SUPERCHARGE YOUR WORK TEAM Seven Steps To Create A High Performing Team docx

SUPERCHARGE
YOUR WORK TEAM
Seven Steps To Create A High Performing Team
By Bart Allen Berry
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2013 Bart Allen Berry
Discover Other Titles By Bart Allen Berry at:
/>This book or its parts may not be copied or reproduced without the permission of the author.
Table Of Contents
Introduction
Step One: Create A Rationale For Teamwork
Step Two: Establishing The Ideal State Of The Team
Step Three: Establishing The Teamwork Baseline – Where Is The Team Today?
Step Four: Learning By Experience, The Team Practices Better Teamwork Together
Step Five: The High Energy Shared Experience, Tapping Into The Emotional Commitment To
The Team
Step Six: Individual Contribution And Commitment To The Team
Step Seven: Capturing Team Learning, Commitment And Follow Through
Appendix
About The Author
Introduction
All organizations, even the smallest, depend on teamwork for their success. A high performing
team is not only capable of more but serves as an inspiration to others by demonstrating what’s
possible when people work together well.
Creating a high performing team is a structured, proven process through which you can tap more
of a teams’ potential to attain significant improvements in performance and productivity. An
additional benefit is the improvement in job satisfaction for all concerned.
‘Synergy’ might seems like an overused term in management science lingo, but there really is no
better word to describe the dynamic effect produced when:
- Barriers to teamwork are removed
- The work team defines a stronger identity for themselves as a high performing team

- The work team learns more effective group process skills and approaches
- Individuals mitigate their own dysfunctional team behaviors
- A strong commitment and plan is established by the team with 'buy-in' from each of its
members
Does synergy sound like a lofty or even impossible goal? There is a systematic approach to
building high-performing teams that will work for you even if you’ve tried team training, team
development or team building before.
Supercharge Your Work Team outlines the critical steps needed to transform your low or
average-functioning teams into high-performing, synergistic units that are recognized for results
and widely acknowledged for their strong and positive influence on the organization. This
methodology is not only appropriate for low performers or teams with serious problems but also
for taking well-performing teams to even greater levels of productivity and team member
satisfaction.
Who can benefit from this book?
Any work group
Training and HR Directors
Company Presidents and CEOs
Executive Teams
Sales Teams
Engineering Teams
Any functional work group whose members have an interest in working better together
Individual team members who want to be a catalyst for improvement on their own dysfunctional
teams
SUPERCHARGE YOUR WORK TEAM –Seven Steps To A Create A High Performing Team is
based on our work with over 200,000 employees and managers over the past 28 years. The best
practice approach described here has repeatedly validated itself with work groups from nearly
every industry in six different countries.
Why Team Building Must Be A Priority
There is one simple answer to this question: Work groups without good teamwork cost the
organization money.

Poor teamwork impacts the organization’s bottom line. Dysfunctional, underperforming and
ineffective teams create inefficiency, waste, rework and mistakes. They can be the cause of low
morale, they undermine worker commitment and initiative, and can be a major cause of stress in
the workplace.
If poor teamwork is pervasive, it can rob an organization of its competitive advantage and
threaten its very existence.
Consider some of the ramifications of low levels of teamwork:
Excessive sick leave
Stress-related illnesses
Missed deadlines, quotas, or production goals
Poor quality of products and services
Conflict
Lack of communication within and between departments
Customer dissatisfaction
Lost customers
Lack of creativity
Stifled initiative
Workplace sabotage (disgruntled employees who erase vital computer files, etc.)
Work teams who never reach their potential
Retention problems resulting in the need for costly recruitment and training of replacement
workers
A negative atmosphere that turns away the best talent
Upset workers who file expensive lawsuits
Lack of confidence and support for management
The list goes on.
The costs can escalate exponentially over time if teamwork issues are not identified and
corrected. These issues can jeopardize even a successful business in today’s competitive
marketplace. A comment you often hear about a company on the ropes is “They just can’t get it
together.” Lack of teamwork can almost always be identified as one of the central issues when a
company is floundering, identifying it as a symptom or a cause.

Investing In Teams—One Of The Best Investments You’ll Ever Make
The major expense in most companies is not in equipment or materials but in human capital.
While almost all companies spend profusely on maintenance and upgrades to keep their
expensive systems and machinery operating at peak levels, only the best organizations invest in
their work teams in the same way.
Any organization is only as good as the people who work there. Investing in Team Development
means to invest in your human capital, to create an environment where increasingly more self-
directed groups of talented individuals take pride in what they do, have a strong sense of identity
and purpose, and excel in productivity because of the nature of how they work together. These
teams give off positive energy that is contagious across the organization, are recognized and
respected as leaders and can be counted on to deliver.
Consider any commodity industry where the products and services are mostly the same. Whether
linoleum flooring, light bulbs or life insurance, the true differentiation between a successful
company and an unsuccessful one is the often people. How employees work together can make
the difference between a motivated and energized enterprise, recognized for its efficiency, focus
and innovation and its competitor which is staffed by clock punchers who are unempowered and
motivated by fear.
Make no mistake—the latter organization will eventually lose its most talented workers- and
often to that other firm with a better environment of teamwork.
Every Team Needs Maintenance
No matter what the organization or industry, it is statistically improbable that everyone in a given
work group will get along with one another, and that there won’t be problems, issues and
relationship difficulties. Astute managers recognize that every team can benefit from team
building, skills development and support.
Training Cost And Time Considerations
The decision to invest in team development or team building has been difficult for some
organizations because they haven’t had a clear picture of the cost-benefit relationship. The
benefits mentioned here, as well as the risks for not investing in team development, have not
seemed tangible enough to justify the expense of such a program on a quarter-by-quarter basis.
Herein lies the problem:

