ASK : “What is the business case for effective teams? How do you measure team effectiveness?”
APPLY : The business case for Team Clock is the fundamental understanding that ineffective teaming sub-optimizes results and that effective teaming is a necessary condition for high performance. All teams manage challenge, adversity, growth and change in a manner that is unique to the strengths and vulnerabilities of their structure and dynamics. Here are some of the anchors of healthy team structure:
Investment infrastructure
- Mutual respect/appreciation of differences
- Consensus philosophy/mission/values/vision
Trust and interactional
- Effective management of conflict
- Individual and collective accountability for healthy interaction
Innovation and team effectiveness
- Leverage differences as strengths
- Breakthrough creativity
Distancing to leverage change for growth
- Appropriate mourning/regrouping/refueling
- Identification of new opportunities
ACT : Team Clock is an internal benchmarking tool employed to assess team structure. The Team Clock Institute provides a diagnostic profile of team challenges and opportunities. Assessment-informed action planning is designed to leverage healthy team dynamics required to maximize performance. With a simple online assessment, any team can get a snapshot of their current functioning and determine targeted actions to become more effective. Each quadrant of the Team Clock cycle has predictable struggles. Below are some examples of common problems for teams and simple strategies for moving forward:
Distancing Quadrant: mired in loss: too depleted to re-invest.
Strategy: acknowledge change, mourn and refocus on next opportunity.
Investment Quadrant: inability to manage conflict and differences respectfully: unable to achieve a consensus common direction and vision.
Strategy: improve conflict management skills and clarify consensus norms, mission & values.
Trust Quadrant: indulgence in the comfort zone: afraid of taking risks and exploring new ideas.
Strategy: leverage cross-functional sharing to optimize differences.
Innovation Quadrant: adherence to the status quo: unwilling to accept the consequences of change.
Strategy: enhance change management skills and re-position talents & strengths to stir up creativity.
