Free Dinner for 4 at L'Académie!

Show us your best teamwork and win a free dinner for four at l'Académie!

Contest details:
Think you've got the components of a great team? Peak Performance 
wants to see what you've got! Post a creative picture on our Facebook 
page of your team acting out a component of our dynamix profile:
Commitment, Courage, Discipline or Growth.

The team that accumulates the most likes on their photo will enjoy a
fabulous dinner for four at restaurante L'academie, complements of
Peak Performance 2!

Contest rules:

1. Team must include 4 teammates. All teammates must be included in the photo.

2. Contest begins Tuesday March 20 @ 8am.

3. All photo entries must be submitted by Thursday, March 22 at 6pm.

4. Total "likes" rankings will be posted every day at 8pm.

5. The first round ends Thursday, March 22 at 8pm.

6. The top 2 ranked photos at 8pm on Thursday, March 22nd will go head to head in the final!

7. The final round will last 24 hours, where 2 teams will battle for photo supremacy! At exactly 8pm Friday evening, the team with the most "likes" wins the contest.

8. Minimum of 25 likes on the image to qualify for the final.

PeakPerformanceContest.wmv

If you don't have that inspirational speech

When teams face a crossroad at which the two options are to work together towards the common goal or fall apart, it is often difficult to predict which way it will go.

Not all teams are blessed with an eloquent leader or Al Pacino delivering a well written speech to a camera crew for that matter. So how do you ensure that your team doesn't fall apart when cooperation is needed most?

In depth knowledge of yourself, your teammates, communication and focus on the goal will help teams to thrive in any situation. 

Because knowing is half the battle.

- Michael

Surviving Work

  Last week at work, my team and I had to come up with a quick solution to a 'misplaced' signage that was supposed to arrive in store by Friday but never did. At first we were angry and stressed and blamed every department but our own for this missing signage that didn't hit stores on time. 

We then stopped and came up with a solution together, as a team. With all of our ideas and solutions we ended up fixing the problem rather quickly, and probably much faster than just one person trying to resolve the problem alone.

  Sometimes its better to work alone or maybe its just easier, but with a team you have more people thinking, and two heads are better than one.

My team and I work well together, we pick up on each others mistakes and always have each others back. Their my survival kit!

 

-Chelsea

The Marshmallow Challenge

Check out this video!

Interesting to see how well we think we perform and how well  we actually perform  under pressure and working as a team.

Try the marshmallow challenge with your colleagues or come up with your own challenge and blog about your Performance!

Worse than you thought? 

 Improve your team building skills with Peak!

-Chelsea

The Power Of Teams

A team is a family. Whether it's your team at school, work, or on the field, you always work together and build upon each others strengths and weaknesses.
It can be challenging, fun and hard work, but in the end it always leads to growth. Growing your communication skills, guidance, focus and constructive criticism.

Dancing is a performance on its own, but when dancing with a partner it takes courage to trust that your partner will be there to catch you.  This video is a perfect example of working with your partner and as part of a team, it shows you the results you can achieve when working together and dancing to the beat of the music. Plus, they are also amazing dancers!
The commitment that goes into to each hour of hard work to get every moment perfect is incredible. It takes so much discipline to always keep that focus and practice over and over even when you've hardly slept.
A dance can be a metaphor for what ever you want it to be. To me, I think we dance everyday, meaning we work together in teams in all different situations. Working in Marketing I dance all the time. What about you?

-Chelsea
March 5, 2012

Classic Teams: The Montreal Canadiens

Every team has ups and downs, though everyone shares a common goal, several factors influence results. The Montreal Canadiens have been faced with a difficult season this year. They currently sit in last place of the eastern conference despite sustained efforts and dramatic changes, such as replacing the head coach.

Many argue that the problem is rooted deep within the organization and touches all levels, from the ice to the offices upstairs. Without an aligned vision and solid teamwork on all levels, it is difficult to achieve excellence. 

When evaluating teams, courage, growth, commitment and discipline are 4 key indicators of success.

After a difficult season, one would argue that there is nowhere to go but up. While I agree with this, the entire organization should look to the future with a focus on courage, growth commitment and discipline.