Any organization needs a complete process for team development, not a hit-and-miss strategy.
There are many incomplete approaches to team development today. Consultants are usually
willing to build a program around whatever the company is willing to spend in time and money
regardless of whether it is really what the organization needs or whether it will produce lasting
results. Most training companies would never admit to this, of course, but let the buyer of
training beware! While such trainers are well intended, there are dangers inherent in fragmentary
approaches to team development.
28 years of teamwork consulting and training reminds us that our challenge is always to get the
client to commit to a process that is actually going to achieve their desired outcome of creating
high performance teams.
In today’s downsized business environment, time is as much a factor as cost when making a
commitment to team development programs. In the 1980s, three to five-day team training
programs were the norm, and significant change could be accomplished in that length of time.
The time companies were willing to invest became shorter in the 1990s until today the trend is
toward one and two-day team programs, sometimes shrinking to half day or one to two hour
segments. Such time restraints make it extremely difficult for a teamwork trainer to achieve the
desired results. Shorter programs like these miss the mark and create a bad reputation for the
teamwork consulting industry. Such ineffective team development models set unrealistic
expectations and give the entire concept a bad name with employees as well as training decision
makers.
The Seven-Step Team Transformation Process
There is another way for companies who are willing to abandon this shortsighted approach and
make a deeper commitment. We are not talking here about some huge, multi-level long term
consulting and training initiative, but an efficient methodology for real team transformation-
driven at the departmental level. This process incorporates the aspects necessary for real change,
but in most cases it does not involve a long drawn out process. Designed for efficiency and with
affordability and practicality in mind, the Seven Step Team Transformation Process is your
most direct route to building high-performing teams.
The process outlined in this book is both measurable and actionable. It has a strong “train to
production” orientation. Not a collection of abstract theories or pie-in-the-sky concepts, this book

represents a time- tested process whereby teams can develop synergy—ways to apply their
collective efforts to their work life to produce a real return on investment while creating a very
positive team environment. This methodology can produce a complete change of atmosphere and
culture within a functional work team. Functional work teams in every company department are
where things actually get done and where the rubber meets the road.
The Reward For Making The Commitment
This book addresses the human side of the work team dynamic. Team training programs missing
any of the elements in the Seven Step Team Transformation Process will not create optimal
return on investment or sustained behavioral change. Purely informational teamwork education is
not a holistic approach and will not motivate team members enough to change their ways of
thinking and operating together. The exercises presented here have been developed and refined
over the past 28 years through our experience with scores of forwarding-thinking organizations
in many different industries. Follow this process or develop your own interventions for some or
all of the steps, but don’t skip any of the seven steps—all the steps are vital to lasting change.
Follow these steps all the way through if you want tangible results with your work groups.
Support From The Top
Support from the organization is essential as a team begins the transformation process. It is
possible for a team to “self administer” these steps without support upper management, but it is
much more beneficial to have the backing and blessing from upper management.
It is important to understand that this support is necessary not just for the short teamwork
training process but throughout the team’s evolutionary process. As the team’s activities begin to
yield positive results, additional support will be required from the organization. In the later steps
of the process outlines in this book, the team will develop an action plan for improving their
effectiveness—again it will be necessary for upper management to back their efforts so positive
intentions and motivation are not stifled when a team with a new identity begins to initiate
change and improvement.
Once you have read the book and understand the design of this program for teamwork
improvement, you will be much better prepared to begin working it in your own organization.
You can then determine what time commitment will be necessary from team members in
addition to their regular job responsibilities and what additional resources, if any, may be

needed. The additional resources should only be necessary in areas that directly impact the
team’s productivity and effectiveness. These investments in better teamwork should yield a rapid
return, as is their purpose.
SUPERCHARGE YOUR WORK TEAMS Seven Steps to A High Performing Team represents a
much more cost-effective and efficient approach to team improvement than any other method or
strategy in practice today.
Selecting Teams For Transformation
If you are convinced that team transformation is right for your organization or one of the may
functional groups at your company, where do you begin? As stated before, any team can benefit
from this process. As you select the team(s) for improvement, keep these four criteria in mind
when selecting teams who would benefit from the Seven Steps Process:
The team serves a vital function
The team is expected to remain intact over a reasonable amount of time
The team’s success would positively impact the organization
Problems on the team are negatively affecting productivity of themselves and others
Read this entire book and share it with others in your organization to see if they also have
interest in finding an efficient and effective process to improve teamwork. Sometimes it is easier
to get agreement to follow a proven recipe, than to start baking from scratch.
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Step 1. Create A Rationale For Teamwork
When I stand before the functional work group members who have shown up for their first team
building session, I can read their minds. They’re looking at me sideways, thinking, “This is the
latest flavor-of-the-month training program,” or asking themselves, “How much do I have to
fake a sense of cooperation with my co-workers while my boss is in the room? Everybody knows
this team will never get along.” Some are worried about how they are going to avoid interacting
with their co-workers or looking bad or being embarrassed by some ‘touchy-feely’ exercise I
might introduce.
Others might be hoping that this workshop will not result in some new work assignment, or
worse, that they’ll be appointed to some new committee set up with the usual vague goals and

