Team Assessment “Where are we today?”

David Hutchens & Go Team David Hutchens is an author whose book series, The Learning Fables, features titles such as “Outlearning the Wolves”, and has sold more than a quarter million copies. He is the creator of “GO Team,” a library of 18 modules on team-related topics that allow you to easily assemble a learning agenda to support the teams in your organization. Learn more at or This Powernoodle Solution was created with Powernoodle Expert David Hutchens

Why Powernoodle? ► Powernoodle sessions are built to help groups quickly and respectfully make decisions that everyone understands, supports and is willing to implement. ► In this Powernoodle, team members will assess the team’s areas of strengths and weaknesses. 3

When members become part of a self-directed team, they embrace responsibility for their own growth and development. While a Team Leader may organize this Team Assessment Powernoodle, many teams find that an outside facilitator brings added value and objectivity to the Team Assessment. A facilitator can pull the background information together and keep the group moving forward. 4 Building a more successful team.

Characteristics of a great team A well-functioning team has the following characteristics:  Acts according to shared operating guidelines;  Has a clear, shared understanding around team purpose and team goals;  Recognizes and leverages the style differences of different team members; and  Exercises team creativity.

A team member is functioning well when he or she:  Communicates  Runs effective meetings;  Makes decisions;  Manages conflict;  Builds trust;  Gives and receives feedback; and  Manages change. What does a great team member do? 6

Why do a performance assessment? By assessing the team’s performance, team members will:  Have a clear idea of where the team’s strengths are  Have a clear idea of where the team’s deficits are, which allows them to be purposeful in planning the team’s future development  Increase their own sense of ownership of the team’s health, and empowerment for taking charge of the team’s future growth. 7

The Powernoodle Report is a tool for action.  The Powernoodle Report is a powerful tool in the strategic planning process.  The report is created automatically moments after your session ends.  It is available as an EXCEL download to all participants.  It captures every discussion thread for future reference and action.

Using this guide: A Powernoodle session has an Organizer and any number of Participants. This guide is designed for an Organizer and discusses some features of Powernoodle that are available only to the Organizer. This guide also contains information about the role of Participants in a Powernoodle session.

Desired outcome: an Action Plan to address weaknesses and celebrate strengths. 1.In this Powernoodle session, the Organizer will: 2.Create the Powernoodle Session. 3.Create two Team Assessment Questions, for example: “What are the team’s strengths?” “What are the team’s weaknesses?” 4.Invite all participants via into the Powernoodle Session. Provide guidance to Participants at each step throughout the Session. Looking for more detailed directions? Watch the Organizer Training Series videos Looking for more detailed directions? Watch the Organizer Training Series videos

The Organizer’s Session Room 11 Explain the purpose of the session. This will also appear on the Agenda and the Invitation to Participants. Your group can work on one or several related questions in a session. List of invited Participants.

The Organizer’s job: In this Powernoodle, the Organizer will lead the group through Brainstorm, Vote, Rate, and Action Plan steps. The Organizer will lead the group through the two Questions concurrently. The group will finish the Brainstorm step in both before moving to the Category step in each, then complete the Voting in each, then the Rating step in each and the two Action Plans.

The Organizer’s job: Brainstorm – encourage Participants to add all their ideas in each Question. Consider how well your team accomplishes the following:  Acts according to shared operating guidelines;  Has a clear, shared understanding around team purpose and team goals;  Recognizes and leverages the style differences of different team members; and  Exercises team creativity.

The Organizer’s job: Vote – set the number of votes per Participants and make sure everyone has a chance to vote. Set the ‘single-criteria’ Rating for the Powernoodle sticky notes of 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=agree, 4=strongly agree for the following statement: “This will have an impact on the ability of this team to work together effectively to achieve its purpose.” Create an Action Plan – what tasks should the team undertake to nurture the strengths and counter the weaknesses of the team?

Preparing for the next step with the Powernoodle Report. 15 Each tab captures all content from each step. Spreadsheet available for immediate download for all participants. Saves time and maintains buy-in to decisions.

Now that team members have a clearer idea of their areas of strength or deficit, they should plan for their own development. GO Team provides a library of easy-to- deliver training modules that address the very same team needs that were highlighted in this Powernoodle session. Pick the modules that are specific to your team’s development needs, and build your own training agenda! More resources for you 16 Explore GO Team’s Library of 18 Modules! Level 1: Setup for Success 1.Getting Grounded in Team Basics 2.Creating Team Operating Guidelines 3.Establishing Team Purpose and Goals 4.Clarifying Team Roles 5.Building on Style Differences 6.Assessing the Team Level 2: Go Team! 7.Enhancing Team Communication 8.Running Effective Team Meetings 9.Making Team Decisions 10.Avoiding Groupthink 11.Resolving Team Conflict 12.Solving Team Issues Level 3: See You at the Top 13.Building Team Trust 14.Giving and Receiving Feedback 15.Sharing Leadership 16.Sparking Team Creativity 17.Managing Change 18.Leveraging Team Learning

For detailed examples and directions, you can:  Watch the Powernoodle Organizer Training Series videos.  Log in and visit the Help section.  Contact us at  Join the Powernoodle user groups online. Powernoodle Help and Support 17

David Hutchens and GO Team

Powernoodle Template Team Performance Assessment by David Hutchens and Powernoodle Inc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at and and