Build a Better Team: Team Building Activities For An Improved Team Dynamic

Do you want to improve office morale and employee motivation as well as build teams that function more productively, with active communication and trust? Team building may be the way to go. Gone are the days of goofy games that were designed to foster “natural” strengthening of a team, and in their place are activities that can actively change how your teams work together.

Escape Room

Work together to solve a puzzle, beat a timer and escape a situation, whether it’s a zombie, a nuclear bomb or stealing a priceless painting. These rooms are all the rage right now for families, friends and corporate events.

Ropes Courses

Face your fears and overcome these obstacle courses! From ziplining to climbing, these courses are often physically and mentally challenging.

Battle of the Bands (or Air Bands)

If you have a lot of musical talent in your team host a battle of the bands. Break into small groups and host a performance for the rest of the company or even for family and friends.

If you have a lack of musicians, host a battle of the air bands! Break into groups and lipsync, play air instruments and put on your dream concert. For both options, costumes and props can be encouraged.

Mini Golf

Challenge your team to a game of mini golf and foster some friendly competition. This is something that can be done year-round, at either an indoor and outdoor course, and many courses also feature other activities that can make for a whole day of entertainment.

Trivia Night

Trivia is a great way to learn about different non work related knowledge your co-workers have. Many restaurants are now offering weekly trivia nights, so if your team is up for evening activities this is a great option, but if this isn’t a possibility, set-up office trivia in a way that works for your team. Whether it’s one weekly question that gets posted on a whiteboard, or lunchtime trivial pursuit games, this is a great break and lets everyone’s talents shine.

Community Service

Do some good in the neighborhood and get involved with volunteering. From working with organizations like Feed My Starving Children, or Habitat for Humanity to adopting a roadway and doing a monthly garbage pickup, volunteering makes you feel good and brings your team together.

Canoeing or Kayaking

Physical activity and working towards a mutual goal are all ways that you can build a functional team. Try placing some competition in with a race and see how well team members function together.

One Night a Werewolf

This strategy based card game is app moderated, so everyone can participate. For groups of 3 to 10 people, you must work together in your secretly given roles to discover who the werewolf terrorizing your fictional village is.  No game is ever the same, so each round makes everyone work to be heard, and even more importantly: believed innocent.

Mealtime

Perhaps the easiest way to foster positive team relationships is simply to host a lunch, dinner or happy hour event. Food and drinks are a natural way to encourage conversation, bonding and learning about the people you work with.

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Building a Personal Brand

A personal brand is similar to a brand for your business, but building a personal brand has different benefits, strategies and reasoning. If you are looking to build your personal brand, these tips can help you to remain authentic to the image you are creating for yourself. A personal brand doesn’t even need to be something you are selling, it is simply a way to state who you are and remain faithful to that vision of yourself.

But first, why do you need a personal brand? This is a misleading question, simply because everyone already has a personal brand whether or not they have worked to cultivate it. Don’t believe it? Think of all the interactions you have had in your life and the impressions you have made. Take it a step further and Google yourself and your hometown. If you are on social media, many times your reputation will precede you. So, the important part of having a personal brand is the ability to showcase the most positive aspects of yourself and separates you from the rest of the crowd. This is how you can create a personal brand that will not only define the best version of you, but can also help to further your goals.

Identify Your Authentic Self

Don’t build a brand around the you that you want to be, as this can be too difficult to maintain. Instead, reflect your true self, and stay consistent with that image. Craft the wording in your social media and blog posts the way that you speak in videos and in person. Don’t change your core values to fit a standard you can’t consistently live up to. No one is perfect all the time. Be the real you and people will respect you for it, giving you even more influence.

Social Media

Social media is key to presenting an authentic version of yourself. Post what you like with your real voice powering the posts. Don’t post your meal on Instagram if you don’t feel a calling to do that, all that means is that it isn’t authentic to you. Brand authenticity is also important, so if you are running a blog about interior design you wouldn’t post a phone review. Consistency is key for building a successful brand.  

Networking

Meet others through networking events and get your name out into the world, find others to collaborate with and even make friends. This is a great way to present yourself as the brand you are working to craft in a professional way. Meetup.com is a good resource for finding networking events in your area.