objectives which will inevitably fizzle out over a few months as other priorities emerge. Most
really wish they were just back in the office or on the shop floor getting all their work done
instead of attending some stupid team-building workshop. And all of them are wondering how
fast they can leave at the end of the day.
Skilled team trainers and facilitators understand the feelings and emotions participants bring to
the workshop setting. Awareness of these attitudes is essential if a teamwork trainer is to
establish rapport and credibility with the group and inspire some level of cooperation so that
learning can begin and ultimately, new teamwork benefits can be realized.
What employees in today’s organization need to know is why teamwork makes sense—in other
words, they want to know ‘what’s in it for them’ before they are willing to take it seriously. Most
already feel stretched in their jobs, and need reasons why they should expend even more energy
in what may seem a futile effort to work better with others. There are difficult personalities on
almost every team, and getting past old rifts and conflicts can be a big challenge to overcome.
Some find it easier to keep their heads down and sweep interpersonal challenges and conflict
under the rug.
These scenarios describe the average workgroup in most organizations today. Resistances to
efforts to improve teamwork are often based on a series of past experiences—well-intentioned
programs that were not received well, were undermined by negative members of the team, were
unevenly administered or were not supported by the organization. The term ‘hunting and
pecking’ is used to describe the continual experimentation with different methods or approaches
organizations use, especially when it comes to teambuilding.
Building committed, efficient, high-functioning teams is a challenging task, but it is possible
with the seven-step process outlined in this book- despite the reservations about team
development held by many. The steps of the process outlined in this book are specifically
designed to address and overcome these common types of pessimism and resistance, and to build
teams that actually produce better results together, not just feel good for a short period of time.
Beginning The Transformation Process
It is assumed here that the work group we will be working with has been pre-defined as a
functional work group with vested interests in working together in a functional relationship, and
that there are potential benefits for both the individual, the work group, and the organization in

forming a better way of working together. Individuals without functional relationships should not
be placed in team development programs together.
In order to discover and claim their own potential excellence as a team, it is first of all critical for
groups to understand that building a high performing team is a process, not a didactic lecture or
one-time event. This is not necessarily a long process, (our typical high performing team
program takes a weekend), but it will require active involvement and participation of all the
team members to work together on developing themselves.
I cannot walk into a session with any group and tell them how to ‘do teamwork’. Most work
groups will resent being told what to do. What I can do, however is to guide group members
through a process in which they will come up with the answers to their own challenges
themselves. While I have a good idea of what they need to learn, I don’t always know what each
group will value, prioritize or commit to in terms of working together. I am there to represent the
process; the team members themselves represent the content, and the potential depending upon
their level of commitment and involvement.
Supercharging a team, means fundamentally that a team develops a higher level of commitment
to one another and to their work than they ever have before, eliminating the blocks to higher
levels of performance, developing a stronger skill base for better teamwork, and tuning the
teamwork behavior and commitment of each individual team member. These are of course the
goals of the Team Supercharging program, but getting there is a journey the work team must
make together. The easiest place to start with any work group is with basic logic.
Define the Rationale for Teamwork
Teamwork makes good sense for both the organization and the individual.
When “team building” or “teamwork training” is mentioned, many employees envision a picnic-
type corporate event with sack races and Olympics style activities or perhaps some sappy slogans
and posters hung around their work area. These quite understandable attitudes create a barrier to
team building. In order to change this perspective, our high performing team programs start with
a very simple process that effectively articulates the ‘business necessity’ of teamwork in the
organization. Here’s how it works:
Participants are divided into two equal size groups.
1) The first group is directed to make a list of all of the benefits to themselves, their department,

and their organization if they had great teamwork and synergy and if they really enjoyed working
with one another.
2) The second group is tasked with listing all of the negatives, penalties and potential costs when
teamwork is absent in their organization.
This simple and short process is quite revealing, and the results of what work groups produce in
this exercise are quite consistent. Usually the lists will look more or less like this:
The Benefits of Teamwork
Increased morale
More efficient production
Better communication
Better quality
Elimination of redundancy (less effort and waste)
Clarity of individual roles and function
Empowerment of individuals and the team
A more comfortable work climate
Clarity of strategic priorities
More creativity and innovation
Process improvement
Problems solved sooner
Conflicts resolved more productively
Healthier work force
Higher level of enjoyment and personal satisfaction
Individual professional development
Happier customers
Career advancement
Company becomes more profitable
Individual wages increase
On-time execution of goals and plans
More respect from customers and the rest of the organization
The Costs/Penalties of Lack of Teamwork

Stress
Job-related illness/sick days
Lack of job security
Higher incidence of employee claims against the company
Lack of clarity/focus
Inefficiency/redundancy
Waste
Missed deliveries
Political infighting
Lack of professional development opportunities
Low morale and poor working climate
Lack of employee involvement
Co-worker conflict
Customer satisfaction shortfalls
Lack of trust/honesty
More dependency on strict policies and procedures
Mistakes and errors
Lack of creativity
Low commitment
Low initiative
Most of these are the common elements we have found in working with all types of
organizations. Rather than a teamwork trainer writing these items on a white board as the basis
for a lecture, the team is much more involved in the ‘process’ of defining these impacts
themselves. With this approach team members are forced to think about the teamwork in their
own unique situation. When they define the benefits of teamwork and the penalties to the
organization when it is absent, their curiosity about how to ‘do teamwork better’ begins to
emerge.
When teamwork issues are self-defined this way, the “carrot” then becomes the first list since it
clearly describes an environment in which most employees and managers would prefer to work.
The second list becomes the “stick”, or the obvious ‘bad list’ of descriptors most teams would

