Team Evolution Curve is a facilitated discussion you can use with your team about where they are now and what they need to do to evolve.

If your goal is to become a high performing team then this tool will help you get there by helping participants see what it is they need to improve.

Objective

To agree the characteristics a team believes they share and what they think they should concentrate on to move them to where they want to be.

When Would You Use It?

In any team situation where the team would like to develop relationships and improve performance.

30-45 minutes.
This exercise is best done at the end of a workshop when the teams have had time to get comfortable with each other.
Emphasize at the start that the ultimate goal might not be to become a high performance team.
You have a choice when they discuss where they are and where they want to be. You either leave them to it or you facilitate the discussion (preferred).
Don’t spend too much time on the explanation of the curve. Just make sure they get the key points of each position.
Don’t tell them in advance about the cocktail party as they will not want to do it (embarrassment). You may choose to tell the client but it is your judgment.

The Team Performance curve.
Multiple copies of the 5 definitions of a team’s evolution (1 for each team member).
A large room with plenty of open space so people can easily meet privately in the ‘cocktail party’ phase.

Be politely honest about your current state.
Do not get too personal with other members of your team.
Do not point fingers of blame at others too harshly – “we would be a ‘real team’ if you didn’t ____________”.

Facilitator	Participants
Leads the process.	Approaches the session with an open mind.
Creates a safe environment to allow total honesty to emerge.	Works through the process under the guidance of the facilitator.
Focuses on getting through the process.	Listens to the views of others.
Promotes openness & honesty.	Helps the team attain the goal.
Focuses on getting through the process.

The Facilitator shows the Participants The Team Evolution slide.
Each phase is explained and discussed so everyone understands the characteristics of each phase.
The Facilitator invites them to discuss the characteristics they believe they share and what they think they should concentrate on to move them to where they want to be.
The Participants draw up a 2 or 3 point high-level action plan on on what would move them forward.
The Facilitator finishes the session with a “cocktail party” exercise where each team member has private one-to-one standing up conversations with everyone in the room saying “What I respect about you” and “What I would like you to pay attention to”.

It's important that the facilitator creates a safe environment for the team if total honesty is to emerge.
Do not suggest they want to get to High-Performing Team. They might be happier and better where they are or having moving towards a real team as their ultimate goal.
The cocktail party can be very emotional (sometimes with hugs and tears). Just let it happen it is a great finish.
If the team is fragile then in the ‘cocktail party’ phase only concentrate on what they respect about each other..
The cocktail party is not a gimmick. It is an opportunity for team members to have meaningful conversations. Stay in the room but out of the way and do not listen in.

Team Evolution Curve

No significant incremental performance need or opportunity that would require it to become a team.
The members interact primarily to share information, best practices, or perspectives and to make decisions to help each individual perform within his or her area of responsibility.
There is no call for either a team approach or a mutual accountability requirement.

This is a group for which there could be a significant, incremental performance need or opportunity, but it has not focused on collective performance and is not really trying to achieve it.
It has no interest in shaping a common purpose or set of performance goals, even though it may call itself a team.
Pseudo-teams are the weakest of all groups in terms of performance impact.
In pseudo-teams, the sum of the whole is less than the potential of the individual parts.
They almost always contribute less to company performance needs than working groups because their interactions detract from each member’s individual performance without delivering any joint benefits.
For a pseudo-team to have the option of becoming a potential team, the group must define goals so it has something concrete to do as a team that is a valuable contribution to the company.

There is a significant, incremental performance need, and it really is trying to improve its performance impact.
Typically it requires more clarity about purpose, goals, or work products and more discipline in hammering out a common working approach.
It has not yet established collective accountability.
Potential teams abound in organizations.
When a team (as opposed to a working group) approach makes sense, the performance impact can be high.
The steepest performance gain comes between a potential team and a real team; but any movement up the slope is worth pursuing.

This is a small number of people with complementary skills who are equally committed to a common purpose, goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.
Real teams are a basic unit of performance.
The possible performance impact for the real team is significantly higher than the working group.

This is a group that meets all the conditions of real teams and has members who are also deeply committed to one another’s personal growth and success.
That commitment usually transcends the team.
The high performance team significantly outperforms all other like teams, and outperforms all reasonable expectations given its membership.
It is a powerful possibility and an excellent model for all real and potential teams.