Develop Value For Followers

Find your niche market and the value you specifically bring to it. If you are a makeup artist, you need to set yourself apart from the thousands of other makeup artists, whether that is by doing costume makeup, working with a specific product or specializing in one technique. By doing this, you cement yourself as an expert in this area, meaning that your name becomes synonymous with whatever it is you are doing, meaning more recognition as your brand gets more established.

Do What Feels Right for Your Brand

You can read thousands of blogs about how to craft the most successful personal brand, but that advice will not always be what works for you. If you are seeing return and not following every piece of advice that you see, or only following that which is useful for your situation then you are doing fine. You have full control of what your personal image is, so do the things that work to continue making your brand work.

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5 Steps To Land Your Job Using Social Media

Social media is no longer the space of selfies and like counts. Social media has now infused itself into everyday life, even in the professional world. Today finding a job, changing careers or even starting a business can happen on social media. Here are 5 steps to getting hired via social media!

Your Social Brand
Just like prepping for an interview or sprucing up your resume, that same preparation needs to be placed in social branding. Find a clear, personable and professional voice. Create a presence that showcases your true self, but… in a light that is most appealing to potential employers.

Interact Online
After creating your persona it’s time to participate. Research your intended market and get involved in conversations that include the industry and those already working in it.

Job Search
After, and while continuing to participate in relevant conversations start your job search. Nearly all companies these days involve social media at least in some part in their hiring process. Be it via LinkedIn, Facebook’s new application portal, or even answering cold calls over Twitter start applying across the board.

Make Connections
Social media is also a quick and efficient way of networking. Reach out directly to those you’ve met in real life or via the internet in a personal yet professional way. Thanks to social media converting connections into relationships has become as simple as sliding into someone’s direct messages.

Real Life Transition
Lastly, all of the social media expertise won’t do any good if those skills don’t translate into real life. Be sure to continue honing skills such as well done resume and well prepared interviews.

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20 Inspiring Quotes For Entrepreneurs

“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” Teddy Roosevelt

“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” Vince Lombardi

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Edison

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” Mark Twain

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”  Walt Disney

“For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. “Someday” is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it “eventually,” just do it and correct course along the way.” Tim Ferriss

“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” Jerry Rice

“Everyone has ideas. They may be too busy or lack the confidence or technical ability to carry them out. But I want to carry them out. It is a matter of getting up and doing it.” James Dyson

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you’ll do things differently.” Warren Buffett

“Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda [Star Wars]

“Done is better than perfect.” Sheryl Sandberg

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Chinese proverb

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” Henry Ford

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Mark Zuckerberg

“When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions. Most people just don’t put in the time or energy to get there.” Steve Jobs

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” Alice Walker

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

“What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” Bob Dylan

“If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” Zig Ziglar

“Whatever you do, be different—that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out.” Anita Roddick

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7 Hacks To Becoming Instagram Famous

Instagram is undeniably one of the largest social media platforms in the world. With some of the highest returns on engagement and reach,  having a strong Instagram page can be a game changer for brands and businesses. Here are a few hacks on how to get an influential account.

Develop A Unique Instagram Style

One of the biggest difficulties is being to find your specific niche. Standing out on in a sea of Starbucks unicorn frappuccinos and scenic sunsets isn’t the easiest, but try. Be fresh, be fun, be you!

Descriptive Captions

Long detailed and well written captions highly increase engagement. Storytelling is an art, and coupled with great photos it has given brands like @NatGeo and @HumansOfNY a cutting edge. This won’t work for all brands but for those with a strong and definitive voice this could be the added boost.

Creative Hashtagging

Twitter might have popularized hashtags but Instagram has taken it to the next level. Each picture should have a mix of both broad and specific hashtags to generate the most reach. Take those specific hashtags created for you or your business and promote them as you would your tagline. Have hashtags on your website, social media bio etc, make them a part of your brand.

Bio URL

Instagram has only ONE coveted direct link on its entire page and it can be found in the bio. Where do you want your followers and potential customers to go? What do you want them to do? Feel free to change the link often to see what works best and to add variety.

