Explore every episode of the podcast OnTeamBuilding
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
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| #31: Michelle Cummings - (27+) 52 Card Pick Up, Bonding-Building-Development, Avoiding Debriefing Fatigue and Make Valuable Connections | 25 Dec 2020 | 00:29:27 | |
In the final episode of Season 1 of the OnTeamBuilding podcast, Michelle Cummings (the BIG Wheel at Training Wheels), shares one of her favorite activities, some programming wisdom and her go-to processing tool. She leaves us with advice to keep us learning and growing, "Find others that do what you do, and make those valuable connections."
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| #30: Tom Heck - (32+) Making What You Need, The Power of the Infinite Circle, Being in Community, Dive Deep and Stay Curious | 21 Dec 2020 | 00:45:15 | |
Tom Heck is a master of the team building craft. He has worked with groups of all ages, committed to the deep dives he can take groups into. Tom shares some of his most memorable stories lined with possibilities for all of us! He holds to guiding principles like, "Remain curious and be willing to explore," and "Keep that wonder and surprise" with every group you work with.
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| #21: Scott Goldsmith - (20+) Focused Episode: Emotional Intelligence and Team Building | 03 Nov 2020 | 00:40:58 | |
Scott Goldsmith, author of Experiential Activities for Enhancing Emotional Intelligence shares his three keys to success focus and other emotional intelligence (EI) connections we can make with our team building groups. We have traditionally been promoting and enhancing EI in our team building programs without making the important connections to understanding EI. Now, more than ever, let's help our participants recognize how important EI is to their intrapersonal growth and their interpersonal relationships.
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| #20: Dave Vermilye - (30+) Focused Episode: Moving Into Team Building Programs While Safely Distancing (Data 3) | 20 Oct 2020 | 00:38:36 | |
In this episode, Dave shares some of his recent experiences team building face-to-face with groups while safely distancing. He shares some of his thinking on preparing for his programs, what activities worked for him and some of his biggest take-aways. This is the third episode in our data collection series on safely distancing programming.
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| #19: Jennifer Steinmetz - (19+) Her Favorite Props and Activities, the 'Card' Collection, Tell Me Three Things, Define Success, Asking Permission and the Time Challenge | 06 Oct 2020 | 00:28:43 | |
Jennifer and Chris get into a fruitful conversation about favorites. We find out about Jennifer's favorite props (some of which are Chris' favorites as well), her favorite activity (and a bonus share from Chris), her favorite processing tools and processing question when she's faced with limited time to close out a program. The conversation wraps up with one of Jennifer's biggest (ongoing) challenge - time! She also makes us think about "defining success" (who is responsible for this), "building comfort" (her favorite part of a program) and "asking permission" (when should we be doing this?).
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| #18: Ed Caplan - (24+) Finding What You Need, Understanding Processing, Processing Tendencies Quiz, Keeping Your Eyes Open, Using Their Words | 22 Sep 2020 | 00:31:58 | |
Ed and Chris get into a steady up hill climb conversation about a team builders journey working with groups over the years. We all seem to start out looking for activities we can use with groups - having enough of them to fill the time we are assigned. Then, if you team build long enough you get the bug. You want to know more about the why behind the what. You want to be more purposeful in what you do.
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| #17: Mo Kappes - (20+) Focused Episode: Moving Into Team Building Programs While Safely Distancing (Data 2) | 08 Sep 2020 | 00:39:39 | |
We are learning from Mo Kappes in this focused episode about team building while safely distancing. Mo is the Advisor, and facilitator trainer, for the Adventure Learning Programs at the University of Wisconsin Madison.
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| #16: Jeremy Yarbrough - (16+) Focused Episode: Moving Into Team Building Programs While Safely Distancing (Data 1) | 25 Aug 2020 | 00:35:25 | |
In this episode, we're learning from Jeremy Yarbrough, the Program Development Manger for Group Dynamix out of Carrollton Texas. Group Dynamix is starting to bring groups into their 35,000+ sq. ft. indoor facility. Jeremy tells us about their early considerations, before groups were 'allowed' to return, some of the activities that have been popular and have worked while safely distancing and their biggest learning so far.
