Richard Highsmith
M.S.
Free
Team Building Expert
Richard Highsmith Quick Facts
- Main Areas
- Team Building
- Career Focus
- Corporate Training, Speaker, Author
- Affiliation
- Quality Team Building
Rick is a sought after trainer and speaker for Fortune 500 companies. His messages focus on the value of collaboration and on how dynamic, creative communication improves team effectiveness. Rick is also a highly skilled coach, working with public speaking improvement and leadership development. Having studied improvisational comedy for one year, Rick recognizes how humor enhances the learning experience.
Rick has a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology. His background as a Mental Health Counselor gives him tremendous insight into how to motivate and inspire people using positive reinforcement. Additionally he has built and sold two successful businesses in the past 25 years, so he understands the challenges of leadership and management from practical experience.
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Articles by this expert
SelfGrowth articles and saved writing connected to this expert.
Article
Fear Destroys Employee Confidence
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”- Joseph Chilton Pearce Fear of the boss, or the boss’s system, destroys creativity. Fear creeps into the workplace in many ways: fear of making a mistake; fear of other peoples’ opinions; fear of embarrassment; fear of change. The more afraid employees are, the less creative they will be. It is a well-accepted scientific belief that we humans need to feel secure to focus on higher-level intellectual tasks.
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Ask Other Temmates Questions
Ask, and then listen. Really listen. Tap the creativity and differing perspectives of all employees. An effective leader has learned that good ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. It may be the employee with years of experience who combines innovation with “tried and true” to get the job done. Or the “bright idea” might come from the newbie employee who offers a fresh solution to a nagging problem.
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Acknowledge the importance of Teammates
“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” - Dr. William James People need... not just want, but need... approval. This is a fundamental principle of human behavior. A three-year-old child demonstrates this principle of human behavior every time he utters the phrase, “Look what I can do,” even when coloring on the walls. The child is saying, “Please approve of me and my creativity, Mom or Dad.”
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How Storytell Improves Team Building
When I first graduated from college, I was hired full time at a children’s home. I had been working there part time as a relief childcare worker. With my degree I was promoted to a management position, Assistant Superintendent, over my former co-workers. I saw my situation as advocate for the childcare workers. Unfortunately my boss, Larry, had a different vision of my role. He insisted I represent management’s position to the childcare workers.
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Advantages of Maco-Management
“When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: 'Only stand out of my light.' Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light.” John W. Gardner
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Six Warm Up Exercises Guaranteed to Create Energy
A friend of mine works for a fortune 500 company. He describes his team meetings as “death by powerpoint.” He laments the lack of energy in the meetings and the waste of thousands of dollars in lost productivity. Are you looking for a way to put energy in to your meetings? Here are five sure-fire ways to get participants engaged. These exercises can also be used periodically during longer meetings to break up the routine and allow participants to get up and move around.
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Effective Problem Solving Requires Team Building
Truly complicated problems necessitate team solutions. If your team does not function well, its’ problem solving capability will be limited. To tackle intricately detailed problems a team must successfully answer these questions. I recommend answering the questions in sequence and posting the team responses on some visual media. I recommend spending approximately 5 minutes on each question. This keeps your meeting moving quickly and helps keep all team members involved.
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Five Ways to Grow Teams Through Individual Relationships
Personal career growth and team growth are inextricably tied together. Althea Gibson said, “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.” On the career field there are three types of players. 1. Receivers… take and never give. These team members focus on themselves and rarely go out of their way to do anything for others. They are only conce ed about what they can get from others and have little interest in others’ needs.
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Does Team Building Work?
A recent survey carried out in Britain by Vodafone UK and YouGov.com suggests team building doesn’t work. Surveyed workers indicated they feel some team building activities can be a “waste of time, and at worst, are toe-curlingly embarrassing.” The majority surveyed (66%) have participated in some form of team building and more than half (54%) don’t feel the experience helped them in working with their peers.
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Five Personal Steps to Improve Your Team's Performance
I know you've heard the expression, "There is no 'I' in team." Au contraire, I believe the "I" is implied and critical to the success of every team. Do you know a team member who is his/her own worst enemy? Group success depends on individuals working together with common goals of improvement and achievement. Here are five essential steps for embracing personal changes and enhancing your positive influence in your team.
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Six Steps for Healthy Confrontation in Teams
Conflict resolution is intellectually simple. The most logical solution would be selected and implemented. However, the human factor of emotion can make solutions extraordinarily difficult. Outside the mythical planet of Vulcan where pure logic reigns supreme, conflict resolution requires openness, humility, and allegiance to team relationships. Here are six steps to enable your team to successfully tackle the task of confrontation.
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Building Trust on Your Team
Trust is an essential part of team effectiveness. However the strength of trusting relationships varies significantly based on team dynamics. When teammates trust us, they truly take a risk. And with each successive time people put their trust in us and we don't let them down, we reduce that risk and build a relationship. If you desire to build your trustworthiness remember these three truths about trust.
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Contacting Richard Highsmith
Richard Highsmith, is President of Quality Team Building. He has twenty-five years experience training and coaching. He has built and sold two successful businesses. To learn more about becoming a team leader visit our website at www.qualityteambuilding.com, send Rick an email: Rick@QualityTeamBuilding or call him toll-free at 1-888-484-8326 X101.
How to get started
Visit Rick's company website, http://www.qualityteambuilding.com