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247: Cultural Appreciation and Remote Team-Building with Chris Littlefield

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(Recorded July 2020) Thanks to Chris, we’ve got a new term for 2020: “Coronavating” — a portmanteau of coronavirus and innovating. Chris is an expert in employee appreciation, recognition, and workplace culture, and I think you’ll love this episode on how to build trust and teamwork even in virtual (and often chaotic) settings. He is the founder of Beyond Thank You, and author of 75+ Team Building Activities for Remote Teams – Simple Ways to Build Trust, Strengthen Communication, and Laugh Together from Afar.

📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/247

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More About Chris Littlefield

Christopher Littlefield is an International/TEDx Speaker, Harvard Business Review Ascend Contributor and founder of Beyond Thank You. As an expert in employee appreciation, recognition, and workplace culture, he has trained thousands of leaders across six continents at organizations like Accenture, Boston Medical, Salesforce, Reserve Bank of Australia, U.S. Army, United Nations, and more. His work has been featured in Forbes, New York, Mindful and British Psychologies Magazines, and profiled in Harvard Business Review. Chris is also the author of the new book 75+ Team Building Activities for Remote Teams – Simple Ways to Build Trust, Strengthen Communication, and Laugh Together from Afar.

Topics We Cover

  • Cultural differences; creating a more globally inclusive (even if virtual) environment

  • Who benefits from entrenched political problems?

  • Learn about each other’s cultural differences through four key questions

  • Adapting while traveling: “Be kind and ask lots of questions”

  • Open dialogue even as we fight for change

  • Whatever we’re focused on is what we’re going to see

  • Zen of Groups: What are you listening for right now?

  • At the heart of our conflict is the desire to be valued by each other

  • When you feel valued, you’re more open to listening to feedback

  • Pivoting/Coronavating in a pandemic; how Chris wrote and published his new book in under 60 days

  • What can I do to be a contribution right now?

  • How can we create environments where people feel valued?

  • Play and variety to combat screen-fatigue

  • How do we curate our culture online?

  • Sample activity ideas from the book: M&M game, My World Your World, Local Tour, Pulse Check (reflect on and express how people feel through a number)

  • 1/6 Rule for Meeting – For every 60 min/10min should be devoted to relationship building

  • What we need now more than ever is hope, hope that we’re moving forward

  • Why compliments make us so uncomfortable/embarrassed

  • The difference between rewards and awards

  • Check out Chris’ book to learn more about true recognition: Appreciate the Person, Acknowledge the Circumstances, Recognize Effort and Progress, Reward Results, Award Stand Out Results

  • COVID-19 questions: What did you used to take for granted, but really appreciate now? What is the silver lining in all this for you? What has been the most challenging part of having to work remotely? What is your daily routine? What have you been doing to take care of yourself?

Resources Mentioned

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