like to stay away from. Even though this very simplistic view of teamwork seems obvious, the
real process going on is to begin to lay a logical foundation for team development.
When the lists have been created, we ask the group to make some rational and logical deductions
about the monetary value of teamwork to their organization, and what the financial costs might
be when teamwork is absent. We then ask whether team building and team development make
good business sense.
The discussion then proceeds with two questions: Which of these lists represents the
organization you want to help build? Which represents situations that place the organization in
peril? These are loaded questions to be sure, but the logic of the argument is undeniable.
It serves an important purpose to ask workers to articulate their answers to these simple
questions. In nearly every situation, this exercise begins to help start to shift attitudes about
teamwork. Team building does make good business sense, after all. That’s hard for any worker
to deny
This pure rational logic about teamwork is something most employees don’t think about when
team building is mentioned. By placing teamwork in this perspective, workers begin to
understand that it means organizational profitability, efficiency, and personal satisfaction that
translate into higher levels of work team productivity. At this point, workers may be saying to
themselves, “OK sure, I can see what’s good for the company, but what about what’s good for
me? ” They would be right on.
The individual worker needs to see a clear benefit for himself if he is going to make a
commitment to improve teamwork. This is a vital element in the first step towards team
transformation. Workers must see how the list of benefits impacts them personally. If workers
are going to be fully engaged, there must be a benefit in it for them, plain and simple.
Without a motivating personal benefit, employees can only be expected to give lip service or
minimal effort to the activities—certainly nothing that looks like extra energy or commitment to
an ongoing initiative. Does this mean that all workers are inherently selfish or disloyal? No, but
it is difficult to sustain any new behavior without an eventual reward. It is much easier to
motivate teams if individual members can trace great teamwork to personal benefits at work.
Are these personal rewards for workers financial? Hardly. It has been my own experience in
working with hundreds of organizations that the rewards for teamwork are often not measured by

money. What motivates individuals are the elements that foster more employee participation,
involvement, greater personal responsibility, and the opportunity to make a more meaningful
contribution. The chance to establish better relationships with co-workers is also high on the list.
Salary increases are often further down the list of items workers come up with in the exercise.
The point here is that every organization, and every department or functional work group, needs
to spend the time and energy to demonstrate the relationship between better teamwork and
personal worker benefit. If a new team work approach is going to mean extra work, more
meetings, and a more demanding work environment, most would prefer to work alone.
Show workers that teamwork is a way to reduce individual stress, to fulfill individual job
responsibilities more effectively, to improve work processes, and to meet goals and objectives
that will translate into higher personal reward, involvement and recognition, and they will be
more likely to support team-building activities.
Several of the goals of the high performing team process are to insure much higher individual
worker involvement, appreciation for the unique contributions of each of the team members, and
getting everyone on the same page so that individual outcomes are in direct alignment with team
objectives. This needs to be a major stated goal up front – and as logical as it is to understand
that the work team will perform better when each worker gives their best, re-orienting the team
to operate this way will be at the heart of this transformational process.
Return On Investment: Good teamwork is linked to measurable outcomes.
As a final part of the exercise in the first step to create a high performing team, the members are
asked to create a list of measures of workplace performance that they would expect to improve if
the group were able to achieve better teamwork. These measures must be “hard outcome
measures,” in other words things, things that will be noticeably or measurably different—factors
that can be directly attributed to a positive change in teamwork.
This list will be used later in the Team Transformation Process to determine whether any
measurable progress has been made. Typically it will include such items as:
Decreased number of errors/mistakes (what is current rate?)
Faster production times (what is the production time now?)
Lowered costs in specific areas (what are current costs?)
Faster customer response time (how fast do we respond today)

Fewer customer complaints (how many are we currently receiving?)
Less sick days by department (how many today?)
Increased monthly sales (compared with today)
Better employee morale as measured by employee climate surveys and other means
The group is asked to crisply define specific measures that would be impacted with better
teamwork. This is a critical perspective for participants, as they begin to identify a much more
tangible relationship between teamwork and results. If the necessary baseline data is not
available, some research will need to be done before these elements can be accurately tracked.
The measurable elements above make it obvious that teamwork is related directly to the success
of the business and the work group’s output. This makes the discussion more than academic and
keeps the focus of the team on efforts that will be directly beneficial to the organization and that
will advance the work the team must accomplish together.
Ultimately, as facilitators of enhanced team performance, our work is to provide proof that team
development works in concrete ways. These identified measures will be the ultimate meter of
progress and will create a set of hard targets for the team as it continues to develop itself. This
keeps the team development program tied to business results, rather than what some may
interpret as ‘touchy-feely’ outcomes.
While team building can transform a workgroup or an organization, it is important to remember
that there are other factors outside the influence of the group that effect team performance.
Elements such as top management decisions or policy changes, changing market conditions, or
the performance of another department can affect even the best-structured team development
plans. Because of this, it is key to identify reasonable performance measures over which team
members actually have direct control or responsibility for or at least a strong influence. Forward
progress on these identified measures is where the real return on the team development
investment can be identified.
Summarizing the First Step to Creating A High Performing Team
Identify the rationale for teamwork, and demonstrate that it makes good business sense. Establish
a direct relationship between team development and benefits, not just for the organization, but
also for each individual. Identify the factors that can be measured as improved with this process.
Set the stage and create the expectation that this process will require each team members

