Team Challenges Book Tour Stop

TEAM CHALLENGES BLOG BOOK TOUR STOP!!

Glad you're here!  Today, I'm excited to tell you about Kris Bordessa's latest book, Team Challenges.  This is a great resource for developing teams and teamwork.  Packed with over 170 ideas, this book is great for those who work with groups of people and want to find ways to get them working together.  I caught up with Kris and took some time to interview her about this latest release.  Before the interview, I've added some links so that you can find out more about this tremendous new resource.

Visit Kris' Blog Great Solutions here.

Buy Team Challenges at Amazon.com here.

Request your free copy of Kris's e-book, Ten Minute Tasks here.

Read more about Kris's book, Team Challenges here.

 

Kris has two live chats planned, one with pregnancy.org (1/18) and another with Bella online (1/24) – anyone who wants to chat will need to register ahead of time at these sites.

THE INTERVIEW!!!

TIM: Hi Kris!  Tell me how it feels to get a book published?

KRIS: In a word, fantastic! A published book has long been a goal of mine, so seeing my name on the spine of Team Challenges was a thrill. It's been a huge learning experience, too. From crafting a proposal to creating a manuscript in the correct style for the publisher, there are many more details than you might expect – far beyond just typing the words.

TIM: Team Challenges is packed full of great ideas.  What got you interested in collecting and creating all of these interactive group activities?  Why are you passionate about teamwork and people collaborating together (especially children)?

KRIS: I began using these types of activities with the kids I was working with in a creative problem solving organization called Destination Imagination. At each meeting, team managers are encouraged to present teams with an "instant challenge" or two. These are quick little activities that get creative juices flowing and encourage the kids to work together as a team.  I tried to present one or more of these challenges at each meeting, and soon found myself searching for more activities without much luck. Destination Imagination now has a great online shop, but at the time I couldn't find what I was looking for – so I started creating activities of my own, and tried to remember some that were favorites from my own childhood.

I love to see kids working together, feeding off of each other's ideas! It's so energizing to watch as they discover that together, they are better. With many ideas to choose from, they have a better chance to do something great. I think one reason I enjoy watching kids do this is because I've seen so many adults who can't. Adults who haven't had the opportunity to learn these skills can be so territorial about their ideas, so worried about getting the credit for their cleverness or their abilities. I've seen it firsthand in different parental groups, with participants each claiming their idea is the best. We saw it in the sporting world earlier this year with the Terrell Owens controversy – sure, he's a great player. But football is a team sport; without the rest of his teammates, his efforts would be futile. And no matter how good he is, his attitude will do nothing to improve the team as a whole.

TIM: In the book you measure the success of the team according to creativity, communication, and cooperation.  Is there any place for competition (another "C" word!) in these activities?

KRIS: It's funny; competition is one thing that I've really tried to downplay. But my teams always want to know their score – while I don't consider a score to be necessary, the kids often do! I encourage my teams to work toward an improved high score. In spite of this, the kids always seem to turn it into a competition! I have always had two teams, and each team will ask, "How many points did the other team get?" Sometimes I'll tell them a specific score (especially if they tied!), but other times, I'll just tell them that the other team had a more creative solution, or worked better as a team.

TIM: You provide a great list of items that people will need to facilitate these activities.  Where is the best place or places to get all this stuff?

KRIS: These items are all readily available at most supermarkets or office supply stores. Many of the items – things like bottle caps and egg cartons – can be diverted from the trash. I have a box that I keep handy, and toss interesting looking items in as I come across them. And, I always substitute – you won't find me heading to the store if I'm one item short for a challenge! I simply think creatively, and figure out something that could work; I've noted many possible substitutions in Team Challenges, but certainly not all of them.

TIM: In what ways do you feel like these activities can stimulate leadership development in those who participate?

KRIS: The challenges in the book vary, as you know. Some challenges require a focus on building skills, while others are more improv oriented. Once kids have done a number of these challenges, they begin to realize that if the challenge they are tackling is something they are good at, they can step forward and guide their team to success.

And, communication comes into play when there are several kids acting in the capacity of "leader" – they all share their ideas, and then must quickly negotiate which ones to try. It's really an amazing thing to watch. Then of course, there are kids who believe that they should be the leader every time – this poses a problem for teams, just as much as not having a leader.

I offer some suggestions for helping teams combat this problem in Team Challenges, but it can be really tough. I've had success with using a lot of non-verbal challenges to deter strong team members – if they can't talk, they can't give orders!  I know of one team manager who had some success with letting the kids designate a "challenge leader" for each challenge.

TIM: It looks like the book is designed for children.  Have you had or seen success with these activities when they involve older children or even adults?

KRIS: If you can overlook the cute kids on the cover and some of the references to kids inside, ALL of the activities in the book are well suited to adults. I know of one service organization who used some of the activities at a group event, and I've heard from others who feel that these activities would work well for corporate training events. The challenges are really ageless.

TIM: What do you think is the best way for me to use this book - simply start at the beginning and work my way through or pick and choose?

KRIS: Well, one thing you should know about me is I have a terrible time following concise directions – consider it creative interpretation, if you will! I do think that the first few chapters are a valuable introduction to creative problem solving and the activities themselves, as far as how best to present them, and how to be flexible.

But once a person has a grasp on that, I would suggest choosing challenges to suit each team's particular needs. For instance, if the team excels at building challenges, but is struggling to think creatively, present them with some challenges from chapter 8 that will foster their improvisation skills and force them to get a bit silly. I often begin the day with several verbal challenges, then use a building or improv activity later in our session.

TIM: What are your future plans and where can I go to find more ideas about creating successful team activities and challenges?

KRIS: I plan to continue volunteering with the Destination Imagination program as a team manager, likely developing more challenges as I go – the teams I've worked with for years are getting too familiar with these challenges (maybe a Team Challenges II should be in the works!).

I also have two new books forthcoming – Tools of the Ancient Greeks and Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself both from Nomad Press. I encourage everyone interested in team building to visit my Great Solutions blog, where I regularly post new challenges and teams can share photos of their solution – a great opportunity to see how many different ways there are to solve a single challenge. During the duration of my virtual book tour – through the end of January – I'm inviting all of my blog visitors to request a free copy of my e-book, Ten Minute Tasks.

Thanks for all of your hard work Kris!  It's a great book and I'm grateful to be a part of promoting it from this small corner of the world wide web.  Best of luck!

Comments

[Kris]

Thanks for the great questions, Tim!