- Michael

1 Man Team

No matter how much you read and study about the numerous forms of leadership and how to go about distributing tasks to your workers, why does it still seem almost impossible to relinquish important tasks over to them. Book after book, magazine and blog, no matter how much were told to have trust in our workers or colleagues, whenever something important has to get done, it can still be difficult to find the courage to allow someone else to make an important decision which will inevitably affect our companies.

It's not that they aren't capable of managing the situation, or that they don't have the decision making capabilities, or why else would you have hired them for that position in the first place? The previous question is asked by owners and managers around the world so don't feel alone. Although they are familiar with the answer, as well as the consequences, the inevitable result is anxiety, stress, inability to complete other tasks, and in effect reducing the opportunity of growth within the company for highly skilled and capable employees.


If you are unable to incorporate others into the decision making process for important topics right now, how will they be ready to do so when you decide to step down from the helm? An important point to consider is the longevity and future of your business. What will happen when you decide to reduce your role in the company? Perhaps your biggest decision to make right now should be to determine who will maintain the commitment to success and share the same discipline and drive which you hold dear to the company.

 One way to assure that your workers share this common goal is by working with them now and allowing them to feel more involved with the success of the company. Letting them make important decisions and feel responsible for the success is one way of assuring yourself for the future.

Let us know if and why you find it difficult to let others make important decisions for your business!


-Weiss

The Transformers Autobots Vs Decepticons

The Transformers was an old cartoon TV series targeted to kids portraying many aspects of teamwork. It consisted of two forces, the Autobots and Decepticons. They were a alien race from planet Cybertron that crash landed on Earth. They have been rivals for millions of years and have been pursuing victory over eachother ever since. They are two different types of teams with two different types of approaches.

The Decepticons

Known as ruthless powerful robots who seek vengeance and victory over the Autobots. There main goal is to destroy the Autobots using their strength and powerful weapons. They seem to lack strategy because they attack the Autobots randomly and sometimes without any plan. Their lack of organization is what hurts them the most. They are beings with poor morale and poor teamwork which is why when the time comes they lack a good tactical improvisation.Their Leader Megatron is a powerful influence on the Decepticons because he makes all the decisions. He is a decisive Leader and only believes what he thinks is right. Due to this undemocratic team structure some Decepticons think otherwise about his decisions. Loyalty is a big problem with the Decepticons. For example, a Decepticon named Starscream pretends to be loyal but really is a traiter and wants to lead the Decepticons himself. In the cartoon movie "The Transformers" Megatron was laying on the floor after battle and Starscream kicked him and said, how do you feel mighty Megatron?" He was eager to become the new leader of the Decepticons. Overall there was much betrayal within this team and no one really respected one another; their ego gets the best of them.

The Autobots
 

As soon as they crashed landed on earth, they teamed up with the humans. They are welcoming beings and care for one another as well as their surroundings. They protected the humans from Decepticon attacks and in return the Autobots gained their trust. They are a team who show respect and loyalty to one another. They are close in the sense that they get along and understand each other. They listen and acknowledge each others ideas. The Autobots know how to organize their plans and how to implement them properly. They are intelligent, they think ahead and act with their heads, not with their weapons. For the most part every battle between the Autobots and Decepticons end the same way. The Decepticons attack, the Autobots respond, the Decepticons retreat. This is because the Autobots use the four key indicators of team success. Courage, if it wasn't for courage no one would step up and take on the big challenges. In the movie "The Transformers" Optimus prime realized the only way the war would end was by finding Megatron and destroying him himself. He quoted, "Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost". Growth, the Decepticons were getting stronger with new transformers implemented into their team, so a solution was found. New Autobots were designed called the Dinobots. They became the strongest Autobots and took the Decepticons by surprise. Commitment, the Autobots are committed to protecting each other and making sure that everyone has the same goals, which is to protect planet earth from the Decepticons. Discipline, Optimus prime the leader of the Autobots provides passive discipline within his team. He helps and allows his team to think on their own, he does not tell them how to think. The Autobots are highly disciplined and this keeps the team focused at any task at hand.You can refer to http://www.peakperformance2.com/solution-and-services/team-performance.html#2 for the four key indicators of team success.


