team building corporate management conflict

Embrace Conflict To Be A Better Manager

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Ask any business person who’s worked up the ranks to Chief Executive Officer, and they’ll tell you that building a successful company begins by creating a solid foundation among staff members. That occurs once a team can work together with a high degree of trust. So how exactly do you capitalize on creating a high-trust environment in your workplace? You create conflict!

Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team has said, “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” When a team can work thru conflicts that arise in the workplace, they lay the groundwork for trust, problem solving, and accountability.

Focus on Trust to Activate Healthy Conflict

Vulnerability is quite possibly the number one reason your team isn’t making significant gains. The reasoning is simple: No one clocks in for the day ready to let their inadequacies surface at the morning staff meeting. As a result, group members tend to spend a significant amount of time attempting to save face in front of their team rather than focusing on the task at hand.

Conflict fosters a healthy discourse among staff members that paves the way for teams to build an interpersonal trust. This authentic, vulnerability-based trust allows staff to feel safe when asking for help, accepting input, and admitting shortcomings. A February 2016 publication of The New York Times Magazine entitled “What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team” stated that, “Google’s data indicated that psychological safety, more than anything else, was critical to making a team work.” When a team has reached this level of trust, you’ll see an immediate increase in productivity. It will take time, but the results are more than worth it for your organization!

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hollywood scavenger hunt team building

Hollywood Scavenger Hunts – Los Angeles Team Building

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Gather a group of your closest pals or round up your co-workers to take on one of FireFly Team Event’s most engaging team building challenges: Hollywood Hunts & Rodeo Rallies! These action packed scavenger hunts guide you through some of Los Angeles iconic locations. Perfect for building team engagement and boosting morale for any size group.

Hollywood Hunt

There’s team building  fun to be had in the heart of Tinseltown at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue!  See a whole new side of this star-studded city as you work with teammates to be the first to complete our over-the-top challenges!

Can you find Michael Jackson’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and strike up a flash mob to Thriller? Perhaps you need to grab the attention of record execs by donning shades and holding a rap battle at the doors of the Capitol Records Building! Your Hollywood team building experience will be unforgettable as you soak in the lights and glamour.

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Corporate team building bicycle build event

Charity Bike Build – Los Angeles Team Building

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A Charity Bike Build in Los Angeles adds a feel-good community service piece to your next event. Connecting your team to need in the community allows a little heart to sneak into working relationships. Recent studies find that personal connections are one of the best indicators of a high performing teams.  In our Los Angeles bicycle build your teams will have a chance to be creative, assume leadership roles, and dig below the surface. Everyone remembers their first bike. Bicycles are a symbol of freedom, choice, and independence to kids everywhere. This bike build not only connects team members it also shows the community what your company stands for. It’s a great addition to sales conference or a fabulous way to end the year.

group photo of adults with a child on a bike at a charity team building event

Group Sizes – 20 – 1000

How A Charity Bike Build Works

Each team must deliver 3 things – an assembled bicycle, a card for the child,  and a marketing piece to accompany it. They must be creative, create a budget, and deliver the project on time if they want to win. With a limited budget they must purchase tools and marketing materials. Additional funds are available for teams that complete cash challenges.

Who Receives The Bikes

We build partnerships with charities that are close to your event site. These can include Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, YMCA, or regional entities. This opens the door to the possibility of having the kids on-site to receive the bicycles. When the kids are involved we make it a big reveal for your guests. It’s a heartwarming moment that your group will never forget.

Book your Charity Team Building Event In Los Angles Now

 

group assembling care packages for charity corporate team building event

10 Holiday Office Parties That Don’t Suck

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I recently accompanied my boyfriend to his work’s end of summer BBQ party.  His boss grilled burgers and a Spotify soft rock station played unremarked upon from an iPhone speaker.  Of a staff of over 50, 12 people attended the party.  Don’t host THAT party. Don’t be THAT boss. I couldn’t help think of all the amazing holiday parties I’ve seen with Firefly and what made them so spectacular.  Don’t throw a lame holiday party.  Throw an epic staff party for the end of the year that your staff will talk about through Valentine’s Day.

You NEED new ideas for your end of year holiday parties. Use these 10 new ideas and fresh outlooks on the end-of-year bash to celebrate with style. It doesn’t matter if your event is in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County or Palm Springs we can meet you there.

