The 10 Key Measurements of Effective Teams

Published: November 16, 2015
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Benchmarks provide a snapshot of momentary excellence. Eventually, the measurement will be surpassed as teams strive for continuous improvement. An assessment reveals the wellness of the current state and a diagnosis of where attention would be most fruitful. Choose whatever scale you wish – unhealthy to healthy, unproductive to productive, disengaged to engaged, stagnant to growing, resistant to adaptable – and measure your team. On a continuum from “1” to “5,” with five being desirable, how does your team rank in the following metrics?

  1. Team Norms: Are our day-to-day interactions true to our values?
  2. Mission Alignment: Is our team mission clear and is everyone on-board?
  3. Constructive Conflict: Do teammates handle differences with maturity?
  4. Connection: Do teammates connect and collaborate?
  5. Respect: Is our workplace a trusting and respectful environment?
  6. Accountability: Do teammates hold themselves and each other accountable consistently?
  7. Smart Risks: Are we supported in sharing new ideas and perspectives?
  8. Innovation: Does we support exploration and discovery when solving problems?
  9. Change Management: Are there any unresolved issues keeping the team stuck?
  10. Refocusing: Have we embraced our new opportunities?

How often should you measure? For teams with seasonal business, it’s wise to engage a pre- and post-assessment at the front and back of each season. For those with quarterly targets, four assessments a year might make the most sense. Either way, knowing which strengths to leverage and which weaknesses to mitigate keeps the team evolving in a healthy, productive, and engaged direction.

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Photo of Steve Ritter, the co-founder of The Center for Team Excellence

Steve Ritter

Steve Ritter is an internationally recognized expert on team dynamics whose clients include Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, and many educational organizations. He is on the faculty of the Center for Professional Excellence at Elmhurst University where he earned the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Steve is the former Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources at Leaders Bank, named the #1 Best Place to Work in Illinois in 2006 and winner of the American Psychological Association's Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award in 2010. Steve provides ongoing workplace culture consultation to many thriving companies including Kraft Foods, Advocate Health Care, Kellogg's, the Chicago White Sox, AthletiCo, and Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.