In a previous blog post on professional development content, we talked about the growing expectations placed on meeting and conference organizers when it comes to the content of their event. Above all, attendees want to know that their time spent at a conference or meeting will deliver strong value (ROI) in the form of tangible knowledge and insightful takeaways to help them improve their professional skills and impact their organizations’ bottom lines.

To meet this need, Disney Institute offers unparalleled professional development content in the areas of LeadershipService and Employee Engagement, based on the business insights and time-tested best practices of Disney parks and resorts worldwide. Whether it’s a 90-minute Keynote, or a Half-day, Full-day or Multi-day program, these engaging learning experiences can become a powerful tool in an event organizer’s content-planning toolkit. 

Let’s take a look at some of the business insights attendees can learn from a Disney Institute training session (this content originally appeared on the Disney Institute Talking Point blog):

Earlier this year, the New York Times published an interesting article about how to build the perfect team, in which the author cites some compelling research pointing to why some work groups are successful, and some are not.

The author writes: “What interested the researchers most…was that teams that did well on one assignment usually did well on all the others. Conversely, teams that failed at one thing seemed to fail at everything. The researchers eventually concluded that what distinguished the ”˜good’ teams from the dysfunctional groups was how teammates treated one another.” The relationship employees have with each other clearly played a critical role in creating an effective work team effectiveness, keeping employees happier over time, and ultimately, impacting an organization’s overall success.

So, what was the secret ingredient in how these successful teams treated one another? Simply said, it was being nice!

This made perfect sense to us. At Disney Institute, in our professional development training courses, we share with business leaders something we have found to be a key success factor: organizations and leaders should strongly encourage peer-to-peer (employee-to-employee) care.

Peer-to-peer care can contribute mightily to fostering a “being nice to each other” work culture by:

  • Creating a healthy interdependence between co-workers, leading to an environment of mutual trust and collaboration.
  • Building and nurturing authentic relationships that tend not to be perceived as part of some other organizational agenda.
  • Fostering a genuine sense of a “caring community” where the bonds of trust are extremely strong - much like a family environment.

Think about it. Certainly, it’s much easier for people to stay and work hard with a “family” who supports, encourages and has each other’s back.

Ultimately, when co-workers like and trust one another, organizations can reap significant benefits in terms of higher productivity and higher retention, while also creating agile workplaces where teamwork, creativity and continuous innovation can flourish.

Tell us – What are some ways you can begin to create an environment of peer-to-peer care in your organization?

So, whether you’re planning an executive retreat, a board of directors meeting, or a conference for thousands, Disney Institute can inspire your attendees with key takeaways and new ways of thinking that can be adapted and applied to their own careers and organizations. To learn more about engaging Disney Institute for professional development content for your next meeting or event held at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Disneyland Resort in California and Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii, submit a Request for Proposal or Contact Us to speak directly with a Disney representative or Sign Up to stay in touch with Disney Meetings. 

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