Tools to build awareness, clarity and consensus.

I believe that having some tools to support our coaching with individuals and teams can go a long way to building awareness and deepening understanding.  

One of my favourites for teams, is a questionnaire by Peter Hawkins and Renewal Associates to support his model: High Value Creating Team questionnaire. The questionnaire helps teams to think about the areas of strength they are noticing along with potential areas of growth. 

The questionnaire guides participants through a series of 18 questions to which they respond with a rating of where they believe they are right now as well as a ‘where do we need to be’ score. As teams seek to better understand both their internal roles and relationships and their outward facing interactions and connections with stakeholders, this tool has been proven to really help them focus together on what matters.

Is the team clear on their purpose? Are their roles and responsibilities laid out and being implemented? How do they connect with and communicate to their stakeholders? How do they ensure their ongoing learning as a team?

I find this a great framework to start the conversations about really leveraging the team’s strengths in service of what matters most. Recently an article I wrote was published in HQ Magazine (put together by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police), in which I discuss how the results from the High Value Add Team questionnaire guided my work with a strong group of leaders at Peel Police. In short, the tool bolstered the hard work they were already doing. Read the full article here.

How do you help your teams create high value together?