- Clarify personal leadership and communication preferences, and develop a “user’s manual” to articulate our findings
- Discover the attributes, behaviors, and common blind-spots of natural preferences, and explore the same attributes and behaviors of opposing types
- Reframe decision-making processes using data about individual and team communication preferences
- Identify specific actions to take when working with someone who leverages opposing preferences, and develop a plan to adjust styles with at least one current colleague
- Apply insights to current leadership situations and people management processes
- Develop an action and implementation plan of new leadership competencies
Building The Dream Team
Adjusting Our Styles To
Strengthen Relationships & Build Trust
Every team has the power to tap into the expertise, talents, and passion of the group as a whole to create a strong impact. We’re familiar with the concept of The Golden Rule, or treating others the way we would like to be treated, though the most successful teams know the secret to take that to the next level: we must lead, communicate, and partner with people the way that they would prefer.
In this team building and communication styles workshop, participants will discover the elements of their working and communication styles, as well as the styles of others, learning how to best adjust when working with peers, supervisors, or direct reports. Each individual will identify how they operate in four key dimensions: how we like to communicate, how we take in information, how we make decisions, and how we organize our lives. Ultimately, this session takes a humorous and informative look at how we operate, and provides us with the tools to effectively work with anyone.
What You'll Learn
During this team development and communication styles workshop, participants will:
Leadership Behaviors You'll Develop
As a result of this session, participants will be able to enhance their leadership capabilities through the following behaviors:
- Leverage natural strengths and communication preferences to lead and collaborate more effectively
- Work with and actively support the preferred styles of peers, direct reports, and supervisors
- Adapt and adjust communication styles based on team, situation, and personal needs
- Articulate personal preferences to others in order to set working relationships up for success from the start
Who Is This Workshop For?
This workshop is a strong fit for any team ready to unlock a higher level of collaboration. It is especially energizing for cross-functional teams, newly formed groups, and teams looking to deepen trust and communication as they grow. Leaders at every level and individual contributors alike walk away with self-awareness and practical tools they can apply the very next day.
Related Workshops
Learning Objectives:
- Determine personal approach to conflict conversations, and discover the five differing conflict styles
- Identify benefits and potential obstacles for each style to clarify effective conflict communication strategies
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Adaptability + Assertiveness
- Building Consensus + Alignment
Learning Objectives:
- Identify current decision making practices, both on an individual and team level
- Discover The Four Phases of Team Development, overlaying the model to spark dialogue on the current state of team dynamics
- Measure individual and team-based decision making success, and develop an action and implementation plan of new leadership competencies
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Data-Based Decision Making
- Consensus Building
- Effective Communication
Learning Objectives:
- Determine personal approach to conflict conversations, and discover the five differing conflict styles
- Identify benefits and potential obstacles for each style to clarify effective conflict communication strategies
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Adaptability + Assertiveness
- Building Consensus + Alignment
Learning Objectives:
- Identify current decision making practices, both on an individual and team level
- Discover The Four Phases of Team Development, overlaying the model to spark dialogue on the current state of team dynamics
- Measure individual and team-based decision making success, and develop an action and implementation plan of new leadership competencies
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Data-Based Decision Making
- Consensus Building
- Effective Communication
Learning Objectives:
- Define the concepts of EMOTIONAL AGILITY and PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY, and explore the building blocks that allow this to prosper in an individual level and within a team environment
- Explore the five common “THINKING TRAPS” that get people stuck, and practice five communication and trust-based “ESCAPE ROUTE” strategies to help yourself and others break free
- Empower team members to speak their minds, and encourage emotional openness from others
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Psychological Safety
- Building Trust
- Effective Communication
Learning Objectives:
- Experiment with interactive exercises to enhance active listening, setting others up for success, challenging the status-quo, and confidently stepping outside of our comfort zones
- Embrace the concept of “YES, AND” to build upon the ideas of others in an effort to strengthen interpersonal, team, and organizational relationships
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Collaboration + Trust
- Effective Communication
- Openness to Change + Innovation
Learning Objectives:
- Define the concepts of EMOTIONAL AGILITY and PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY, and explore the building blocks that allow this to prosper in an individual level and within a team environment
- Explore the five common “THINKING TRAPS” that get people stuck, and practice five communication and trust-based “ESCAPE ROUTE” strategies to help yourself and others break free
- Empower team members to speak their minds, and encourage emotional openness from others
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Psychological Safety
- Building Trust
- Effective Communication
Learning Objectives:
- Experiment with interactive exercises to enhance active listening, setting others up for success, challenging the status-quo, and confidently stepping outside of our comfort zones
- Embrace the concept of “YES, AND” to build upon the ideas of others in an effort to strengthen interpersonal, team, and organizational relationships
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Collaboration + Trust
- Effective Communication
- Openness to Change + Innovation
View More Workshops
View More Workshops
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to lead and communicate the way others would prefer?
It’s the upgrade to The Golden Rule. Rather than defaulting to our own communication preferences, this approach invites us to understand how each person on the team likes to receive information, make decisions, and collaborate, and then meet them there. The result is stronger relationships, more effective teamwork, and a team that genuinely taps into the expertise and passion of every individual.
What are the four key dimensions of working and communication style explored in this workshop?
Each participant identifies how they operate across four dimensions: how they like to communicate, how they take in information, how they make decisions, and how they organize their lives. These four dimensions become the foundation for deeper self-awareness, richer team conversations, and more intentional collaboration.
What is a “user’s manual” and how does it strengthen team relationships?
Participants develop a short, personalized summary of their own communication and working preferences, a practical guide for how colleagues can most effectively partner with them. It’s a simple exercise that tends to unlock meaningful conversations well beyond the session, and gives teams a shared language for how they work best together.
How does understanding communication styles improve team performance?
When teams understand how each person naturally operates, collaboration becomes more intentional and more effective. Style awareness turns potential friction into genuine curiosity, and allows leaders to bring out the best in every team member by meeting them where they are rather than where we expect them to be.
How is Building The Dream Team different from a standard Myers-Briggs or DiSC workshop?
Building The Dream Team is grounded in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) research. If your team has already explored MBTI, this workshop builds on that familiarity rather than starting from scratch. What makes this session distinctive is where it goes from there. Rather than stopping at type identification, participants develop specific, immediately actionable strategies for adjusting their approach with real colleagues in real situations. You leave knowing not just who you are, but exactly how to use that knowledge to work more effectively with the people around you.
Jacob Goldstein
Jacob Goldstein is the founder of The Leadership Laboratory, and leverages his experiences in education, the performing arts, and corporate learning & leadership development to his work. As a performer, Jacob has sung as a backup vocalist for musical artists such as Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, and Patti LuPone, as a recording artist for Netflix series Sense8, and at venues including The United Center, The Chicago Theater, and Chicago Symphony Center. In the education space, Jacob has served as an educator for high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and has been a Guest Lecturer at Northwestern University since 2016. As a Learning & Leadership Development Consultant, Jacob has worked as a one-on-one coach and group workshop facilitator to organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies in diverse industries, including technology, healthcare, non-profit, and fashion/apparel. Jacob holds a Bachelor’s degree from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master’s of Science in Communication from Northwestern University.
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The Leadership Laboratory works across multiple industries - including start-up and established technology firms, non-profit and government agencies, finance companies, healthcare organizations and more. We are proud to collaborate with individuals and teams of all sizes.
Contact us and say hello! We're excited to get to know you and share our ideas on learning + leadership development.
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