Late last year, we were thrilled to launch our new Apps for Team Management E-Profile users. We were even more thrilled to see many accredited Network Members trial these new features over the last couple of months. As always, our goal of introducing these new features for the Team Management Profile is to enhance the Profile feedback so our accredited facilitators can continue to deliver more value to their learners and clients.

Do you ever feel that your team’s work is under-valued? Do you slog it out from dawn to dusk and no one notices?

Many teams feel forgotten. They work hard and they work well as a team, but they don’t seem to reap the same rewards or recognition as others. Why is this so?

One answer lies in the Types of Work these teams are not doing. They may be pushing forward to achieve their targets and working up a heavy sweat in the process however, this “nose to the grindstone” attitude maybe preventing them from seeing the bigger picture.

Continuing from my previous blog on this topic, let’s look at specific things that could be done to address a situation where two people just don’t get on...

Recently I was asked in a workshop, ‘How does Team Management Systems (TMS) help two team members who just do not get on.’

For many people, there are few things that are as counter-productive, stressful and difficult to manage as when there is animosity between members of a team. This tension is not only to the detriment of morale within the group, it also exerts a more tangible impact on operations through things like constricting information flow and resource sharing, increasing absenteeism and attrition, the list extends ad nauseum.

When introducing and working with the TMS concepts, it’s a good idea to follow the steps that Dick McCann and Charles Margerison took when they first developed the Team Management Profile (TMP). Dick and Charles developed the Types of Work Model, then the Work Preference Measures and finally the Team Management Wheel.

If you divide your introductory session into this order, participants have the chance to stay equally focused on their work through the Types of Work Model, their preferences through Work Preference Measures and finally their individual and team Profile through the Team Management Wheel. This logically leads to value added discussion around the impact the Team Management Profile has on performance and what the individual or the group needs to do to improve it. Many people find the graphic below helpful in illustrating how the Team Management Profile was developed.

Apply the Types of Work Wheel as a Team Review

The Types of Work Wheel is a convenient way of looking at the different approaches to work. The model consists of nine key teamwork factors. These cover all aspects of teamwork in every organisation.

To realise the full potential of teamwork, all teams must perform well on all of the nine factors. If any factor is weak, then the team needs to analyse the deficiencies and put plans into place to strengthen that function. The Types of Work Wheel therefore, is a practical tool which provides a framework and checklist for action.

How did the Clean Seas Tuna team get it so right?

The tank-bred tuna system, invented by Clean Seas Tuna of Port Augusta, Australia, was selected by Time magazine as the second best invention of 2009, beating competitors such as the electric eye and an AIDS vaccine. The team must have had a checklist to ensure they covered off on all the tasks required, to get a product from inception to market, and get it right from the start, they must have had the right people in the right jobs.