Effective managers know how important teamwork is to their organization's success. They also recognize that American culture doesn't naturally reinforce team behaviors. "If you want something done right, do it yourself" is the guiding principle in most "rugged individualistic" workplaces in this country.

Team-oriented managers know that to get people working together as a team, they need to build their communication skills and attitudes toward people. This involves understanding team process and collaboration, respecting the diversity of strengths and abilities, and handling disagreements and conflict productively.

At Communication Excellence Institute, we have been working with organizations for over 20 years to create team cultures. To do this, we offer a special seminar to enhance employees' collaborative skills and methods for handling differences of opinion.

In the first session, "What Makes You Tick?", we lead participants to:

• Identify the behaviors exhibited by the most highly functioning teams.
• Understand their distinct communication styles as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator™.
• Enlist the power of different styles and strengths to build collaboration.
• Learn the subtle differences between individual responsibility and teamwork through the "Broken Squares" exercise.

In the second session, "What Ticks You Off?", we help participants to:

• Discover their preferred ways of dealing with conflict, as measured by the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument™.
• Practice techniques for handling criticism in a professional manner.
• Grasp the importance of holding each other accountable for achieving team goals.

The course is based on solid research in communication and team theory and practice, and involves each participant in an interactive "hands-on" learning experience.

Organizations that have offered this course comment that participants improved their interpersonal relationships and teamwork and significantly reduced the intensity and frequency of conflict within their teams and in the organization as a whole.

The fee for What Makes You Tick? What Ticks You Off? Building Team Communication is $3,950, plus the cost of any copyrighted instruments used, for a full day for up to 20 participants. Additional participants beyond 20 are $100 each.

For more information on this course and other CEI communication programs, please call the Institute at (800) 410-4CEI (4234) or e-mail us at cei@talk2cei.com.