Our Team Building Programmes are 'simply excellent' (quote from Unilever). They
always deliver much greater energy' motivation and efficiently accelerates to a
galvanised, integrated team for their Manager/Team Leader. They're great fun and
very commercially orientated - the best of both key elements to a successful and
long-lasting high performance team.
A successful company is always made up of successful teams. Teams that can work
autonomously with a clearly defined set of goals, roles, vision, responsibility
and culture will always reach for and achieve far greater success than a team
that works just as a group of individuals.
Our team building solutions are individually built and geared towards teams at
any level within an organisation, providing an independent and objective
perspective to promote a common purpose such as the creation of a 'high
performance team'.
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OUT WITH THE OLD
Traditionally, team building events have been restricted to certain levels of
management where they head off site for a bit of archery, quad biking and
paintballing or something along those lines. Then over some coffee and
cocktails, business plans and more efficient ways to work are casually
discussed.
Whilst being out having fun instead of being at work may improve an individual
person's mood, the effect will only be short-term, and will not go far in
creating permanent and cohesive teams who are able to overcome challenges
together and drive the business forward when back in the workplace.
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IN WITH THE NEW
Today's business thinking is more strategic and certainly has to look for
returns on the investment. That is why Dickson Training Ltd's team building
programmes are bespoke and built to your requirements through research,
understanding your business and, most importantly, what results and achievements
you are looking to get out of the programme.
Once "what success looks like" has been established, we create tasks and
activities that will test your leadership, problem solving, communication and
team work skills. When the tasks have been completed, the learning - both
practical and theory - is debriefed to the group as well as how it will
translate back in your business. Not only are our events great fun, but they
provide participants with learning points they can act upon to improve or
enhance the working practices/environment.
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TEAM BUILDING THAT GETS RESULTS
We have a highly innovative team who design team builds to suit all budgets and
time or space restrictions. Large or small, we will develop the perfect event to
meet your commercial objectives, keeping in line with your values and company
culture. More recently we have combined team galvanising events with ways to
engage the participants with and support their local communities. This solution
has proved extremely popular with our clients and we are continuing to develop
more and more programmes doing exactly this.
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"
Phil did everything in a very professional and focused manner, without losing
sight of the overall aims or having 'fun'. When I moved to Airbus UK and
subsequently European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), I had no
hesitation in recommending Phil and the team to deliver the required training
and team events.
Without doubt Phil and his team are excellent providers of training, to suit
even bespoke requirements, and I would not hesitate in recommending the team to
any business in the future. "
Glenn Brown, Systems & Expertise Manager, Airbus Personnel Service
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AUGMENTED SKILLS – AN ESSAY BY PHIL DICKSON
All of you, who are reading this, and all the people you meet and work with will
have – ‘Augmented Skills’.
So – if you are an IT Engineer or a Pharmacist; perhaps you are, or know, a
Departmental Leader and you work with a Logistics Project Manager; these roles
will demand core skills, whether they be technical know-how or qualifications in
the discipline.
But to be that bit better; more reliable; more effective & productive and
therefore more valuable and, frankly, marketable – capitalizing on ‘Augment
Skills’ comes into play.
The I T Engineer who was a Chess Champion at Uni, which would indicate that they
possess some key ‘Augmented skills’ including how they plan 3 steps ahead and
are always prepared for the unexpected. The Pharmacist, who is a keen
sportsperson in their private life, will likely be tenacious, team-orientated
and disciplined – again these are superb qualities to have in this – or any –
role.
Your colleagues, as well as yourself, will have ‘Augmented Skills’ that will be
an asset if only they are explored and applied to their role and indeed, career.
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EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN 'SUPER-POWER'
If they love gardening, they are probably strategic, patient and inclined to
research; if they cook or bake, they are usually well organized and comfortable
with multi-tasking. A big reader will tend to be considered and possess good
critical thinking faculties, and an amateur mechanic or keen DIY person will
often be practical, resourceful and very determined.
I have observed that many new Parents discover they have ‘Augmented Skills’ they
didn’t know they had... such as getting order out of chaos and displaying
industrial amounts of patience and good grace when they really do not feel like
it. They very often become far more compassionate and empathetic.
Most people have their very own ‘Superpower’.
Invite your team members to offer their ‘Augmented Skills’ to your work-place –
and just watch as it elevates the motivation levels and improves results.
It’ll be very rewarding for all concerned – and for meeting the Team’s
objectives, to encourage the person who is a talented artist to be a sounding
board on some of the marketing imagery and layouts; for the team member who is
great at Maths or resolving crosswords to be asked for their input to solving a
problem that is causing logistical or operational headaches.
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NEVER EXPLOIT A TEAM MEMBER’S UNIQUE SPECIAL SKILLS AT THEIR EXPENSE
I would like to stress, however, that it must never be an area where a team
member gets exploited by harvesting their unique special skills to coerce them
into taking on greater responsibilities and tasks without providing them with
the commensurate salary and status.
To do so would be immoral and, ultimately, counter-productive as it would lead
to resentment and disenfranchisement.
This is about encouraging people’s capability and inviting their input to boost
confidence and enhance the team’s capability.
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OFTEN, WE NEED TO BE MORE THAN WHAT OUR JOB DESCRIPTION SAYS
It is also important to highlight that whatever a person’s role or function is –
they will definitely need to have additional capabilities to be effective. The
best example of this is when we designed and delivered a range of ‘Advanced
Customer Care skills’ training sessions for the Met Office a few years ago…we
met so many remarkably super-bright Meteorologists, many of whom were having to
make significant adjustments to answering questions from Customers that seemed
to be illogical and often, obtuse.
It wasn’t enough for these Meteorologists to be highly skilled at interpreting
data and identifying patterns – they needed ‘Augmented skills’ to make that
information accessible to members of the public (and Council workers and Air
Traffic controllers and Shipping agents) and many other people, as to what that
particular weather system was going to be like in their area and at what time.
They have to know how to ‘de-jargonise’ the material and provide succinct,
clear, and yet temperate, descriptions without ever appearing exasperated,
impatient or judgmental in response to sometimes quite silly questions. For a
highly trained scientist – that can be counter-intuitive.
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BEING PHILOSOPHICAL... AND A WEE BIT PRETENTIOUS
At the risk of being a little Philosophical (and probably a wee bit pretentious)
– in my own role of Trainer – my core skills have to include – being a very good
communicator, an active listener and have innovative and engaging ways to
convert an idea, or a model, into practical application that my Delegates and
Clients gain tangible benefits from.
This is how it applies to me...
I really enjoy composing short, light classical-style piano pieces. Now, to do
this well, you need to be able to find a transition from one chord or melody to
a different theme or key. It has to be worked out very carefully to have
incremental transitions and pleasant-sounding developments as the piece unfolds.
I think I have become better at this as I have honed my skills as a composer.
But I have realized that these very same skills have ‘Augmented’ my ability to
help a Manager, or a Team, move from a state of conflict; tension; disfunction;
disenfranchisement; lack of confidence to a place that is more harmonious with
far greater productivity.
The very same process of careful listening, considering options, taking
well-considered steps, having a creative, sometimes brave, move towards a
resolution are at play in both Training and Piano Compositions!
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SCHEDULED COURSES
Unfortunately this course is not one that is currently scheduled as an open
course, and is only available on an in-house basis. Please contact us for more
information.