participation and involvement and that it is business worthy of their attention.
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Back to top
Step 2. Establishing The Ideal State for the Team
By the second step, hopefully, the workgroup is now listening, and you’re talking about their
favorite subject—themselves and personal benefit to them—so what’s next?
In order to commit to any new initiative, people must do more than just agree that it makes sense.
Team members need to believe in the entire premise. After all, what we are trying to do here is to
create a whole new team working environment—one that is much more productive and effective.
That implies effort, and people commit to effort when they like and believe in the initiative; they
buy in.
What’s required next is to give each member of the team a chance to articulate their personal
vision of the ideal team in terms of its mission and function as they see it—or would like to see
it. No one wants to be on a team run with a single person’s agenda, playing a role he doesn’t
agree with, and functioning in a way that makes him feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this does
happen all the time in many organizations, and is one of the fastest ways to kill employee
initiative. When workers ‘check out’, their body is present to ‘punch the clock’ but their best
energies are not engaged.
People are frequently added to work groups without much orientation or attention to their
alignment within the structure and function of the team. New team members are left to find their
own way and sort out their working relationships. Seldom are they asked their opinion about the
team or their input about their role within it or how the team gets things done together.
The tasks and objectives of the work group must be accomplished with each team member
having real accountability and responsibility, but how the work gets done is really what we are
talking about here. A purely task-oriented approach to work isolates individuals, deters
collaboration or integration of work processes and creates a cold work environment. Teams who
are “hot stuff” are noticeably more warm and connected in their relationships with one another.
Involving the team in the creation of its own identity and values does not mean re-designing its
work; it means redesigning its teamwork. Team members long for the opportunity to have input
into how they will function together, and the enlightened managers will create the opportunity

for each team member to have a voice so they can share in the ownership of the development of
this identity, and be an active participant in it.
Define The Ideal State of the Team
Once the group members understand the concept that teamwork makes sense and can identify
both individual and group benefits from working together more effectively, a more challenging
dialogue must take place. In this step participants are asked to share their wishes and desires for
the future of the team and how they would like it to work together better. This is a consensus-
driven process with the goal being for everyone to agree on a collective vision for teamwork. Not
to be confused with the common “corporate vision” or “mission statement” exercise, this step
will create a distinctive, team-specific definition for this individual work group.
Also known as an “affinity process,” this procedure is a very powerful way to get key input from
everyone in the group while avoiding domination of the discussion by particular managers or one
or two more vocal group members who might bracket discussions unnecessarily or think they are
speaking for the group, when in fact they are really offering only their own opinion.
During the exercise the group will formulate mutually agreed upon ideals and values,
developing and confirming the team’s identity while creating an inspiring picture for the future
of how the team might operate one that all of the team members are willing to commit to.
Developing the Team’s Ideal State Exercise
Preparation: Provide each participant with half sheets of paper or large sticky notes and a marker.
They are to write down their answers in simple one or two word phrases to the questions as they
are asked.
The first question is:
“What do you want your team to look like one year from today?
One year is chosen as the increment of time because while it is long enough to make some
significant change, it is not so long that participants list things that might be beyond the scope of
their reach today. In today’s business environment it is difficult for even senior executives to
project beyond 12 months, so it is unrealistic to ask a departmental work group to think two,
three, or five years out.
This question challenges each group member to sift through a myriad of issues. After they have
had sufficient time to write their answers, the sheets are posted on the wall so that everyone can

see all of the ideas at once.
The individual answers will fall into natural classifications with many similarities, much to the
group’s surprise. Logical categories are then created with one summary word or for each. As the
categories are named and established, the individual sheets are re-ordered on the wall
accordingly. This categorizing clearly demonstrates the similarities in ideas from different
members of the group, integrates everyone’s perspectives, and creates short simple concepts that
team members can hang their hats on.
As they work to find the term that summarizes a category of similar sounding answers, the
individuals have begun to define themselves as a team and to determine what their team stands
for. This is a conversation that most work groups have never had. Individuals are asked to clarify
their meaning to specific postings, stimulating interaction, discussion and clarification of ideals,
values and motivations between team members. Once again, team members are the drivers of
their own process.
For the answers to this first question in the Team Ideal State Process, group members typically
mention that they want their team to be:
Larger
More profitable
Better resourced
Happier
Better at communicating
More successful
Innovative (new products)
Better at reaching/completing goals
Well-respected by customers and co-workers
Coordinated
In new offices or facilities
More committed
More profitable
Etc
This first question forces a group to think about themselves as a team—what progress they have

made up to this point and what is likely to happen in the future. Individuals often see this process
as an opportunity to “put in their two cents worth” about where they think the team ought to be
going and what they could possibly be capable of. The group quickly finds they have similar
goals and expectations. Once the ideas are synthesized and summarized, the process continues
with the next question:
“How do you want to be perceived by your (internal and external) customers?”
Take a moment here to review these terms with the group. Internal customers are other
employees and employee groups or departments within the organization that depend directly on
this team; external customers might include actual paying customers who use the company’s
product or service. Teams endeavor to answer to both.
Participants follow the same procedure as with the first question, writing their thoughts on the
half sheets of paper, once again in brief one or two words for each idea. The sheets are then
posted with the answers from the previous question. They are then ‘affinitized’ to an existing
category. If necessary, new categories are created again with one or two word summary word for
each.
This question has a universal theme in its range of answers. Most groups respond with “We want
to be the best!” or known as the best, or the world leader, recognized expert or something
similar. No group ever responds with, “We want to be number three!” The answers to this
question point to the universal need for employees to want their work to be valued and important
and to make a difference. It also stimulates discussion about customer satisfaction- a healthy
perspective regarding the team’s collective output. Other customer satisfaction ideals include:
Seen as experts
Perceived as the preferred resource
Seen as a trusted supplier
Professional
Highest quality
Timely
Most efficient
Best value
Innovative

