1. This workshop uses 6 dimensions to frame the reflection and discussion. Write these and show them on a screen for the team to copy.
- Team Relations & Environment
- Information & Decision-Making
- Responsibility & Accountability
- Learning & Individual Purpose
- Collective Purpose
- Profit & Productivity
Draw 5 horizontal lines, splitting it into 6 equal sections and label each section with a dimension.
2. Now give them 30 minutes to reflect on these dimensions in silence. Individually, they should write down statements that apply to each dimension. These should all complete the sentence: As a team, we… (zooming in and adding as post-its)
Some will likely be positive or celebratory, others will likely be critical or development oriented. Ask members to arrange their statements, with the most development-oriented on the left and the most celebratory on the right.
Facilitator notes: This workshop is not about blaming individuals for the team performance. When reflecting and analyzing the team we are talking about the team as a whole, as an organism in and of itself.
3. On a whiteboard draw a large version of the 6 sections that they have been working on. The aim of this step is to bring everyone’s statements together to see where the team agrees and disagrees on the 6 dimensions.
One-by-one, invite the team members to share 2-3 post-its from each dimension. They should just read out what they have written. No additional explanation or justification is necessary at this point.
Again, they should put the more development-oriented statements to the left, and the more celebratory statements to the right.
4. The aim of this step is to narrow down the statements and remove any clear duplications.
Invite someone from the team to cluster the statements in silence. When they feel they are finished, ask the group if anyone feels strongly about changing the clusters. If they do, invite them up to make the changes.
Repeat this until nobody objects to the clustering. It may take a few rounds, but eventually you will arrive at a selection of statements that nobody strongly disagrees with. This is a consent-based group decision.
5. The aim of this step is to see what statements the group feels strongly about. You are going to do that through dot voting.
Ask the team members to look at the clustered statements. They should add a dot on the statements that they thing are important to this team. The things they think should be addressed, changed, or celebrated. There is no limit to the amount of dots they can use.
When everyone is finished voting, step back and look at the board / flipchart. The spread, density, and frequency of the dots will give you an immediate sense of what the team thinks is important.
6. The aim of this final step is to figure out the next steps!
Now is the time for a group discussion. The team should decide what to do with this information. Here are a few suggestions:
- Formally celebrate the positive statements in some way.
- Schedule 6 discussion sessions over the next few weeks, each one focused on one development-oriented statement from one of the dimensions.
- Present the document to another team, or to the whole company at an All Hands meeting or Brown Bag session.
- Run the Engineering Your Team OS workshop next week, to redesign your team’s operating system in a highly deliberate manner.
Facilitator notes: Editability and collaboration is key to this document being useful. The information and insights belong to the team. It is now the team’s responsibility to make change.