Participate in Relevant Conversations

You don’t have to keep up with all the new dance moves and new unicorn trends, but keeping up with industry specific news is important. Keeping up with trends can get a bit exhausting, but a little extra snooping can lead to free PR by riding the coattails of a viral new trend!

Get Local

Making a big splash is easiest in small ponds. Reach out to local businesses, creatives, and markets. Networking with local industry professionals is great for marketing, making connections and gaining clout!

Influencer Marketing

Last but not least let’s not forget the latest and biggest marketing trend, influencer marketing. It’s one of the easiest and most targeted ways to reach your audience. Find Instagramers that have influence in specific demographics you’re looking to reach and let them do the work for you!

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Why Marketers Should Care About Wikipedia

Creating a good Wikipedia article involves careful research, good grammar, the addition of pictures and using appropriate vocabulary, making Wiki writers a tempting choice for a lot of people. Wikipedia, being an online encyclopedia has a very strict set of guidelines for its content. This means that you cant just write whatever you wish about the company, despite the best of intentions. You need to document your sources and follow the manual of guidelines outlined by Wikipedia for its articles. The stringent standards by Wikipedia can dissuade companies, business people and individuals from publishing Wikipedia articles about their company or selves.

I assume that you’re familiar with Wikipedia; if you’re looking for an official primer, I recommend a look at Learning the Ropes and How to edit a page for all the technical information you’ll need.

Why SEOs and Internet Marketers should care about Wikipedia
The benefits of hiring experts to write your Wikipedia article for you are numerous. First, you will avoid the bias that most people unknowingly put in to articles they write about themselves or affiliated companies. Second, the writers are already well versed in the guidelines and requirements of Wikipedia. They will save you a lot of time and hassle in the creation of an article. Regardless of your own writing skills or English comprehension level, you can get a professional and flawless article published on one of the world’s most visited and respected sites.

To begin, here are things you can do that will always be helpful to your page:

• Search for and fix spelling mistakes, e.g.: site:en.wikipedia.org Tuseday
• Look at the categorized list o articles needing images, pick a topic you are interested in and see if you can provide images for any of these pages. (Read the images and image use policy pages first.)
• Help overcome vandalism by monitoring edits with a tool such asMike’s Wiki Tool. This highlights new edits to you, which you can assess and revert if necessary.
• Think of any specialist knowledge you have, and find ways to add useful content to the relevant pages, particularly if you know of trustworthy references that can be included in the articles. (N.B.: don’t choose a topic like SEO; think of your hobbies, academic subjects, etc.)
• Search the list of Stub categories to find partially built articles that you could contribute to and improve.
• Create new pages (read: Your first article.) You may know of something valuable that is missing from the project, or visit the lists of Requested articles and Most wanted articles to find pages that the community would like to be created.
• Add references from news stories to appropriate pages.
• Find articles that link to disambiguation pages, and link them to the correct article.

Some tips for making edits to pages:

• Use the talk pages (click ‘Discussion‘ tab above an article) to discuss potential changes to an article, and to catch up on discussion about an article before you make edits
• Check the page history before editing (click ‘History‘ tab above an article) to check you are not jumping into the middle of an Edit war.
• When making edits, do leave an edit summary and do preview changes before you save the page
• Add pages to your Watchlist; this allows you to see edits made to your watched pages at a glance.
• Use the ‘What Links Here‘ sidebar link to see internal links to an article.

Wikipedia for SEO & Internet Marketing

If you have a website that you are promoting, it’s not unreasonable to link to it from Wikipedia, but want to make sure you are not submitting spam. Let’s get back to the bullet points:

• How can your site improve Wikipedia? Check the External link page for the criteria regarding which pages are appropriate to include in the ‘External links’ section of an article.
• Some article have unreferenced facts and need citations. Check if your site is a reliable source on a topic, in which case it may be appropriate.
• Find Wikipedia pages that may be related to the site. Use the Wikirank tool to see the number of daily visitors a page receives.
• Make sure the page is good; it should contain useful, well written content. Make edits to the article to improve it.
• To add a reference within an article, read the page about Citing sources and look at the sample code on the Cite web. Use an accurate title, probably the title of the page being linked to.
• As the guidelines linked to above explain (and as other editors will tell you if you stray into the territory) the project won’t benefit from linking to sites that are not authoritative, or that are very commercial (e.g.: they are sales/promotion pages or exist only to generate advertising revenue.)