10 Awesome Holiday Party Ideas

1. Team Arcade: Holiday Madness
A small group high energy competition that uses a healthy dose of High-tech. Teams will literally be yelling out loud as they try and score high during our Scream Team video game match. Remember Pacman? What if you could only control 1 of pacman’s directions? We rewired the arcade classic so that 4 people must work together to munch power pellets and avoid ghosts. It’s hilarious with a touch of nostalgia and perfect for groups. Spice up your next party in Orange County or Los Angeles.
Timeframe: 1 hour
Suggested Group Size: 20 or less

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is pokemon go a better manager than you

5 Employee Engagement Ideas vs Pokemon Go

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Now that Pokemon Go has decimated the US workforce’s productivity, it’s time to talk employee engagement. Pokemon Go has done what you as a manager need to be doing – it’s building engagement. It provides users with value, exercise, recognition, anticipation, and a sense of purpose. How can you as a manager help your staff discover value within your organization? What can you do to encourage strong interpersonal relationships? With the rise of the millennial work force employees are starting to care less about what they’re doing and more about why they’re doing it. The ability to find meaning and purpose in one’s work is rapidly becoming the number 1 reason for staff retention. If you can tear your team away from Pokemon Go try these 5 employee engagement ideas. (battling in a Pokemon Gym doesn’t count)

1. Develop a Health and Wellness Initiative
Employees recognize and appreciate when their company cares for their well-being. Not only does having wellness programs demonstrate that you value your staff, but healthy employees tend to be more productive and less absent.  Work with your staff to develop a wellness program that aligns with their interests. You could organize a kick ball team, have a weekly yoga class, or even offer healthy snack alternatives at the office.  Your employees will feel better about themselves, and about the company they work for.

2. Recognize Staff Accomplishments
I’m not saying gather your staff in a circle and sing “kumbaya”. Unless everyone wants to, then definitely do that and send us footage.  Instead, ensure that your employees know YOU are aware of their hard work and achievements. It should be a clear recognition and a regular occurrence.  Defeat divisive competition by making individual accomplishments team wins and celebrate them together.  Promote a culture of encouragement and congratulations.  Many offices have a seldom used compliment box, punch it up by having an occasional drawing and offering gift cards to the complimented and the complimenter.  This spreads goodwill among all the staff. Read more

Super Hero Kits – Fresh Charity Team Building Idea

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Charity team building events are a phenomenal option for your corporate group.  Make a positive impact in your local community while boosting employee engagement.  No charity team building is more jam packed with kick awesomeness than our Future Heroes experience.

corporate team building super hero kits girl holding shieldGather your super squad to build kits for the bravest heroes we know – kids at local children’s hospitals battling chronic and life threatening illness.  When a child receives a Future Super Hero kit they discover a sturdy shield they can customize with their own super insignia as well as a mask, bracers, and the top secret Super Hero Code (with plenty of super stickers of course).

How Do Super Hero Kits Help?

The hospital can be a scary place for children.  Removed from their home and the majority of their friends and family, surrounded by strange machines – fun play can be hard to find.  With a Future Super Hero kit kids fashion themselves the way they wish to be seen: strong, brave, and making a difference. They’re not sick anymore they ARE the Flash. They ARE Rey from Star Wars. Check out this Ted Talk on how even a simple posture change can dramatically improve your health . The power of pretend has significant effect on reality. Help us give these kids a fighting chance!

How Can We Book a Future Hero Team Building?

Our Future Super Hero kit builds are fully scalable for different group sizes. There is no limit to the impact your group can make!  Last year we teamed up with hundreds of Microsoft employees and vendors for a 900 person mixer to build a mountain of super hero kits for the children at nearby CHOC.  Large corporate groups love the kit builds because it’s easy for team members to travel down the assembly line constructing their personal donation. It’s fun to watch the amount of kits grow – a great visual demonstration of the effect a team can have by working together. We also have competitive versions of this event for the Sales and Marketing groups out there…

To help your team make a difference and fight bad guys with a Future Super Hero or other charitable event in Los Angeles, Orange County or San Diego – email james@fireflyteamevents.com

wall that lights up when you put water on it at corporate events team building

10 Corporate Event Surprises Your Guests Won’t Forget

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When working with corporate event meeting planners we hear about “wow” all the time. No matter what type of event you’re planning, you want the “wow” factor. Something your team will be talking about weeks later. As our team building events have often been used as that “wow” factor we keep our eyes out for other event surprises.  Below you’ll find links to Los Angeles area vendors (mostly), but these event surprises can be produced around the world. Surprise your guests at your next corporate event with something breathtaking!

1. Water Graffiti
We admit it, we’re big fans of this art and it’s many forms. Whether you bring in an artist for a live demonstration, or get behind the spray can yourself with our Graffiti event you’re guests will enjoy the experience of seeing art created before their eyes. Worry about paint getting messy? Check out Antonin Fourneau’s water light graffiti- hundreds of LED lights activated by water to create temporary luminous designs. (this is not a Los Angeles vendor)

http://www.waterlightgraffiti.com/

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Quick Communication – How to Talk With Coworkers

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Everyone has a communication style. Whether it’s data driven, full of emotions, or direct and to the point we all need to hear information in a manner that makes sense to us. Here’s a quick reference graphic you can use to try and gauge the social currency your teammates need. We explore communication styles more in depth through our Communication Quadrants. Email us at james@fireflyteamevents.com if you’d like to explore options for your team.

explanation of communication styles in team building