Teamwork can be defined as the ongoing process in which information is exchanged regularly and intensively, activities are coordinated and tasks are flexibly taken over from other team members as needed. In the case of creative and interdisciplinary tasks – not necessarily uniform routine tasks – a team is more efficient than employees who sit in different departments and work on the tasks successively, because they can combine their entire know-how. The formation and development of teams thus becomes an important performance factor in organizations.
High-performing teams are characterized by mutual trust, good communication among each other, high commitment and professional time management of team members. In different phases of cooperation, team development measures ensure that optimal performance is maintained or (re-)established. Team development is therefore an ongoing process for optimizing performance and improving cooperation.
In an ideal team:
- everyone is seen with his or her strengths, accepted with his or her weaknesses and valued by all.
- everyone is supported in difficult business and personal situations.
- everyone can speak without fear, even make mistakes.
- everyone draws strength and confidence from being part of the team.
- everyone shows commitment and performs at his/her best.
- each member enjoys his or her work and develops both professionally and personally.
Above all, in an ideal team, the focus is not only on professionalism but also on the humanity of the employees. Satisfied, motivated and healthy team members who approach their work with joy and without fear are the best prerequisite for sustainably good results and competitiveness.
Every customized, goal-oriented team development process begins with an individual and team-related assessment of strengths, potentials, team roles, development areas, values and drivers. Hogan Assessments provide scientifically sound data to support individuals and teams in increasing their strategic self-awareness. Our colleague Dr. Marco Behrmann uses a case study to demonstrate the added value of appreciative and quality-conscious personality assessments also in the context of team development. The Hogan results describe the autopilot behavior of individual team members and the entire team. By autopilot we mean attitudes and behaviors that come easily to team members and that team members exhibit without conscious control or effort. Exhibiting other behaviors is possible but requires much more effort.
Fundamental questions addressed in a team development process based on the team’s Hogan results include:
- How do we lead and manage our area of responsibility? How do we work together?
- Where does our autopilot help us succeed? When should we allow a minority to influence the group?
- When should I be (more) accountable?
Hogan’s Motives, Values & Preferences Inventory describes what is important to us, our core values, main goals, intentions and motivators. Values are an important influencer of perception, experience and behavior. People perceive the world, other people, themselves and their work through their individual “value glasses”. In a team, there is often a variety of different values that are relevant for action and decision-making. Conflicts are often an indication of violated values and can endanger a team’s ability to work. And when different value systems clash, there is also room for innovation and creativity. Collaboration and the ability to work together are therefore prerequisites for success.
We have developed our own Hogan Team Report by RELEVANT, which enables teams to recognize:
- Where their strengths and potentials lie in order to move forward together in everyday life (Hogan Personality Inventory).
- What their biggest motivators are and how they make longer-term decisions (Motives, Values & Preferences Inventory).
- What prevents them from succeeding or how they are perceived under stress and pressure and in times of change (Hogan Development Survey).
- What are common distinctive behaviors that operate in the organization.
The higher the strategic self-awareness, the greater the understanding and acceptance of difference, and the greater the opportunity to actively manage individual and collective behavior. Feel free to contact us in a specific case for further information on our Hogan Team Report. The Hogan results can be linked very well with current topics, goals and challenges of the team, which leads to very concrete implications and development areas for the team.
Complex tasks can only be solved as a team. The success of a team depends on whether its members cooperate with each other in a goal-oriented manner. Only when different knowledge, different experiences, different perspectives and attitudes meet, are negotiated, innovative solutions and their successful implementation are possible.
At RELEVANT, we have been using Hogan Assessments for years on a daily basis in the selection and development of people. Hogan is the world’s leading provider of research-based assessment solutions. RELEVANT helps organizations use their personality assessments to reduce turnover and increase productivity by hiring the right people, developing key talent, and identifying leadership potential. Talk to us. We’re just an email or phone call away.
HOGAN makes personality RELEVANT.