The Transformers show the differences between good teams and bad teams. Growing up watching these cartoons I took a lesson from all this. I took note of what to do in a team with the Autobots and what not to do with the Decepticons. Let me know if the Transformers helped you think differently about team work as you were growing up. Comment below, and as Optimus prime would say "Transform and roll out!"


-Gianni

Classic Teams: The A-Team

Teams come in all forms and situations, one thing that is true of all teams is that each member fills a specific role, though it may or may not be clearly defined at first glance.

Take the A-Team for instance, each member serves a specific purpose and applies his strengths, skills and knowhow to achieve their common goal. Granted there are often disagreements within the team, (and hilarity ensues) when everyone works together the results are always satisfactory.

Let's have a look at each of the members of the A-Team and what role each one holds.

John "Hannibal" Smith:
Hannibal is the leader of the team, specialized in disguises and planning. He is results oriented, as his catch phrase "I love it when a plan comes together." would suggest. He relishes a challenge and no obstacle is too great to slow him down.

Templeton "Faceman" Peck
Face is an expert at gathering relevant information and providing it to the team. Though his methods are often questionable, his results speak for themselves. Face tends to avoid conflict more than his team mates and is non-confrontational by nature. Face is able to find unusual solutions to problems that arise.

B.A. Baracus
Baracus is highly skilled in combat and and mechanics, he is aware of this and clearly chooses to face all situations head on. Baracus has a problem with authority from an organizational standpoint, he does however respect authority when he believes it is warranted, as evidenced by his behavior around his mother.

H.M. Murdock
Murdock is a pilot capable of flying almost any vehicle. He is reliable and apt though he may be difficult to work with, as he is known to be mentally unstable or is extremely apt at feigning this condition. He often has conflicts with Baracus, but when the situation calls for it, he is present for his team no matter what.

The above descriptions only scratch the surface of these characters as even for fictional teams, relationships and behaviors can be difficult to identify. The DYNAMIX® Personal Profile allows users to improve self-awareness, which in turn improves interactions. 

Which character do you identify with the most? Let us know in the comments.

- Michael

Family Feud

A game show is a perfect example of a team trying to reach a common goal. Family feud is a classic American television game show where two families compete against each other for a cash prize. The families must each come to an agreement on how 100 people answered survey questions.

Each member must muster up all of their knowledge and try and answer the different questions per category correctly. They must work together and come up with a collective agreement on how they will respond to the host.

Similarly to teams in the workforce, a successful family feud dynamic can be related to The Four Indicators of Success. Winning teams will demonstrate a mixture of courage, growth, commitment and discipline.

Every successful team is characterized by one or more of the following elements.

Courage: Quick to identify goals and take action to answer questions.

Growth: Identify new opportunities and boldly envision successful outcomes.

Commitment: Ensure that there is collective buy-in providing the right environment for success.

Discipline: Systematic and rigorous in their activities.

The key to success is an effective and valuable team. It is as simple as that.

- Teddy

Does your team understand WHY?

Have you ever been tired of having that age-old battle with someone over APPLE VS PC? 

As you go through the list of why you feel apple products are “better” you run out of ideas and simply just know that you believe in the brand and don’t know how to project that feeling? 

Well you’re not the only one; the Apple team’s success is largely due to the ideology of belief. What am I talking about? Check out this video below by Simon Sinek on Ted Talks, he explains his model of “why people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”(Sinek).

He breaks down the critical success factors behind Apple’s team  and why consumers believe in their brand. The video emphasizes on the idea that consumers don’t necessarily care about what service you offer rather WHY you offer it. Does your team really know WHY they are working 40-60 hours a week on this quarter’s project? Have you ever felt that your team members were not all on the same page and didn’t have clear objectives in mind?

Sinek explains that this is  the foundation of why many teams and organizations fail to reach their peak performance, understanding the WHY is crucial. Take some time to watch this video it will change your perspective on how to better focus your team and business!

Feel free to share your thoughts and own experiences below! 

Happy Watching!