Being linked to from a Wikipedia page can bring significant traffic to a site. Here are three of the top reasons why:

1. Referred traffic

This can be particularly true on a short article with only one or two useful looking references.

2. NoFollow does not mean NoUse

Can a link from Wikipedia actually help a page rank? Over at SEOMoz, Will hinted that Wikipedia links may be used for discovery, and may even pass weight.

3. Scraper Sites

Wikipedia is available to copy and republish under a GNU license, so the articles are often available elsewhere online. There are even ‘scraper sites’ that copy most or all of the articles.

4. Bonus: Wikipedia as an authoritative directory

An extra benefit of being linked to from Wikipedia, is that if someone is looking for an authoritative page on a topic to link to, Wikipedia may well be the first place they look to find such a link.

Online Reputation Management and Wikipedia

If you’re managing the online reputation of a company, brand or individual, Wikipedia can either be a blessing (having it ranking highly can reduce the visibility of a less neutral page) or a curse (see: Wiki-Circularity.)

Back to the bullet points, beginning with how to make a Wikipedia page rank higher for your search term:

• Wikipedia is very bad at redirecting pages when titles / URLs change. Hence, decide exactly what phrase you want to rank for before you begin, and make sure that the article page is moved before you begin, if needs be. See: Moving a page and Merging and moving pages.
• To help a Wikipedia article rank for a specific term, work to build internal links to the page. Using appropriate search queries, you could find articles that mention the topic, but that don’t link to the page; update them to do so.

However, if a Wikipedia page is causing reputational issues for you or a client, you have a variety of options.

• To begin: if there are libelous comments on a page about a living person, Wikipedia has very thorough guidelines regarding biographies of living people. This page includes details of how to deal with issues of defamation; the BLP Noticeboard can be used to report and discuss such issues.
• For issues not regarding an individual, you will want to temper or remove the offending content from the page. If the content is not written from a Neutral Point of View, this is a good reason to edit it. Be aware of the project’s rules about conflicts of interest, and do consider Wikipedia’s dispute resolution
• If an issue exists for a brand / person that doesn’t fulfill the criteria for notability, then you could apply for the article to be deleted. This happens via a proposal for deletion or speedy deletion.
• It can be important to respond to such issues quickly. Since Wikipedia is free to copy and duplicate, incorrect information could be scraped from the site and published elsewhere online, and fixing the issue at the source wouldn’t remove all published versions of the false content.
• Before the page is deleted, check the ‘What links here‘ page, to find its internal links. After deletion, remove these links from the other articles.

So, that’s the semi-brief run through. A couple of extra pointers would be:

• Don’t just build content on the site, but build relationships too. If you are friendly with various editors (particularly those who edit the pages of any clients who could potentially suffer from Online Reputation Management issues) then you can call on them to make or revert edits if the worst happens.
• Having a number of Wikipedia users within your organization can be very useful.
• Don’t just use your Wikipedia accounts for client work, as your client list could become very obvious to someone who realizes. Contribute across a range of topics, and try to do it regularly to keep you account strong and trusted.

Leave your comments below!

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10 Qualities of A Successful Leader

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

—Barack Obama
What does it take to be a leader? Is she someone who brings to light the various issues and solves them? Is she someone that orates the mind and desires of the masses proactively and very well? Maybe she’s someone who knows what the followers want and helps manifest the norms. As a leader myself, I understand that leaders are born and made, inherited and natural; here are ten more qualifying traits of inspirational leaders that make the individual a powerful personality:

1. Plenty of Foresightedness

Managing a group is no easy task. Crisis happens and managing it should be the forte of a leader; foreseeing such situations should be one of the most important qualities of a leader. Foresight helps a leader make decisions ahead of time and can avoid mishaps, which will lead the team towards a path of development and progress.

Citing an example here would be that of Rupert Murdoch. The market monopoly created by the genius was the baby of his foresightedness, making him one of the most successful entrepreneurs in this world and placing his company as the second largest media house in the world.