Easiest to work with
Reliable
Etc.
Teams also like to win. This natural tendency is present in virtually every team I have ever
worked with, domestically and internationally. The point of the exercise is not to have them
come up with the answers that I know they will eventually reach, but rather to participate in a
process by which they reach the consensus that they want to excel together and be seen as the
best. Defining and developing this common motivation is the beginning of creating the leverage
needed for individual and team commitment to change.
As this exercise continues, all of the ideas are left on the wall for everyone to see. With the
addition of the second set of answers, the categorization further reveals the collective
consciousness of the group. Each idea and each individual’s contribution is given full
consideration, sorted out, defined more crisply, and prioritized as the process continues. Themes
that seem to be repeated or endorsed by similar postings of individual contributors continue to
emerge and are affinitized with one another. Each category of answers is then boiled down to a
single summary all-inclusive word. The third question is then presented:
“What is most important to you in terms of how this team works together?
This question, which is often more personal and revealing in terms of individual interactions and
behavioral preferences, is purposely left until last so that the group is well warmed up before
they tackle these deeper issues. Resistant group members will be more likely to participate by the
third question, but might not necessarily respond well if this were the first question in this
process. By this point, individuals are more open because a process has been established that
seems safe and inclusive. They now know that their ideas and opinions will be acknowledged.
Typically this third question will uncover a series of interpersonal issues and shared hopes for a
more positive team dynamic.
Answers will often include a desire for:
Honesty
Mutual Respect and Appreciation
Fair treatment/promotion
Trust

Input
Better communication
Reliance upon one another
Less Blame
Better Morale
Higher Standards
These answers are combined with existing categories.
The ideas are then further summarized so that after the affinity process only one word per
category is left on the wall. Each word represents a category of similar ideas. The group is then
asked to use the existing words they have come up with develop a simple vision statement of
their “Ideal State for this Team.”
The end product of this exercise is a very simple, clear and powerful statement about who the
team says they are, where they are going and what they want to become.
This second step to building a high performing team is a relatively short process that takes less
than two hours. It is perhaps one of the best investments of time a workgroup will ever make.
While there may be other methods of creating an idealized vision of teamwork, it is important to
note that the process is just as important as the results. The interaction of the individuals as they
go through the discussion of seeing one another’s perspectives, discussing their meanings and
clarifying their shared values and goals plays a vital role in increasing understanding among the
group members and gives them the opportunity to define themselves as a cohesive unit who
understand one another. This critical step to team transformation should not be overlooked or
shortchanged. Example Team Ideal State Process Result:
“We want to be known as the dependable expert IT department, with one voice who backs one
another up, continually innovates and grows in our value to the company.”
Reading Between The Lines
Abraham Maslow has always been one of my favorite humanist/personality theorists, and his
theories of motivation seem appropriate to mention at this point. Maslow theorized that humans
have a hierarchy of needs. He depicted this hierarchy in a pyramid to illustrate his theory that the
lower needs must be met before the individual can concentrate on the needs at the next level of
the hierarchy. In terms of what motivates employees on teams, a simplified look at what Maslow

says is revealing here. Upon examination of the things employees say they want in the “ideal
state of the team” exercise, it is easy to see this hierarchy of needs expressed.
Physiological Needs are reflected in desires such as:
Job security
Making sufficient income for food and shelter
Safety and Security Needs are clearly seen when employees ask:
For more information sharing from management
To be kept informed of policies and procedures that affect them
To work in an environment where they are not going to be yelled at or be repeatedly disparaged,
undervalued or otherwise psychologically threatened
Affiliation Needs are pronounced in even the most evolved teams:
The need to be accepted by the group
The need to have input
The need for respect as a professional
The need to be trusted to do one’s work
The need to be listened to
Self Actualization Needs, at the top of the Maslow’s pyramid, are perhaps the most powerful
motivators for any team member. Motivation in this area can be more powerful than financial
incentives.
The need to make a meaningful contribution
The need for personal empowerment and decision-making authority
The desire to take ownership for success
The desire to align natural talents, skills and abilities with one’s work
The opportunity to do their best
Reading between the lines as employees define their ideal team can uncover cries for help. As
the high performing team process proceeds, employees see the process as their opportunity to
create a work environment where they can become more self-actualized. When this happens, it
creates true motivation and commitment- a major key to getting a work team to the supercharged
state. It’s hard to be supercharged when one is operating out of the fear of losing one’s job,
conflict with coworkers, or apprehension about making a contribution.

This simple illustration reveals how a typical top-down/task-oriented/management-by-objectives
approach does not motivate people. Management needs to examine this concept closely if the
goal is to create teams that are self-motivated and which can evolve over time to provide
continuously higher levels of performance. The trick of management is to ultimately get their
aggressive goals met by aligning teams that can generate their own motivation rather than by
cracking the whip all the time to make things happen. For this reason, good management is a true
art.
Taking today’s work team from where they are today to a SUPERCHARGED STATE means to
them, that they are living and working every day to their own ideal operating standards, and they
are tapping into core motivations for the energy that will drive their commitment to better
teamwork.
Summarizing the Second Step to Team Transformation
This crucial step allows the team to define itself, to develop a common picture of the team’s
future, and to create its own standards of performance and ways of operating. The ultimate goal
of this second step is about clearly defining the conditions by which the team and its individual
members can grow, perform better and achieve self-actualization.
For those of you “control-freak managers” who have a hard time envisioning any team that you
supervise defining these things for themselves, take heart! In almost every case, individuals will
set a much higher standard of performance and a more personally meaningful and realistically
balanced identity for their team than anything you could force onto them. Why? First, because
they have individual belief in themselves and their own capabilities. Second, because they have
assigned their own values and standards to themselves in this process, and as we’ve seen, most
people really do want to excel.
Let’s recap the steps so far. In the first step, the group sees the rational logic of teamwork, and
understand specifically that an increase in teamwork will result in higher levels of performance
and productivity – and that this is a business imperative.
In the second step, the group defines a collective identity and a vision for the future of their team
that taps their core motivations and offers a more comfortable and satisfying way of operating
together.
So how does all this translate into the reality of better teamwork? The third step in developing a

high performing team is to look at today’s teamwork reality square in the face.

