Books

ABOUT

Expected to be published from 2024 to 2026,

our three books describe how the Team Up Playbook™ helps team leaders build teams that thrive in conditions of high complexity and high challenge. The books explore how the Playbook enables the team to prosper with the impact of virtual teaming, the growth of societal individualism, greater regulatory pressure, more diversity, growing mental health challenges and the sheer pace of change arising from digitalisation.

BOOK 1

Building Better Teams

Available on Amazon

The book gives an overview of the six conditions exerting real pressure on today’s teams together with the science behind the TeamUp Playbook™ approach.

Science is presented that challenges several very well -known and endorsed sacred cows of team development. The book focuses on the importance of the first stage in the TeamUp Playbook™ – Getting Set and applies this to the current and post COVID 19 phenomena of working in virtual teams.

An extract from chapter 4 “The immediate goal of the virtual team is to build levels of Swift Trust. As we know, it is much quicker to build Swift Trust through aligning the team behind its tasks than waiting for interpersonal trust and rapport to kick in. This explains why high task orientated people build their trust much more quickly than high relationship oriented people. It also explains why the best virtual teams have practical ‘doers’, people who are prepared to form plans and make things happen fast, rather than the ‘completer finisher’ types who are more prone to perfectionism and can slow things down.”

BOOK 2

Building
Safer Teams

Coming
2024

The book describes the challenges of team working arising from mental health issues, coping with increasing levels of diversity and dealing with rising levels of individualism in the workplace.

The book summarises the science behind combining Getting Set with Getting Safe as a means of enabling healthy, robust and proper conversations to take place in the team.

An extract from chapter 5

“The martial art of Ai Ki Do is all about redirecting the energy of the attacker rather than opposing it. There is little point in challenging and trying to change the behaviours of the more individualistic. They are not going to be moved by inspirational missions, or charismatic calls to arms. Nor are they likely to be able to change their mind-set, certainly not in the short term. They may talk a good game but their actions betray them. Their self-orientation is likely be set in stone. By far the quickest, simplest and most effective way to access and influence them is through appealing to their levels of self interest through ensuring they have ‘skin in the game’ and then holding them to account.”

BOOK 3

Building
Stronger Teams

Coming
2026

The book describes the impact on teams of having to deal with increasing regulatory pressure and accelerating levels of digitalisation.

The Get Strong phase of the TeamUp Playbook™ describes a way of dealing with both pressures and ways of achieving more ‘strength’ in the team.

An extract from chapter 3

“Rapidly evolving technology is just one driver behind ever increasing pressures to collaborate. For many though, collaborating more simply means taking on more stress. Operating in a single silo, answering to a solo boss and working closely with your single local team used to be a walk in the park. Now we are members of multiple teams, with several bosses, dealing with multiple and competing priorities, working with team mates whose roles are unclear, many of whom we hardly know, who we have to influence without possession of any line authority. And we have to do all of this having our every move scrutinised by MI.”

The improvements as a result of George and his methods have certainly contributed to a 15-fold growth in our profits, as well as enabling us to successfully launch a series of award winning innovative products

Adrian Grace
CEO Aegon UK

I have worked with George over the last five years during which my team has been reshaped and delivered some extremely challenging financial objectives including growing all our key product lines and reducing our costs by 25%

Jackie Leiper
Workplace Savings & Distribution Director
Scottish Widows

George is insightful and challenging in his observations of me and my team. His sessions allow us to open up and feel safe, identify the root of what needs to change and for us to commit to these actions.

Ray Pope
Chief Information Officer
Tokio Marine HCC Inernational Group

George's 4 GETS approach to developing teams coupled with his insightful facilitation has helped my finance team address interpersonal issues, work closer together and generate more value to the business.

Duncan Hayward
Group CFO PLRe

I have found the 4 GETS methodology and George's skills in working with teams to consistently produce a positive impact on my businesses. His approach to getting teams Set, Safe and Strong has consistently paid divends for me.

Jayne Archbold
CEO Iptor International

Both quizzical and soothing George got the team to engage and participate in a way that felt safe. He also helped ensure my work pressures remained manageable and in perspective. I would recommend George to anyone as a strong personal mentor or someone to understand and change team dynamics.

Nick Hutton-Penman
Deputy CEO, Tokio Marine Kiln

Every team coaching session has led to tangible improvements in performance, collaboration and effectiveness - George grasps the unspoken, working with the team to wrestle down the underlying blockers. Personally, I continue to grow with this guidance and interventions; he carries my strongest of recommendations, the only caveat being, you had better be genuinely committed to self-development to genuinely appreciate and enjoy the accelerating impact he can have!

Adrian Walter
COO Lloyds Banking Group

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