SMU Conflict Resolution Author Series presents
“Building Collaboration from the Ground Up: Team building tools for everyone”
You’re invited to attend the SMU Conflict Resolution Author Series featuring SMU Dispute Resolution Lecturer, Dr. Robert Barner, and his book, Building Better Teams.
EVENT INFORMATION
Free Lecture & Book Signing
December 14 at 6:30 p.m.
SMU-in-Plano, Great Room
5228 Tennyson Parkway
RSVP to drcm@smu.edu
ABOUT THE PRESENTATION
Today almost everyone is faced with situations in which they have to get things done through teams. Whether it is the project team you are leading at work or your local PTA organization, at some point in your life you will find that you are working in a team that tests your skills in team collaboration.
For many people, the term “team building” leaves a bad taste in their mouth. If you have ever been to a team building session that either didn’t work or even made matters worse, you are not alone. In this talk the author will explain event why good leaders and good teams can experience difficulties in collaborating, and why team building often fails. You will then be introduced to a simple approach you can use for getting teams quickly back on track. By the end of the session you will walk away with five different techniques you can use for building collaboration in your teams, and you will have the opportunity to talk with the author about any difficult team building challenges that you are currently facing.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dr. Robert Barner is an expert of team collaboration and executive coaching. For the past nine years he has been a full-time faculty member within SMU’s Graduate Program of Dispute Resolution & Conflict Man-agement, where he teaches graduate courses in team building, organizational change management, and executive coaching. He has over 35 years of experience as an executive and internal organizational con-sultant in the business world, within sectors that include manufacturing, engineering, media, insurance, bio-tech, hospitality, and logistics. He has helped facilitate team building in groups ranging from employee-run teams to cross-divisional teams of senior executives, and he has supported teams that extend across na-tional boundaries and cultures.
Dr. Barner is also the author of seven books that have been translated into five languages. He has pub-lished over 35 articles on the subjects of team building, organizational change, leadership development, and coaching, and has presented at many international conferences. This talk will employ methods he dis-cusses in his most recent book, Building Better Teams, which has been distributed in North America, the UK, and Europe, and which was translated in 2015 into Chinese for distribution in mainland China.
Dr. Charlotte P. Barner is adjunct professor and faculty advisor for the graduate Organizational Dynamics concentration within the Annette Caldwell Simmons School Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University’s Graduate of Liberal Studies. She joined SMU in 2010, teaches courses in human potential, transformative power of narratives, and organizational dynamics; and co-led the graduate school’s study abroad programs on international organizational collaboration in Ireland and India. In addition, her faculty graduate advisee responsibilities include 12 independent studies and 16 Capstones, and serving as a dissertation committee member for SMU’s Ed.D. in Higher Education. Charlotte earned her Ed.D. in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University, M.Ed. in Curriculum Design and Instructional Technologies with Honors from George Mason University, and B.S. in Business and Human Resources Administration from Barry University. She has over twenty years of senior leadership experience in human and organizational learning. Prior to joining SMU, she held the position of vice president of Organizational Effectiveness leading the creation and implementation of enterprise-wide human development strategies and systems throughout North America. Charlotte is an author, editor, consultant, and speaker.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Based on a team building model that puts the focus on collaboration, trust building, and seeking common ground, Building Better Teams gives human resources, training, and organizational development professionals, the proven techniques they need to foster employee engagement, build alignment within temporary project teams, and forge alliances within hybrid work groups. The book is designed to help team leaders and team members identify key opportunities and goals, select the appropriate collaboration tools and tech-niques, frame language to keep the team on track, plan the facilitation process, and perform progress checks to evaluate success.
This important resource also contains a matrix that links the 70 collaboration tools to the most common team challenges. The matrix can help determine how to select tools that are most appropriate to fit an individual facilitation requirement.
Praise for Building Better Teams
“Anyone responsible for helping a team improve its functioning needs this book as a guide. Robert and Charlotte Barner have summarized their extensive experience into a practical up-to-date positive approach to global teams with a comprehensive overview of all the best team development tools available. You’ll no longer have to use your one ‘go-to’ model, now you can customize your approach to the team’s actual need, using frameworks that take into account different cultures.”—Robert M. Burnside, partner, chief learning officer, Ketchum Inc.
“In an economy desperate for innovation, Building Better Teams shows why hierarchal management struc-tures falter when teams succeed. Packed with concrete team building tools and examples, this book can help anyone unleash the collective power of employees in any organization.” —Mitch Wasden, Ed.D., CEO, Ochsner, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
“This book is loaded with lessons and tools on how to get the best performance out of teams and is appli-cable to anyone from front line employees to the CEO.” —Mike Britton, president, North America, LAUNCH
Join us for a lecture and book signing with Dr. Robert Barner on the topic Building Better Teams on Wednesday, December 14 at 6:30 p.m.
This event is FREE and open to the public. RSVP to drcm@smu.edu.
Great post!