11. Track & Report Team Progress for Next 90 Days
In Step 11 of our 12-step course in how to design a Right-Minded Team Building Workshop, you’ll learn how to:
- Ensure a method for tracking team building progress is designed and agreed upon
- Agree how to report progress and to whom
To Track or Not to Track Team Progress
Rarely do teams resist agreeing to track actual performance.
But don’t be surprised if many of your teams don’t follow through.
Your job is to emphasize the importance of this step until the team experiences the benefits of tracking their progress. When that happens, they will not need your constant encouragement.
You will discuss this topic in the early design steps with the leader, but you certainly want to discuss it before the workshop outcomes and agenda are finalized.
Your goal is to ensure that the leader is not only in favor of tracking but that they are prepared to propose strategies if teammates don’t suggest viable options at the end of the workshop.
Suggestions for Tracking Team Performance
Fine-Tune Work AgreementsA Work Agreement is a collective teammate promise to transform non-productive, adversarial behavior into collaborative teamwork behavior. More
- Conduct 1-to-2-minute agreement “moments” at the beginning of team meetings to remind teammates of the agreement’s essential elements.
- Conduct a 30-minute fine-tuning discussion within two weeks of the workshop and every 4–6 weeks thereafter. See below for more instruction.
Conduct the RMT survey every 3 months.
- The first survey will be valuable, but the third and subsequent ones will be even more valuable because you will see performance trends as they develop.
Identify 3–5 current process measures
Some examples are:
- improved customer-supplier communications
- reduced project-service mistakes
- improved scheduling efficiencies.
Create 1–2 improvement projects and track results.
- For example, if your team meetings could be more efficient, streamline the process and measure the improvement.
Report Team Progress to Stakeholders
When teammates make real progress, it motivates individuals to keep improving teamwork.
And when the team reports their actual progress to their key stakeholders [customers, leadership team, suppliers], it motivates teammates even more. In the Resouces section of your book, you will find a Report of Improvement template that your team could use.
Real Example
This is a story of how a team used the Team Perception Survey as one of their methods for tracking their performance.
They showed $351,000 in savings and 45% overall teamwork improvement.
Article: Work Agreements Bring People Together. Click Here.
About Fine-Tuning TeamWork Agreements
Creating Work Agreements is 50% of the team building improvement effort.
The second 50% is living and following those Work Agreements.
I don’t like saying this, but if your teammates do not fine-tune their agreements in the first few weeks, they’re probably not going to live them. Hopefully, your team will follow through.
Remember: To make these work agreements (ultimately) means nothing, but to live them means everything!
Lessons Learned about Fine-Tuning Agreements
- It’s normal for teams to experience a “halo effect” after the initial workshop. It will not last for more than 2–3 weeks. It is critical that they spend time reviewing, fine-tuning, and re-committing to their work agreements.
- It is impossible and impractical to think that everyone will live the agreements perfectly.
- Therefore, it is important to remember that living them perfectly is not the only goal;
- being able to recover when one teammate breaks the agreement is also your goal.
- When people begin to live the agreements more habitually, the team can gradually abandon the agreement review moments.
- Never laminate the agreements and give to other teams; they will not work for them.
- It’s possible that some teammates will remain skeptical of their work agreements even after they have participated in creating them. Encourage them by saying,
- “If you keep the agreements and hold others accountable, in a safe and supportive way, the agreements will work.”
- IMPORTANT: Catch teammates living the spirit and letter of the agreement and praise them.
Now, for the next 90 days, teammates do their best to improve their teamwork.
Around day 70 following the workshop, contact the leader and discuss the next steps—which we’ll cover tomorrow in Step 12.
Can’t Wait? Links to All 12 Lessons
Over 2 Hours of Audio Instruction from Dan Hogan, Certified Master Facilitator.
These lessons will continue to arrive in your email.
Introduction – How to Design a Right-Minded Team Building Workshop |
Step 1 – Start with the End in Mind. Leader Defines Purpose |
Step 2 – Leader Meets Facilitator. Shares Purpose & Outcomes |
Step 3 – What the Leader Wants May Not Be What the Team Needs. Facilitator Uncovers Root Causes |
Step 4 – Facilitator Presents First Draft Team Building Plan to the Leader |
Step 5 – Leader Announces Workshop and Prepares Teammates |
Step 6 – Facilitator Conducts 9 or 20 Question Right-Minded Teamwork Survey |
Step 7 – Facilitator Interviews All Teammates |
Step 8 – Facilitator Presents Second Draft Plan to Leader |
Step 9 – Leader & Facilitator Finalize Agenda and Workshop Plan |
Step 10 – Achieve Workshop Outcomes |
Step 11 – Track & Report Progress for the Next 90 Days |
Step 12 – Leader & Facilitator Begin Designing the Second Workshop |