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Step 3. Establishing The Teamwork Baseline—Where Is The Team Today?
How can we develop a team if we don’t know what they need to work on? We’ve already set a
vision for teamwork in the previous chapter. The Team Ideal State Process defines where a team
says they want to go, but from where are they starting? Common sense says that any effort to
improve a team should start with the areas of teamwork that need the most help or that will bring
the group the most immediate benefit, but whose opinion about what needs to be worked on
should we use?
How do we prioritize activities and determine which specific teamwork skills we need to build
with the limited time and energy available to most teams?
One way would be to sit down with the team and have a long discussion—a long, long
discussion! The only problem with this type of slow and tedious issue identification is that some
people will not be comfortable talking or bringing up issues and problems in a group setting or in
front of their manager/supervisor or others they may have had conflicts with. Others may not use
tact as they present their opinions and feelings causing resentment, defensiveness, and even
injury to their colleagues.
It is quite unreasonable to suggest that everyone in any random work group would see a process
like this as productive or beneficial. And yet issues need to be identified and addressed before
the group can move on to a more team-based approach. Some readers are cringing right now,
wondering if there is any real benefit to dredging up past conflicts, insults, and group failures,
and are not too excited about the prospect.
Rest assured, this author is not advocating a group therapy session here, as we all know if might
take weeks to talk about every behavioral nuance in a particular work group’s history. Instead,
an efficient and data driven process it utilized to pay homage to the real issues and blocks to
team performance that are there and that are the cause of jaded attitudes and pessimism that
stand as a roadblock to the development of the team. This approach also defines how the team is
doing overall, as well as the strengths they already have.

Teamwork issues and behavior are converted to objective baseline measures.
The Functional Workgroup Teamwork Survey
With our years of experience in building teams, we have designed an efficient, non-threatening,
overall picture of teamwork and quantitative way to identify the strengths and areas in need of
improvement for any intact work group. The Functional Workgroup Teamwork Survey is an
instrument that has been used with thousands of individuals from companies in many industries
and the government, both domestically and internationally. It is now widely utilized by other
consultants and trainers as well and has been translated for use into several languages. The
Functional Workgroup Teamwork Survey is a comprehensive survey instrument that measures
50 specific teamwork constructs, in ten domains or teamwork areas. It integrates universally
accepted teamwork behaviors as well as incorporating the characteristics of high performing
teams.
The Functional Workgroup Teamwork Survey©, included here in its full length, is administered
anonymously to each team member- usually online a week or so before the team development
engagement. All team members can then feel free to share their real feelings and opinions
without fear or reprisal or anyone looking over their shoulder. Individual data is then combined
into an overall report of group results with assured privacy and anonymity. With their privacy
protected and all team members participating, The Functional Workgroup Teamwork Survey
becomes an honest barometer of the team’s own self evaluation of their teamwork strengths and
weaknesses.
In addition to identifying places for improvement, this powerful tool does a great job in
identifying areas that are already healthy and strong all compared to an overall teamwork
baseline average, or ‘mean score’. Without this complete assessment, any intervention such as
team training is a hit-and-miss proposition, with too much wasted time and energy spent on the
long painful process of issue identification.
The FWTS is an efficient and effective way to optimize the issue identification process in a
diplomatic, inclusive and tactful way. The interest and curiosity about the opinions of others on
the team, combined with the opportunity to voice teamwork concerns usually gets the team’s full
attention, and also builds a positive expectation of what will be discussed when the team gets
together during the teambuilding program.

The Functional Workgroup Teamwork Survey provides an overall analysis on a 1 –10 scale with
an overall score calculated as the ultimate measure of the extent to which a team believes it is
living up to its own potential for teamwork.
There ten categories measured in the instrument are:
Atmosphere
Commitment
Inclusion
Leadership
Skills
Coordination
Synergy
Excellence
Growth
Maturity
Overall results are tabulated, and each of the ten categories are given a mean score. This
determines which of the ten major areas is significantly above or below the overall mean score (a
measure of the range of scores that made up the mean score- a tighter or smaller range of scores
indicates more stability while a higher or wider range indicates more volatility). A balance range
is included to determine volatility and stability of the team. Finally, each of the individual 50
constructs (questions) is averaged, and the results are broken out to identify the five strongest
and the five weakest specific areas overall.
A rich summary report shows all of the data points in relationship to one another. This
comprehensive analysis can then be used as the basis for discussion of the team’s current state
from an objective and mathematical perspective rather than a loaded collection of hot topics for
unruly discussion, blame and disagreement.
The FWTS provides a quantifiable baseline measurement, ideal for improvement planning and
the tracking of team performance over time. With a real assessment baseline in hand, participants
readily accept the results of their own data. When the information is presented in this non-
judgmental, tactful way with the emphasis being on proactive efforts to improve and develop the
team, members can quickly integrate and synthesize the results into a true understanding of

