Esteem-building for Teams

Tom Teague believes in people and their ability to achieve good results together as teams. Recently, Teague, President and CEO of Westwood Residential, created what he calls the "Westwood Matching Quiz."

The quiz divides a single sheet of paper into three columns. The left column contains a list of personality/character traits or habits such as adaptability, creative, efficient, goodness, kindness, understanding, etc. The center column provides a list of the names of every member of the Westwood "team." On the far right is a column of blank lines.

The quiz instructions read, "Please select the description you feel most appropriately fits the person listed on the right side of the page [center column] by filling in the appropriate word in the blank next to the name. Once you have completed the quiz, please turn in the sheet anonymously to Tom."

Every member of the Westwood office participated immediately without further prodding. Some employees listed several traits for each fellow employee. Others saw the quiz as a simple, one-for-one matching exercise. Teague tabulated the input and handed everyone a summary of the results.

The quiz observably affected his team. Everyone found something good to say about everyone else. Everyone wanted to express their feelings. Everyone seemed surprised by the outpouring of support and admiration. Immediately the team's sense of camaraderie increased. A kind of tangible cohesiveness set in. Team members faced the positive truth about one another. Self-esteem and mutual respect grew as a result. Tom recommends the quiz as a terrific team-building exercise.

Draw your own conclusions. I for one will find a way to use the "Teague quiz" in my own non-profit shop! No doubt, I'll pay for giving Tom this much public credit, but I thought you needed to be aware of this great idea. If you would like to receive a copy, feel free to call me!

Grace and peace.

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