Team Building, Teamwork

Distance tends to clarify relationships. (I wish I knew that in college…) Human beings are social creatures who thrive on connection and community. Relationships and trust are built over time through shared experiences and common bonds. When we separate from each other for extended periods of time, the strengths of our relationships are challenged. Distance […]

We have been meeting virtually for a long time, and the ability to use virtual meeting platforms to get people together is not at all new. My colleagues and I have been communicating and teaching via WebEx since The Latimer Group started nearly twenty years ago. But like many organizations, virtual communication tools have been […]

Originally posted with Forbes Coaches Council, December 2019. Putting together a team that works well together, tackles their goals efficiently and produces meaningful results might seem like an easy equation. Hire top talent, and let them work. But even the most gifted employees will flounder without one key component: clear, consistent communication. Let’s imagine a team […]

I spend a lot more time thinking about listening now than I used to. Why? I am not really sure. It could be my advancing age, with a major milestone looming on the horizon. It could be parenthood. It could be experience in my job. It could be the influence of some of the people […]

We heard a great idea from a workshop participant last week. During a two-day class on Executive Presence, one of the participants mentioned his plan for skill development after the class was over. And in particular, he said something fascinating… he mentioned working closely with his “accountability partner.” We pushed him a little, to tell […]

I recently got a great email from a client named Colin. We’ve done extensive work with his company over the last five years, and Colin will occasionally reach out and give me a great idea for a blog post or a podcast. Colin listed for me the ways that his colleagues can reach him: work email (which […]

In so many organizations, we see discussions around problem solving go wrong. To be an effective problem solving organization, there has to be a framework of questions that will lead towards full alignment on the issue. Once we have that alignment, then we can have a serious conversation around legitimate solutions. In a world where everyone […]

“If you don’t hear these words and understand their importance, we are not going to get ‘there.’ And in my world, getting ‘there’ is winning a gold medal.” ~Luther Carpenter, US Olympic Sailing Coach Coaching people to elite performance is hard, under any circumstances. But it is especially hard at the Olympic Games, where you are […]

Every day is a good day to express some gratitude. But the holiday season seems like an especially good time to pause, reflect, and say “thanks” to those around us. My colleagues and I are putting the finishing touches on our year over the next 24 hours, and will close our office for the holidays […]

Originally published with the Forbes Coaches Council, August 2018 It’s a fact of modern office life: We all have to conduct business remotely. And many of us have to bring together a team of far-flung colleagues or reports. We all know that absorbing information given to us over the phone or through video conferencing is much […]