This is an attempt to check up on how a team is doing, based on https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/.
The ambition is to create a questionnaire that can be used to figure out how a team is doing, and in which areas it may need some support and coaching. Future improvements include better instructions, and ideally a collection of exercises that could be used to strengthen the different areas of the team: Psychological Safety, Dependability, Structure and clarity, and Meaning and Impact.
TODO: Detailed approach: Team introduction, Personal interviews, Present the results, Team coaching.
Do a personal interview with each team member. Quantify each question 1-5, and calculate the team average for each area, but also note down any answers that may give you clues to the root causes. If you think the team needs it, ask if the answers should be anonymised.
Both the quantitative and the qualitative results are of interest - the numbers to compare with other measurements of the same team, and the sentiments on what could be improved, and how.
The team is the main group of people with which you work. Make sure that this is properly defined for each health check.
What is this?
Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed? Is it safe to share ideas and solutions? Can you have healthy discussions, where any conflicts are resolved with no hard feelings? Can you allow yourself to feel vulnerable in front of the team? Is there a fear of conflict, or artificial harmony?
Questions
1.1 Do you feel it’s safe for everybody to share their ideas in team meetings, without getting judged or interrupted? 1 (no) - 5 (yes, it’s safe)
1.2 Do you feel like everybody's contribution is valued by the other team members? 1 - 5
1.3 Do you feel like the team can show vulnerability in front of each other, e.g. show that they don’t know something, or that they have changed your mind after reading up on a subject? 1-5
1.4 Do you think that the team is capable of raising and settling differing opinions in a healthy way, without lingering bad feelings? 1 (no) - 5 (capable)
What is this?
Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time? Is it OK to hold other team members accountable? Can you depend on your skills, and the skills of the team? Do you feel like the team has what you need in order to do your job the way you want to? Do you have the mandate to change the process? Do you have support from stakeholders and managers? Do you and the team adhere to high standards? Is the team committed?
Questions
2.1 Do you feel like the team has the skills, tools and resources (time, budget, staffing) required to do their job? 1 - 5
2.2 Do you feel like the team can successfully commit to finish a certain amount of work for a certain deadline? 1 - 5
2.3 Do you feel like the team can hold team members accountable if they don’t do their job properly? 1 - 5
2.4 Do you feel like the team has the necessary support from any stakeholders or outside actors you depend on? 1 - 5
What is this?
Are goals, roles, and execution plans on the team clear? Do you know what the priorities are? What the vision is? Are you measuring the right things? Is there a prioritised “backlog" of items to accomplish? Is it clear who can prioritise this backlog? Are roles, responsibilities and deadlines clear? Are the results known and shared?
Questions
3.1 Do you feel like you have a good understanding of the team’s / project’s vision and roadmap? 1 - 5
3.2 Do you feel like the team has clear, measurable KPIs or goals, and do you know what they are? 1 - 5
3.3 Do you feel like the roles and responsibilities in the team are clear enough to you? 1 - 5
3.4 Is there a prioritised “backlog” or checklist of items to accomplish? 1 - 5
What is this?
Meaning: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us? Does it have personal meaning? Professional meaning? Do we have a defined team purpose?
Impact: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters? Does your work impact the project? Does the team’s work have an impact on the system it works within? Impact in the organisation, on your customers, on society?
Questions
4.1 Do you feel like working on this team can help you reach your professional or private goals? 1 - 5
4.2 Do you feel like this team has set up goals that are useful for your organisation / client / end-users? 1 - 5
4.3 Do you feel like your work is impacting the team positively? 1 - 5
4.4 Do you feel like the team's work is impacting the organisation / client / end-users positively? 1 - 5
What do you count as a team?
Any group of people, ideally smaller than 10 people, working toward the same goals.
Does this only work with software development teams?
I've tried to make the questions broad enough to work with any team, but you may have to adapt them a bit depending on what the team in question uses e.g. to keep track of the work that they need to do.