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| #15: Jon Grizzle - (13+) Purposeful Conflict, Card Perspective, That One Thing, Open to Outcome, Respecting Each Other | 11 Aug 2020 | 00:30:39 | |
We get to learn from Jon Grizzle in this episode of the OnTeamBuilding podcast. Jon has been team building for over 13 years. He got hooked on team building through his scouting program and has never looked back. Today he spends most of his contact hours with adult groups, but still takes the opportunity to work with the younger minds as well.
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| #14: Al Leone - (14+) Start Them Early, Showing Up Differently, Be Compassionate with Their Story, The Alchemist, "It Works If You Work It" | 28 Jul 2020 | 00:39:02 | |
In this episode we're learning from Al Leone. Al and Chris have been "Con-Friends" for years - only getting together once a year, traveling from different locations, to attend the National Challenge Course Practitioners Symposium in Boulder Colorado.
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| #13: Daniel Cape - (15+) Focused Episode: How Team Builders Can Leverage Creativity for Themselves and Their Groups | 14 Jul 2020 | 00:31:34 | |
In this special Focused episode, Daniel and Chris talk about creativity - being creative, thinking about creativity and being open to creativity. Daniel is the author of, From Experience to Creativity: The Experiential Educators Incomplete Guide to Creativity and the creator of the Epic Cards: Tools for Teaching and Promoting Creativity. He tells us that he wanted to produce a resource to "develop a language around creativity and a way understand it..." Daniel emphasizes, if we can "normalize the parts of the creative process" [especially the idea that failure is part of the process], it will be easier to take creative risks.
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| #12: Dr. Amy Climer - (24+) Creative Problem Solving for Programming, Climer Cards Processing & Stories, Post-It Notes, Pausing for Ideas | 30 Jun 2020 | 00:33:42 | |
Dr. Amy Climer has been a team builder for over 24 years working with many different age groups. Currently, her post-doctorate focus has been helping teams be more creative - or be more, deliberatively creative. In this episode we find out about how she uses a Creative Problem Solving Process to program for her trainings and how many focused learnings she likes to provide in a day-long program. We also learn about one of her biggest challenges as an experiential trainer and what she does to mitigate some of that challenge. Amy also shares her favorite team building prop (not what I thought she was going to say), an activity using the prop and some of the reasons why her Climer (Image) Cards are a valuable processing tool.
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| #29: Rohan Shahani - (12+) Lots of Activity Favorites, Eliminating Blindfolds and Changing It Up, Using Dice and "Framing Is Key" | 18 Dec 2020 | 00:41:52 | |
Rohan is the Training Manager for ChallengeWorks out of California. He is simply an amazing source of knowledge in the area of challenge course training and operations. Rohan shares several of his favorite activities - some for team building programs and some for training programs. He also gets into some of his go-to props.
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| #11: Phil Brown - (13+) Versatile Prop, Push-Catch, Failing Forward, Litmus Testing, Framing, Journaling, 'Legacy' | 16 Jun 2020 | 00:35:53 | |
In this episode, Phil shares one of his favorite versatile props and a super low-prop activity he's been using for over 12 years (one he brought with him from England). We talk about Maximizing Resources, Failing Forward, Preparing Participants for 'Struggle' ("The Struggle is Real"), Report-Out Fatigue, and the idea of using certain activities as a litmus test. Phil also shares a problem solving model he uses as a processing tool (A, B, C, D, E) as well as journaling for processing. Finally, we find out about a book Phil recommends to everyone (including team builders) interested in, 'The business of life!'
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| #10: Mariah Emond - (24+) Adventure-Based Counseling, A Required Prop, Processing 'Individually' in a Group, Check & Balance Norm of Support | 02 Jun 2020 | 00:27:44 | |
Mariah Emond has a deep background in adventure therapy - using adventure-based activities and contexts to work towards positive change. Most of her work has been focused on helping youth navigate todays challenges.
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| #9: Trevor Dunlap - (20+) High Torque Activities, A Simple Tool to Create Engagement, Play Testing, Stretch Your Comfort Zone, A Powerful Book List | 19 May 2020 | 00:40:28 | |
Trevor Dunlap has been team building for well over 20 years. He is the Executive Director of Nuhop, a camp and retreat center that services all types of groups with many levels of abilities. Currently, he spends most of his team building hours working with corporate groups, but has a deep background with all ages.