The Scorpions

- To pass or not to pass, that is the question -

When I was growing up I loved to play soccer. There was no doubt that soccer was my favorite sport. I was twelve years old the first time I played on my first team. Before that I played for fun outside with friends. I noticed a big change between playing with your own rules and playing within the rules of a team. When I started to play soccer on my own, I concentrated on my skills and how to improve myself. But when I started to play in a team it was less about me and more about us. My team name was The Scorpions, and my coach's number one objective was team building. I remember my first practice like it was yesterday. Our coach Danny gathered us up and put us in teams of three. Then he said, "Now for today's practice, I want everyone to do one thing and one thing only, pass!" I was a little confused, I remember saying, "I don't want to learn how to pass, I want to learn how to score!" He smiled and replied, "I am teaching you how to score, by working as a team and learning how to pass, you will be able to score all the goals you want." I listened during practice, but not so much during the games. I kept trying to score goals on my own. I thought I was better then everyone else and that I could do it all on my own. Finally at one point, Danny took me aside and told me this. "I can see that your determined, I can see that you have a lot of skill, but the only way our team can become successful is if you join us. Not only will you improve yourself but your teammates as well. If you focus on the team, success will follow you." I took his advice and decided to trust my teammates more. During our very next game I remember running with the ball, and two defenders were running towards me. I thought to myself do I need help? Can I trust my teammates? I knew what I had to do. I passed the ball to one of my teammates upfront and within a few seconds my entire team started cheering. My teammate scored because I passed him the ball. It's amazing how one moment changed the way I thought about teams forever. Being team oriented helped me develop into a leader, and as a leader I was able to help others around me become better players. We gained a common ground, we had a common goal. We were loyal to each other and respected each other. We were a team, we were The Scorpions.

If you have any life experiences where you learned the meaning of teamwork through sports, please comment below

-Gianni

Teamwork Jingle

"A painted picture of teamwork through song"

Sometimes some quotes about teamwork really gets you thinking. In this fun video you get see how we can think about the idea of teamwork and incorporate it through song. Enjoy the Jingle everyone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk3CtrFJJ20

"Its amazing what happens, when you add others to the mix"
Doing things on your own can be boring, but by adding other people, things can be fun and more compelling.

"Its less about me and more about we"
Teamwork should be about each other and not oneself. Strengths lie in differences, not in Similarities. 

"There's no I in Team"
By ignoring the team and taking things into your own hands, you are not only hurting yourself, you are hurting the team. If it was all about one person, then why don't teams in sports with the best player always win the championship. A team effort will bring you a long way, in sports, in business, and in life.

"No man is an island"
Man can not thrive on its own. We are social beings and are dependent of each other. Everyone you meet will impact you in some way. We are humans and we were born to be cared for, to be fed, to be taught and to be loved. Anything an individual does will have an affect across all of humanity.

"None of us is as smart as all of us"
When a group of individuals work together, there are able to make smarter decisions and do better work, after all two heads are better then one.

If you have any more teamwork quotes that you would like to share please comment below. I am eager to see what you can come up with.

-Gianni
 

$60 000 in 60 seconds?

Did you ever think those so called “teamwork skills” could help you win $125 000 in less than 60 seconds?  Take the next 60 seconds of your time to check out this video and see how successful teams are winning hundreds of thousands of dollars on the "Minute to Win it" game show! Like many of you out there I often highlight my strong teamwork skills and how I work well under pressure on my resume, but I think this challenge takes it to the next level! I just might need to revaluate my skills or start practicing my daily tasks with a timer!

Top winners of this game show have been pairs that possess undeniable commitment to their partner, courage to take on the challenges and great discipline for the task on hand! Never underestimate the power of teamwork or the skills you acquire in any group dynamic, you never know when it might just make you a millionaire!

Have you ever been put under this type of pressure, feel free to share your experiences!

http://www.nbc.com/minute-to-win-it/video/breakfast-scramble-bonanza/1340589

Happy Watching!

The Three Musketeers

When I was a child, my two best friends and I were always referred to as “The Three Musketeers”. Our parents, teachers and just about anyone who knew us would call us that. I never really understood what they meant by that label until recently, besides the fact that it meant we were inseparable. We acted as if we were a team. If one of us did something wrong, we all took the fall together. If one of us needed help with something, we were all there for each other. We trusted, listened and respected one another’s opinion. We knew who was more persuasive, who was more innovative, who would handle the situation best and so on.

