TeamBuilder Plus

TeamBuilder Plus is a full day program targeted towards the needs and effectiveness of high performance executive teams. The program provides an opportunity to experience the dimensions of team effectiveness in a fun, high-energy setting that allows participants to explore their own team’s dynamics and to take away insights that can be applied back in the work place.

Participants start the day with a lesson on kitchen safety and a high-energy culinary ice breaker.  A highly seasoned (but not overly spicy) expert team effectiveness facilitator from Traversa Consulting then guides the group during a morning session learning about the dimensions of Team Effectiveness using brief presentations, group discussion and engaging exercises.

Next, is the fun challenge of cooking a multi-course gourmet meal with the guidance of our chefs and facilitator.  As team members proceed through this activity, they set aside their usual roles, clarify their goals and identify strategies to achieve them, (for example, what should be cooked first and who chops the onions).  Careful planning is required, yet rapid adjustments must be made to deal with the unexpected.  Participants must keep their focus on achieving the result (a delicious and properly prepared meal). No one member can succeed without the rest of the team and all must make sure that both novice and experienced cooks among them are utilized to their best ability.  

Using our extensive hands-on experience with leadership teams, Traversa Consulting has identified major areas or dimensions that drive team effectiveness and enable achieving desired business results.  The dimensions of Team Direction and Talent and Team Collaboration Processes provide the foundation for TeamBuilder Plus in conjunction with your afternoon hands-on culinary challenge.

Team Direction and Talent includes:

• Vision, Goals and Strategies
• Results Focus
• Role Clarity
• Talent Management

Team Collaboration Processes include:

• Management Processes
• Decision Making
• Constructive Conflict
• Team Member Collaboration

 The team will enjoy a relaxing lunch while our Executive Chef gives an overview of the afternoon’s activities awaiting them in our professional restaurant kitchens. 

As the team works through the meal preparation, they will be working with the chef, and their facilitator, to manage their team processes. Effective group decision making, constructive conflict resolution and team collaboration will be critical in the kitchen for success. Everyday group team dynamics, and the tangible results of these dynamics, will surface during the cooking event. Once the cooking is done, the Traversa facilitator will lead a post-event debrief; providing examples and talking points from observations made during the kitchen session. The group then retires to our casual yet elegant dining room to enjoy the fruits of their labor and celebrate as a team.