Why Are You Laughing? "No idea's a bad idea" and other tips for team building Productive, creative teams aren’t born – they’re made, through hard work, sweat, and tears (not kidding about that last one). Four years after their award-winning internal redesign, the trio behind American magazine continues to turn out a handsome, intentional, and thought-provoking publication that’s raising American University’s profile among its Washington-centric readership. Their collaborative work style, camaraderie, creativity, and commitment to their craft are reflected in the pages of the magazine, which includes more than a dozen “anchor pages” or departments that make planning and producing a publication with such a tiny team possible. The American staff will detail how a few small tweaks (that you can make on Monday) and longer-term changes (that might take a couple months) will help your teams build trust, develop stronger lines of communication, become more adaptable and agile, and discover the fun in their work – and in each other.

1. Why are you laughing?
“No idea is a bad idea” and other tips for team building
Adrienne Frank, managing editor
Maria Jackson, art director
Mike Unger, staff writer
American magazine
American University
Washington, DC

2. 15 signs of a toxic team
‣ Decisions are revisited after they’ve been made
‣ No common purpose or excitement around the work
‣ Same two people do all the talking—and they don’t
really know what they’re talking about
‣ Roles, expectations and
processes are ambiguous
‣ Team avoids conflict—or
revels in drama and crises
‣ Lack of trust

3. 15 signs of a toxic team
‣ No time to plan ahead, experiment or play—
too busy putting out fires
‣ Team is seen as isolated or siloed by others
‣ Meetings are used primarily
for information sharing
‣ Team members aren’t equally
invested in the work
‣ Back channels are used to
influence decisions
‣ More “me” than “we”

4. 15 signs of a toxic team
‣ People backstab each other
‣ Good, productive workers flee
‣ Interactions are tense and
aggressive, resulting in:
▸name calling
▸personal attacks
▸tears
▸absolute misery for
eight hours per day

5. We’ve been there.
And we know you have, too.
(Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.)

6. Exercise: What’s toxic about your team?
‣ What behavior, process,
dynamic or dysfunction is
inhibiting your team’s
productivity and ability to
achieve its full creative
potential—and making
everyone miserable?

7. American magazine profile
‣ Published three times per year
‣ Circulation of about 130,000
‣ Produced within University Communications
and Marketing
‣ Editorially independent—for the most part
‣ Fulltime staff of three (editor, designer and writer)
‣ Redesigned by a small, internal team in late 2012

8. Impetus for redesign
‣ Design was dated
‣ Magazine didn’t reflect brand campaign
‣ Division reorganization and several key retirements
‣ Organization was haphazard
‣ Production process was chaotic
‣ Magazine and staff needed to be reinvigorated

9. Anchor pages: Why they work
‣ Set expectations
‣ Build anticipation
‣ Turn a 5-minute reader into a 15-minute reader
‣ Give you a place for every kind of story
‣ Incorporate branding and strategic initiatives
‣ Provide a repository for news and other necessities
‣ Enhance your digital presence
‣ Engage readers and invite participation
‣ Streamline editorial planning

12. Six mantras of our magazine team
‣ Check your ego and
trust your teammates
‣ Challenge yourself
‣ Communicate
‣ Embrace flexibility—and
structure
‣ Complement each other
‣ Have fun

13. Mantra No. 1: Check your ego
and trust your teammates
‣ “No idea is a bad idea” (and the
best idea might not be your idea)
‣ No walls between editorial and
design; everyone is involved in in
most aspects of production
‣ We trust and value each other
‣ Everyone is equally invested in the work
‣ Comfortable enough with each other to be
honest when something isn’t working

14. Mantra No. 2: Challenge yourself
‣ We collect stories, headlines, graphics and designs that inspire us
‣ We read a variety of books and magazines and are curious about
the world
‣ We subscribe to several commercial magazines and receive
dozens of other alumni publications
‣ We never say “this is good enough”
‣ Two-page spread in the front of the book enables us to
experiment and play
‣ We tweaked several anchor pages and completely
reimagined two departments since the redesign

15. Mantra No. 3: Communicate
‣ Brainstorming is organic and extends beyond work hours
‣ Everyone has a voice
‣ Meetings have a purpose
‣ No deadline surprises
‣ Conflict is squashed quickly
‣ Constructive criticism
‣ Good lines of communication with managers

16. Mantra No. 4: Embrace flexibility—and structure
‣ We make a decision and stick with it
▸… but we’re adaptable and agile when we need to be
‣ Anchor pages and editorial calendar streamline process
▸… but planning ahead gives us back-up options
‣ Our word counts for anchor pages and features are consistent
‣ We perform well under pressure—not chaos
‣ Sometimes we just have to “own it”

17. Mantra No. 5: Complement each other
(compliments are nice, too)
‣ We are a three-legged stool:
we are all crucial to the
success of the magazine
‣ We fill gaps
‣ We play to our strengths
‣ We have 50 years (yikes!) of
institutional knowledge
“She’s got gaps; I got gaps.
Together we fill gaps.”

18. Mantra No. 6: Have fun
‣ Don’t pursue stories about the “usual suspects”
‣ Get out of the office together
‣ Celebrate the successes
‣ We’re lucky to do what we love with people we care about—
and that shines through our work

19. Takeaways: What you can do on Monday...
‣ Institute a “no idea is a bad idea” policy
‣ Have everyone on the team start on “idea book” with samples
that inspire them
‣ Cancel pointless meetings
‣ Start identifying the personality of your institution (sounds like a
worthwhile meeting topic to us)
‣ Do the StrengthsFinder exercise
‣ Plan a field trip

20. … And over the course of many Mondays
‣ Create anchor pages
‣ Write a mission statement
‣ Develop (or refine) editorial calendar and start planning ahead
‣ Build trust with key decision makers
‣ Break down the wall between editorial and design
‣ Celebrate your successes

21. Exercise: Let’s tweak your team dynamic
‣ At the beginning of this session, you shared some of the
problems plaguing your teams. Each small group will be
assigned one of those dysfunctional dynamics. Please identify
the long term goal (better communication, for example) and
something that can be done on Monday to begin remedying
the root problem and help the team become more productive
and creative.

22. As you navigate through the rest of your
life, be open to collaboration. Other people
and other people’s ideas are often better
than your own. Find a group of people who
challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of
time with them, and it will change your life.
—Amy Poehler
Questions?

23. Thank you
‣ Adrienne: afrank@american.edu
‣ Maria: jackson@american.edu
‣ Mike: unger@american.edu
‣ Online: american.edu/americanmagazine
‣ Twitter and Instagram: @au_americanmag