The classic story of “The Three Musketeers” is originally written by Alexendre Dumas in 1844. The trio lived by the motto: “All for one and one for all”. These three French men really understood the true meaning of teamwork. They understood that individually they had their own strengths and weaknesses but by banding together they would be much more effective. They knew each other well and delegated appropriate roles accordingly.

Teamwork affects all aspects of relationships whether it is a childhood friendship, a group project for a course or coworkers at your job. Every individual plays an important role within a group. By gaining trust, understanding different behavioral characteristics and work ethics can be very beneficial for becoming more effective. Just like my childhood trio experience or the authentic Three Musketeers, we learnt how to work together to be the best we could be.

Do you have any teamwork stories that can relate? Comment and share!

Check out how the Dynamix Personal Profile can help you assess the individuals on your team.

- Teddy

Two brothers and one dream that turned into a global team!

I’m compelled to share how I’ve become inspired and what the power of a great team can achieve! I’ve been hearing about a new youth inspired movement for quite some time now, so I finally decided to educate myself on what this phenomenon was! One search into Google and I stumbled upon countless blog posts and videos that indeed showcased the phenomenon of two sibling's dreams and their courage. Craig and Marc Kielburger, Canadian brothers and co-founders of the non profit organization “Free the Children”, are a team like no other, their devotion, commitment, communication, and collaboration skills have led them to create a world changing movement. This duo started "We Day" 5 years ago in 2008, a movement that now not only raises over $5 million dollars in donations but has over 160000 youth members involved! We day’s goal is to unite today’s youth and demonstrate how they can make a difference by contributing locally and globally.

Today Craig and Marc continue to inspire this generation and are hosting the 5th annual We Day, what makes this day superior to other charity affairs, is that it is not solely a one day event, it is a year long series of events that gives back to society. This movement not only raises awareness, it calls upon youth to take immediate action! Craig and Marc’s passion and influence are highly contagious, iconic leaders such as Justin Trudeau, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Lance Armstrong are just a few that have shared the podium with the brothers to encourage their growth towards social change. The duo have been working diligently with great discipline for over 15 years building contacts, relationships and their own team of people to carry out their vision. Their performance exemplifies extraordinary and effective teamwork and shows how the youth as a global team can undoubtedly change the world. Courage, discipline, commitment and desire for growth are key success factors for the Kielburger brothers!

My words may not suffice to truly describe the power and impact of this movement, check out this video. Regardless of age, this video will spark a desire for you to start change within your team and try to reach your own peak performance today!

Share your comments and let us know if you've been involved in anything similar and what inspires you to take action!

Communicate Now!

Regardless of the type of team you consider, whether it be in a business, a sports franchise, an organization or even a relationship, effective communication is one of the most vital components to a strong and successful team. Although the topic sounds simple, and we question ourselves as to the extent of its difficulty, many teams suffer from ineffective or non-existent communication amongst members.

Especially in a business setting, there are an infinite number of ways for employees to communicate among each other. Whether it be face to face, email, phone, or VoIP. However with all these utilities and developing technologies, we somehow manage to continuously defy the odds and continue with bad communication habits.

The following 3 P's are great reasons why your company would benefit from better communication:

Performance:
 - Having all your employees on the same page leads to greater results, greater profits, and increased efficiency. Your customers know and appreciate when your employees are in sync with the company's operations.

Productivity:
-Redundancy in work is something your business doesn't have time for, especially in a globally competitive market. Teams with greater communication skills can distribute tasks efficiently and collaborate efficiently to get work done.

Pressure to speak:
Some of your best employees often don't have a voice in your company. Nevertheless, these people may have the greatest source of information, highly beneficial to your firm. One way to get your introverted employees to speak is by giving them the opportunity and incentive to do so.

Tell us what communication problems your firm suffers from!

-Weiss

Coca Cola Advertisement

I came across a very cute Coca Cola ad about teamwork. They really help each other out to attain their goal.

If these polar bears can understand the meaning of teamwork so can you!

Check out the video and let us know what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA_BQorRBms

Have you seen any other ads promoting teamwork? We'd love to see them.


- Teddy