2. Undying Hunger to Win

Leaders have an undying hunger to exceed expectations and successfully complete their promises and tasks. They are consistent and probe into areas never before treaded. Such leaders have a natural zeal and zest to learn and unlearn, helping them gain more knowledge and information as seen through the behavior of the masses they lead.

3. Always Committed

Lead by example. Motivation comes best when a leader is committed to their promises, duties and tasks, working alongside the rest and showing them that there isn’t a mountain high enough that cannot be conquered. In doing so, leaders earn respect from teammates and motivate them with energy and a zest to win!

Leaders stick to the commitments they make, which makes them fair and reliable, trustworthy too. In turn, their team is motivated to bring more to the table; following the leader. President Obama with his Obama Care health policies are proof enough on the commitments he made for the general public.

4. Be a Source of Inspiration

Leaders across the world understand the importance of getting to the root level and inspiring their teams. They generate enthusiasm amongst their teammates, which helps focus them on future goals and current issues at hand. Acknowledging human behaviors, downfalls and efforts on a personal level are some of the sources of inspiration every world leader in the past has shown.

Mohandas Gandhi, began the Quit India movement and the famous Salt Walk, which inspired Indians to do away with western produce and products and instead honor and promote indigenous handicrafts and products. He became an inspiring icon to the world.

5. Persistent by Nature

One of the best examples of persistence in leadership would be that of Henry Ford’s story back in the 1890s. This was a time when the Ford Quadricycle was launched with four large wheels and an engine powered by ethanol.

The Quadricycle was never a success, but that didn’t stop Henry Ford from making it to the top charts later on. Ford Motor today is the number one choice amongst the crème-de-la-crème and the who’s who of the motor vehicle world; Henry Ford today is one of the wealthiest and most well known leaders of the world and persistence got him to where he is!

6. Recognizing True Potential

Leaders are those that surround themselves with great minds and people with great thoughts. Citing an example here would be the life of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was an icon that looked for talent in unknown places and unique ways. Quite often, Steve Jobs, when visiting college campuses to deliver a lecture, would notice potential employees participating in the talk and personally interview them; hiring them thereafter for their unique and very powerful innovative visions and thoughts.

7. Authenticity is Their Cup of Tea

To be etched in the minds of millions. One of the most important leadership traits for world leaders is authenticity. No power plays, no muscle pulling or arm-twisting. Clear intentions and consistency proves authenticity.

Embracing diversity in all forms, being unique by displaying strengths and areas of weakness, understanding your own identity and knowing how to delegate roles and responsibilities, whilst making your own contribution towards success is what authenticity is all about.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an example of an individual filled with empathy, an embracer of diversity and someone that knows his own areas of improvement and strengths that help the economy go forth. 

8. Fear Isn’t Their Middle Name

Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, in his days as a youngster always was belittled by his aunt for not knowing how to swim when the family met for summer vacations. On his way back home one summer, Richard requested his dad to stop by the flowing river their car was about to cross. The next thing his dad saw was young Richard jumping into the river and swimming away—a bet he took with his relative and won. Cut to the new-age, Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic are names to reckon with. Being fearless is a trait that those who sit in their comfort zones don’t understand.

9. Understanding and Owning Up to Your Drawbacks

In recent times, Amazon was under the spotlight for supplying ‘unauthorized versions’ of famous books on Kindle. Needless to say there was a negative backlash by the masses, which caught the company in the red.

Amazon didn’t shirk away from its responsibilities, but admitted in a press statement its fault. Citing CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon, the honcho went ahead to personally apologize and make amendments on the same lines calling the incident “stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles.” Proof once again that no one choked to death on their own pride by apologizing.

10. Outstanding positive behavior

Leaders do what others wouldn’t, and in outstanding ways too. From displaying individualistic traits to positive attitudes, there is always that X Factor in leaders which makes them stand out. Leaders stand out to support you when others walk away, or don’t watch your back when the tough times come calling.

Citing Ralph Nader here, “I start with the premise that the function of a leader is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” In short, leaders go the extra mile to make you feel special, wanted and recognize your competency and skill levels that help motivate you to perform better.

Wrap

The world stands in need of liberating leaders and not herds that follow masses. Be an inspiring leader and start afresh in your own small way.

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