where their team stands today, and begin to look at the most critical areas necessary for
improving teamwork.
An Outside Objective Facilitator Is Recommended
The survey feedback process is best delivered by a professional facilitator from outside the
group. There are many reasons for this. The dynamics of the group are already established, and
each person has their own role. To be truly effective, issues must be presented and dealt with in a
way that does not finger point or blame individuals in particular. The emphasis must be on
accepting the fact that every group has their own problems and issues and that the team is a
group of adult professionals working to improve their performance-just like any other work team
would.
When leading this process it is obviously important to use great sensitivity and tact. If led by the
team manager or even someone else from the same company, there is potential for conflict of
interest that can be particularly damaging to the team dynamic. An objective outside professional
with no “axe to grind” can make sure issues are given their proper attention with no favoritism or
bias towards any particular outcome. He can also make sure a group doesn’t duck tough issues or
fail to face up to problems in their own group rather than attributing them to some outside cause.
The objective facilitator will also have no problem challenging the boss or manager when the
data indicates it, and stop high influencers from making generalized excuses for the group and
sweeping important issues under the rug.
Anonymity, Confidentiality, Time, and Location
It is important that participants feel as comfortable as possible in filling out the Teamwork
Survey, so that their responses can be frank and genuine. Ideally, the surveys are distributed a
few days ahead of time and turned in to a neutral collection point (not a boss or supervisor’s
office). If surveys are to be distributed while all team members are in the room together, every
effort should be made to ensure anonymity of team members while collecting the survey
instruments. It is recommended that a non-team member provide tabulation of the assessments.
Participants should be allowed a minimum of 20 minutes to complete the FWTS, and preferably
be given all the time needed until everyone has completed the instrument. Disturbances and
distractions should be kept to a minimum while completing the instrument. The online option,
with the survey returned by email is obviously the best option.

Team data should be shared with a minimum of persons outside the team, as all team information
is confidential and private and should be treated with appropriate respect. The findings should
be shared no longer than two weeks after completion of the questionnaire. This insures that data
collected will be timely and relevant. Ideally findings should be shared with the team as soon as
possible after completion of the survey to keep it fresh.
Some cultures are uncomfortable with surveys and unfamiliar with the concept of anonymous
self assessment, and instead see this teamwork survey as some kind of test or evaluation of them.
The purpose and method should be clarified for these cultures to avoid them loading the surveys
with all rosy responses out of fear of reprisal for having less than perfect teamwork.
Quantification is a beautiful thing. Numbers have universal meaning for us all, and our brains
understand numbers on an almost subconscious level. The thing about quantifying teamwork
behavior is that everyone understands that the ideal is to score a “10” in each area. Although we
have yet to meet a team that scores themselves anywhere near this high overall, the numbers are
useful as a measurement of whether or not the team believes they are living up to their own
ideals and potential for better teamwork.
Functional Work Group Teamwork Survey
This instrument is used to quantify the strengths and opportunities for improvement of any intact
functional work group. Team members anonymously rate each question on a scale of 1 (lowest)
to 10 (highest) for each question. A score for each category is calculated, as well as an overall
self-assessment score. Individual team member assessment scores are added together for a
combined assessment of the team as a whole.
Name of Specific Work Group _______________________________
Please respond to each statement from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
Team Atmosphere
1. Team is satisfied with themselves
2. Team treats all members with respect
3. Team exhibits humor
4. Team has a positive identity
5. Others find this team easy to work with
Add together all scores for category______

Team Commitment
6. Team is clear about their purpose
7. Team works hard together
8. Team members give extra effort
9. Team members take initiative
10. Team is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done
Add together all scores for category______
Team Inclusion
11. Participation by everyone on the team is promoted
12. All team members and their perspectives are valued
13. All team members are treated fairly
14. Information is easily shared between team members
15. The team is kept informed and up to date
Add together all scores for category______
Team Leadership
16. Team Leader(s) maintain the respect of all team members
17. Team Leader(s) solicits input from the team
18. Team Leader(s) keep team informed
19. Team Leader(s) keep the team focused
20. Team Leader(s) keep the team motivated
Add together all scores for category______
Team Skills
21. Team communicates well with one another
22. Team solves problems well together
23. Team is creative
24. Team makes good decisions
25. Team continuously improves itself
Add together all scores for category______
Team Coordination
26. Team members cooperate well with one another

27. The team works well with other departments
28. The team fulfills it’s commitments on schedule
29. The team handles complex projects and initiatives well
30. The team responds well to unforeseen changes or surprises
Add together all scores for category______
Team Synergy
31. Team regularly comes up with good ideas
32. Team enjoys working together
33. Team members are cross-trained with one another
34. Team members trust and rely upon one another
35. Other teams and departments are impressed with this team
Add together all scores for category______
Team Excellence
36. Team meets or exceeds requirements
37. Team produces error free quality
38. Team delivers on time
39. Team is proactive
40. Team takes responsibility when things go wrong
Add together all scores for category______
Team Growth
41. Team’s work is important/vital
42. Team regularly integrates new approaches or technology
43. Individual team members are growing professionally
44. Team participates in regular training and development
45. Team plans for the future
Add together all scores for category______
Team Maturity
46. Team members are trained to perform one another’s duties
47. The team resolves conflicts well
48. The team learns from its mistakes

49. Team on remains positive regardless of circumstances
50. Team has a positive expectation of the future
Add together all scores for category______
Analysis- Circle the number corresponding with your category totals for each category
Atmosphere 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Commitment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Inclusion 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Leadership 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Coordination 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Synergy1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Excellence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Growth 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Maturity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Add together all category totals and divide by 10 for an overall mean score_______
Draw a vertical line from top to bottom, corresponding with your overall mean score. (it might
be helpful to print out this section or to make your own simple pen and pencil chart.
Compare categories above the mean with categories below the mean.
Identify highest category/lowest category.
Multiply by 2 for an overall percentage (of 100%) of how much your team

is working up to it’s potential_______
Top 5 Strengths:
Overall lowest question(s) Top 5 Opportunities for Improvement: