Teamwork Exercise: Assessing the Strength of our Collaboration
Introduction
The work a team does together often determines its success. This exercise is designed to give your team a “snapshot” of its strengths and weaknesses along several dimensions of collaboration.
Exercise Purpose
The purpose of this exercise is to discuss and better understand the characteristics of a high performing team; assess the current state of the teamwork in your group; and begin to work on areas that will improve the functioning of your team.
Exercise Instructions
- Complete the collaboration survey. Answer the questions based on your
own personal experience with your team. This is not a group exercise.
Questions are to be answered individually. Please do not put your name
on the survey.
- Aggregate the responses of all team members to each question by averaging scores.
- Based upon these averages, prepare a list of final scores to each question.
- Discuss the two items that scored the highest (low numbers) on the
collaboration survey and why you believe this is so. Think of specific
events or accomplishments that demonstrate these high scores.
- Discuss which items scored the lowest (high numbers) and why. Consider
if any specific events caused lower scores for these items.
- Select three to five of the lowest scoring items on the list and propose
actions that might help improve the scores.
- Your team should select someone to be responsible for ensuring that
the team:
- Continues to discuss the highest priority (highest) scores and develops an action plan to address each; and
- Completes this exercise at 6–month intervals. (This step is designed
to continue to improve your group’s collaboration and teamwork
during the life of your work together.)
- Note these items on your team’s workplan.