Tool D

Quick Diagnostic

Understanding Your Team: A Quick Self-Assessment
Driver	Key Questions	5 = Very strong 4 = Fairly strong 3 = Neither 2 = Fairly weak 1 = Very weak					Notes/Thoughts (e.g., What is a possible concern/opportunity? How might we build on a strength or improve a weakness?)
Capability	Does our team have the right people on it with the right mix of individual and team knowledge, skills, and attributes? (Do we have ample talent, any talent gaps or developmental needs, major personality problems, and enough team players?)	1	2	3	4	5	Where might a capability boost or change help us?
Cooperation	Do team members possess the right beliefs and attitudes about our team? (Do we trust one another, feel it is safe to speak up [psychological safety] think our team will “win” [collective efficacy], and believe the work we do is important?)	1	2	3	4	5	Which attitudes do we need to boost? How might we improve those?
Coordination	Is our team consistently demonstrating effective teamwork behaviors? (Are we monitoring each other and the situation effectively, providing backup/support, adapting as needed, and managing conflict and emotions constructively?)	1	2	3	4	5	Where and when could we be better at monitoring, backing up, adapting, or managing conflict?
Communication	Are team members sharing info effectively with each other and with those outside the team? (Are we sharing unique info, communicating in a timely manner, confirming understanding, keeping others informed, and sending consistent messages to people outside the team?)	1	2	3	4	5	Where and when could be have better quality communications?
Cognition	Do team members possess a shared understanding about priorities, roles, vision, if–then, etc.? (Are we on the same page? Could we provide similar answers to the questions, Where are we headed? What are the current priorities? Who should do X? Who knows the most about X? and What’s going on?)	1	2	3	4	5	What do we need to develop a clearer “shared understanding” about?
Conditions	Are the necessary conditions in place to enable our team to work together and succeed? (Do we have adequate resources, time, and support? Do policies, practices, and culture encourage teamwork?)	1	2	3	4	5	Which conditions would we hope to change? What is within our control?
Coaching	Are our team leader and/or other members demonstrating leadership behaviors that help the team “win”? (Are we taking actions to hold each other accountable, improve clarity, remove obstacles, manage team emotions, encourage participation, and promote learning?]	1	2	3	4	5	What could our team leader or team members do more often or better?

Identifying Opportunities for Improvement

Limitations or breakdowns associated with any of the seven drivers can hinder your team’s success. As you make a diagnosis, consider two key questions: “What if” and “Can we”?

“What if” refers to potential for improvement. How big is the current gap between the actual and the ideal (e.g., between the way your team communicates today and how you think they should)? If your team made an adjustment, what would be the likely benefits? In general, bigger gaps tend to have greater improvement potential.

• If your team made this adjustment, would you anticipate a big, moderate, or small boost?

“Can we” refers to change potential. How feasible is it to improve this area? Realistically, how difficult would it be to make an adjustment?

• Easy to change. A change is often easier when it is within the team’s control and doesn’t require external approval. In general, a change is easier when the necessary resources are likely to be available. An easy change may also be one that isn’t elaborate; perhaps all that is needed is a little heightened attention. Think about “easy to change” solutions as low-lying fruit.

• Challenging to change. Some changes are more challenging to implement. For example, a proposed adjustment that requires permission or support of others or that may necessitate currently unbudgeted time or money would be considered challenging. Such changes are likely to be more effortful than “easy” ones but still may be feasible.

• Can’t change. Finally, it is important to recognize that some potentially useful changes may not currently be feasible. Some features of the team may be “locked” or at least unchangeable in a meaningful way for the near future. For example, perhaps you can’t change the membership of your team—it is currently a “given.” When a flight crew to Mars lifts off, membership is closed; no changes will be possible. Other proposed changes may be outside the team’s control and require resources or support that are simply unavailable. You don’t want to invest too much time and effort on ideas that fall into the “can’t change” zone—instead you may want to seek alternative “work arounds.”

Any change you contemplate is likely to fall into one of the nine cells in the following matrix. The matrix offers some basic advice to help you prioritize proposed solutions for boosting your team’s effectiveness.

	Change Potential
Improvement Potential	Can’t Change	Challenging to Change	Easy to Change
Big boost	Create work arounds.	Worth trying	Do this now!
Moderate boost	Consider work arounds.	A solid maybe	Yes, do it.
Small or no boost	Let it go! (LIG)	Marginal	At some point