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| #8: Laurie Frank - (35+) Focused Episode: "A Call to Action" Figuring out what social connection means and what it looks like in times of physical distancing (and beyond). | 05 May 2020 | 00:59:44 | |
In this 'Focused Episode' Laurie and Chris talk about the important topic of community building during "social distancing" (what Laurie believes should be referred to as "physical distancing") and beyond, into the 'new' normal. Here are some vital questions and considerations (and concerns) explored during this episode:
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| #7: Solomon Masala - (30+ years) Wisdom Gathering, F.U.N.N. (Rohnke), Programming Mind, Moving the Process Forward | 21 Apr 2020 | 00:32:13 | |
Solomon Masala has been team building for over 30 years - working with groups of all ages. Recently he's been bringing his skills and energy into corporate groups, helping them learn and grow into their full potential. What others have said about his work, "transformational," "Insightful," "Inspirational," "Innovative," and "Refreshing."
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| #6: Dixie Reed - (5+ years) The Toy Pig, 'Planting Seeds' to Process, Small Group Activity, Co-Planning, Helping New Facilitators | 07 Apr 2020 | 00:22:51 | |
Dixie Reed is 5 years into team building, starting out as a static high course operator and now facilitating corporate groups. She tells us about how lucky she was with her introduction (on-boarding) into leading team building activities and how she is now able to help other team builders get started.
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| #5: Dan Creely, Part 2 - (40+ years) A Book without Words, Limited Time, Psycho Geometry, Freedom of Choice, Evolution of Confidence | 24 Mar 2020 | 00:34:38 | |
In this Part 2 episode of the OnTeamBuilding podcast, we're back with Dan Creely (40 years in and still going!). He tells us about a powerful book 'without words' (a team building favorite) that sparked a theme of adventure in someone's life. Dan also shares one of his biggest challenges - limited time - and how he views it "...it's part of the process, part of the fun, to say..." We also find out about Psycho Geometry and how it's used to create diverse groups of participants for problem solving and connection during team building programs and stories about, freedom of choice, modeling the human experience and Dan's evolution of confidence.
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| #4: Dan Creely, Part 1 - (40+ years) It's a What?, "I'm in!" Contract, Energy Ball, Chiji Cards, Power of Touch | 17 Mar 2020 | 00:29:04 | |
Dan Creely is an early adopter of Adventure Education with over 40 years of team building experience and teaching team builders. He has directly educated over 30,000 people about the power and application of adventure ed. Dan was a co-founder of the T.E.A.M. Conference (Teachers of Experiential and Adventure Methodology) that was held for 25 years in Chicago to help area educators learn about and find support for their Adventure Ed programs.
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| #3: Kelli McMahan - (30+ years) Tennis Ball Pass, Blindfold Outcomes, What? Processing Model, Processing using Anything, Finesse, Be Yourself! | 16 Mar 2020 | 00:30:36 | |
Kelli has been team building for over 30 years. In this episode we find out some of her favorite activities and why she has returned to using 'blindfolds' in order to explore concepts like vulnerability and communication. Kelli also shares how she uses the processing model What? So What? and Now What? (an extension of the basic model) and how she teaches her students to use 'anything' for metaphorical learning. In her work and when teaching facilitators, Kelli believes, it's an "awesome responsibility and a privilege" to get to be part of working with the people in our groups. We can "make it an incredible experience or just ho-hum" - we have this choice at every moment. Kelli tells us to:
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| #2: Josh Meyer - (17+ years) Portable Props, Processing 'Failure,' Practicing Reflection, Team Builder Energy, Programming Tips, Stuck on a Bus | 15 Mar 2020 | 00:35:22 | |
Josh Meyer (mt.adventure@gmail.com) has been team building for over 17 years. In this episode, he shares some of his favorite light-weight (and versatile) activity props and activity resources. We also find out about his favorite processing question he learned from Karl Rohnke related to 'failure.' Josh also shares about the importance of practicing reflection and team builder energy (how to get through the busy seasons). He leaves us with some programming tips and a story about being stuck on a bus (due to rain) for two hours - a powerful experience for him despite the circumstances.
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| #28: Floyd Hinman - (22+) Powerful Books, "What's Up?" Processing Tool, Participant-Centered Facilitation and a Favorite Activity | 15 Dec 2020 | 00:25:30 | |
Floyd, as a team builder, has a deep background in working with youth diagnosed with severe emotional challenges. In this episode, he shares some of the books, processing tools and activities that have helped him navigate programs with these youth groups. (You don't want to miss his variation of the activity, Jump In-Jump Out.)
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| #1: OnTeamBuilding Podcast Introduction with Dr. Chris Cavert | 14 Mar 2020 | 00:10:28 | |
This introduction, by Dr. Chris Cavert, details the content goals for this first season, the frequency of the episodes and the the interview content that will be discussed with team builders all over the world. Find out what's ahead in The OnTeamBuilding podcast.
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| #27: Kema Geroux - (30+) A Commitment to Social Growth, Places to Learn, Rohnke & New Games and Some Favorite Props and Activities | 12 Dec 2020 | 00:31:25 | |
Kema started her (now 30+ year) career helping youth as a recreational therapist working with them on physical, emotional and social growth. Her 'job' was to find therapeutic value in anything recreational - from cooking to canoeing. When she discovered Adventure Education she added more team building methodologies to her program list and then moved into running and facilitating challenge course programs. She now works with all ages, facilitating growth experiences and training others to do the same.
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| #26: Chris Schuhmann - (13+) Focused Episode: Some Adventure Psychology - Forming with a Group Using Group Juggle | 10 Dec 2020 | 00:37:47 | |
Chris Schuhmann has been a teacher and adventure educator for over 13 years. Early on, Chris saw the amazing potential of adventure ed and has been using its methodologies to help bring about powerful life lessons. He categorizes what he does as Adventure Psychology - the practice of helping others learn and grow through adventure. In this episode, Chris shares one of his favorite activities (Group Juggle) and how he uses it to create a 'positive forming' experience. He says to his students, "We're going to drop the ball from time-to-time. What's most important is what you choose to do after you drop the ball."
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| #25: Andrew Florence - (10+) Adventure-Based Counseling, 'Embodied' Processing, Head-Heart-Feet, Overthinking and Experiment | 08 Dec 2020 | 00:24:10 | |
Andrew, with a background in social work, uses adventure-base counseling methodologies with groups of all ages. His primary focus is helping youth populations practice pro-social behaviors through team building experiences. Andrew shares some of his favorite processing tools and practices, how "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" (Lencioni) can guide adult programming and advises "approaching everything as an experiment" to help us (team builders) learn and grow.
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| #24: Kristina Book - (17+) Peer Facilitation in High School, Challenges 'Growing Up' in the Industry, What Are We Worth? and Learning Through Conferences and Books | 05 Dec 2020 | 00:40:46 | |
Kristina is the Instructor for Experiential Based Learning for the Center for Character and Leadership Development at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Colorado. It is the first position of its kind at the Air Force Academy. At 34 years old, Kristina already has 17 years of team building experience under her belt. She tells us about her career journey, the challenges, the successes and the kind of determination that's needed for all of us to get to where we want to go.
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| #23: Jaime Amling - (17+) Gold in Threes - 3Cs, 3Ds, 3Rs, Hey! What's Up? You Rock!, Engaging Activities, Mid-Movement and The Value of Feedback | 03 Dec 2020 | 00:34:06 | |
During this episode of the OnTeamBuilding podcast, Jaime shares with Chris four different frameworks that help him program, observe and process team building experiences - all of them are organized in groups of three steps (easy to remember). Jaime also shares a favorite celebration, a few of his favorite activities, how he keeps processing sessions from slowing down and the importance of Requesting, Receiving and Responding to feedback (one of his frameworks).
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| #22: Dr. Jim Cain - (40+) How He Got Started - the Engineer Turned Team Builder, Jim's Favorite Books and Props and Powerful Stories from the Field | 01 Dec 2020 | 00:32:36 | |
Dr. Jim Cain, from Teamwork & Teamplay, and Dr. Cavert dive into some of Jim's favorite books, activities and team building props and hear stories from the field about how 'simple' activities can have powerful outcomes that change lives, communities and companies. Jim has authored over 12 activity books and recently published his first novel, Rise Again: The Story of the Mary Ellen Carter. For more than 40 years Jim has been leading, learning, teaching and training people from all over the world. His advice, "squeeze the lemon" for all it's got - there is so much to learn from team building experiences.
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