contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He restored to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.” What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well. So it is with us. We … Read more

2 min read

Idea #65 Envelop under the chair

Do it at the beginning of the training When you want to start with something new and introduce them at the same time. In the envelops you will give them instructions what to do. For instance you could give them puzzles which are mixed in different envelops. So each person will have to check his parts of puzzle with other participants. During that conversation they will meet and introduce each other.  On every training you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some, you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again. But you do.
!#65Now, questions for you:
1. What else could you find in the envelops?
2. How could you meet other people in different way?
3. Who are the people that you remember?
Thank you for your work!

     
 
 
 
    
… Read more
2 min read

Idea #64 Learn to smile with eyes

Do it during training of non verbal communication When you want to give them something special. We all know that today from an employee is expected to smile. But it is not easy! We all know to smile but our eyes are telling the truth. If you are not happy, you can’t smile from the heart. As the Chinese proverb says: “If you don’t know how to smile, don’t play the game of selling”. So, obviously we have to learn how to smile.

Ask all participants to put hands firmly on their mouths. Now, they have to face each other and each of them to show to his/her partner that he/she is happy. Obviously the only way is to show it by his/her eyes. Now, when they get the idea, just continue with a practice. Next time they will have a new learned behavior.  Now, when you see a customer without a smile, give him one of yours.
!#64 smile with your eyes

Now, questions you have to think about:
1. What makes you smile?
2. How do you feel when you smile?
3. What is the connection between your smile and your feelings?
4. Have you ever tried to change your … Read more

2 min read

Idea #63 The message in a bottle (balloon)

Do it at the beginning of the training when you want from participants to set their goals for the training session.  As you know it is mandatory for participants to define the training goals at the very beginning of the training. They can write those goals on the paper as usual. Then you will surprise them with the following instruction. Ask them to put that message in a balloon and then to blow the balloon. Now, keep those balloons aside until the end of the training.  During the final part of the training ask each of them to use a needle and to pin the balloon. The balloon will explode and the message will drop out.
Now each person will just have to read the goal and answer what he/she has learned about that goal. Remember as Yogi Berra said: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up some place else.” But, if you know where you are going, let’s make something spectacular at the end of your journey.
!#63

Now, questions you have to think about:
1. What does your team need at this moment?
2. What tool could you use for another group … Read more

2 min read

Idea #62 I like about her…

Do it When you want them to introduce each other.  At the beginning of the session ask participants to introduce themselves and as a part of the introduction they should share something they like or respect about the person on their right. After that, ask all of them what they have learnt about their counterpart. “It doesn’t matter where you are, you are nowhere compared to where you can go.” -Bob Proctor

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. What do you respect about the person that was with you during session today?
2. In which way would you like to be like that person?
3. How this change is affecting your business?
4. What are advantages of this change?
5. What are the bad things in this change?
6. What else is even more important to you right now?
7. How important to you is to make necessary changes?
8. Who else will benefit from this change?
9. Make a list of all actions that you have to make so you will be prepared for the change?
10. Now, think about actions that other industries will make. Which of them are applicable in your company?
11. Now, when you … Read more

2 min read

Idea #61 Day in a week without cell phone

Do it When you want to make a better relationship. This idea is closely connected to your private life. Since every businessman has a strong urge to balance his private and business life, this idea would affect your business life.The idea is to turn off your cell phone once in a week. Let’s say it would be Sunday. Make an agreement with your partner to turn off cell phones for whole Sunday. Can you survive it? If you can succeed in it, I would like to congratulate you.  This little idea could affect your business life and improve your relationship with your partner. And when you improve your relationship…, anything is possible. 🙂  Remember, what  your Bikram Choudhury said:  “Never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick to start from scratch once again.”

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Just imagine your perfect relationship with your partner. What does it look like?
2. How do you describe this relationship in one sentence?
3. What would be the time frame for this goal?
4. Why is this goal important to you?
5. Who would you be when you reach that goal?
6. Why is that … Read more

3 min read

Idea #60 My good colleague

Do it When you want to make a stronger connection in a team. Everyone in a group has to make a profile of someone else without making so obvious who that person is. In fact the point is to tell the truth about that person, but to make it so hard to recognize. Sentences could be: “She is a cat lover. She prefers to wear a white shirt. He always makes jokes. He has a degree in economics. She is very charismatic. He is a book lover. “Another criterion is that other people can’t say: “Yeah, we all like going to the parties!” So the profile really has to be unique to that person. In the end discuss what new  you have learned about people in your team. The better we know each other, the sooner we grow as a team. Remember what Clara Ortega said: “To the outside world we all grow old. But not to our brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.”

Now, … Read more

3 min read

Idea #59 What are Characteristics of your Team?

Do it When you want to make a team building. Divide your team in the groups of three. Give them the same task. Imagine that your team is represented with an animal, but that animal has to be the combination of three animals with one characteristic from each one. For example, we are as brave as a tiger, with the speed of an antelope and we are strong like an elephant. Now each group should draw its animal as a group logo. All three members of the group should draw at the same time. At the end make presentations and discussions. Remind them of this quote: “What we need to do is learn to work in the system, by which I mean that everybody, every team, every platform, every division, every component is there not for individual competitive profit or recognition, but for contribution to the system as a whole on a win-win basis.” – W. Edward Deming

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that for solving your main company problem you should develop three characteristics. Name all 3 of them?
2. What does the solution to this problem mean to you?
3. How would you know … Read more

2 min read

Idea #58 Be a 10 minute Observer

Do it When you want to make a change in your company. Everyone in the group still sitting in their chairs has to mentally leave the group and take some of the corners of the room. Now, looking from that position to the group he/she has to imagine a business scenario for the next year. What changes in the team have to be made? What would be the most effective thing that each of us has to make? Write down everything and discuss in the end. Do it now, because: “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine the next business year on your market! What changes do you see?
2. How those changes are affecting your business?
3. What are advantages of those changes?
4. What are the bad things in those changes?
5. What else is even more important to your right now?
6. How important to you is to make necessary changes?
7. Who else will benefit from those changes?
8. Make a list of all actions that you have to make so you will be prepared for the change?
9. Now, think about … Read more

2 min read

Idea #57 Handprints after 3 years in Company

Do it When you want to establish company values. Establish a book where all employees, after 3 years in company will post their handprints. On the same page each one of them will write in one sentence his/her advice to someone who is entering company. Handprints are something very personal so everyone will be glad to leave his/her marks for someone that will come after them.
As the great Marcus Tullius Cicero said: “The life of the dead is set in the memory of the living.”

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. What will be the advice that you would like to write under your handprints?
2. According to that advice what would be the goal for this session?
3. What values are the most important for reaching that goal?
4. On a scale from 1 to 10 how important is to you to live under those values?
5. What would your colleagues benefit from your values?
6. How would you implement your goal?
7. What obstacles would you overcome?
8. Explain how you have overcome each obstacle in 5 sentences?
9. When was the first sight that you are on the right tracks?
10. When you have finished … Read more

2 min read

Idea #56 Champions & Stupid ones

Do it When you train managers for delivering feedback & motivating employees. Task for all participants is to write down the situation from the past when they have felt stupid during communication with their boss. Everyone has to read that situation and discuss what has made him that he felt that way.  After that everyone has to write down situation when he has felt like champion in communication with his boss. After that he has to explain what has made him felt that way. After that we will all gain conclusions. What is important for feedback and motivation employees?

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Remember the time when you felt like champion. Having that in your mind make a goal for your next coaching session. What it would be?
2. Why is that so important to you?
3. What values you have right now that makes you champion?
5. What else is even more important for your right now?
6. Who else would beneffit then?
7. Now as champion what could you do to reach your goal?
8. What would be the time frame for that?
10. What would be the action plan for that?
11. … Read more

3 min read

Idea #55 What we have learned from donkeys

Do it When you train team building. First tell them a story: Once upon a time there were two donkeys that were tied together. They both wanted to eat off the bushes but the rope wasn’t long enough. They both really wanted to eat but they just couldn’t reach,so they just pulled and pulled hoping that the rope would stretch but it wouldn’t. Because they couldn’t reach,the donkey just sat and tried to think of a way to eat? Then one suddenly clicked and said “now that we are friends why don’t we just stand next to each other and take turns”. They decided they’d eaten all they could from the other bush, so they moved to the next one and carried on all day.
Now, ask each of  them to write a list of things that he/she will do for other members of the team. The employee with the longest list will receive a prize.
Make smaller prizes for all members of the team.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you can help your team members in the way that is the most valuable for them. What would it be?
2. Why is that so important for … Read more