Tag Archives: team dimensions

Last updated by Steve Giles at 09/13/2018.

Developing Teamwork Using The Philosophy Of Phil Jackson

On a recent episode of “Bones” Dr. Temperance Brennan, played by Emily Deschanel, became intrigued by a book from Phil Jackson that outlined his management philosophy and style. As a result she pulled her team of interns together to work on an unsolved, cold-case murder. This murder occurred over 10 years ago and it seemed an impossible task to solve it now. Using the legendary basketball coach’s philosophy she challenged her team to take a look at solving the mystery through fresh eyes. This caused the interns to come together as a team, put aside egos and solve the mystery proving to them that when they pulled together as a team they could accomplish the impossible. An excellent object lesson for all of us trying to develop strong teams.

That’s When The Light Bulb Went Off

This started me thinking about teamwork and how it can energize an organization or doom it to repeated failure. Can we as business owners and leaders learn anything from a basketball coach? As organizational development consultants we at Intesi! Resources are always helping our customers tackle the issue of building, fostering and sustaining effective teamwork. We, as consultants, are always looking for knowledge and inspiration. How about you? Continue reading →

When Would You Use The Team Dimensions 2.0 Profile?

1 Reply

To Build Effective Focused Teams

Successful team members don’t do the same thing at the same time. They do the right thing at the right time. The Team Dimensions 2.0 Profile helps individuals work from their strengths by identifying their most natural team role, while giving them added appreciation for the contributions of others.

Discover the Right Roles for the Right People for Team Development

The Team Dimensions 2.0 Profile identifies the following five team roles:

Creators generate new ideas and fresh concepts.
Advancers communicate new ideas and carry them forward.
Refiners analyze ideas for flaws or revise projects systematically.
Executors deliver concrete results and seek successful implementations.
Flexers have an equal preference for most or all of the roles and can often adapt their styles to fit the team’s needs.

“Z PROCESS” Keeps Teams Moving in the Right Direction

The Team Dimensions 2.0 Profile maps the flow of assigning roles, completing tasks, and handing off tasks to other team members through the “Z Process.”

In this relay process, tasks are passed from Creators to Advancers, from Advancers to Refiners, and from Refiners to Executors. Flexers fill in the gaps to keep the process moving forward.

To Capitalize on Individual Strengths for Total Team Performance

As organizations rely more on teams to innovate, problem-solve, produce, and compete at the speed of change, understanding and capitalizing on individual approaches to group processes is key to creating high-performance teams. Use the Team Dimensions 2.0 Profile to:

Match individual strengths with team roles
Build team unity
Foster innovation
Shorten project cycle time
Reduce conflict

How Does The Team Dimensions 2.0 Profile Work? – Part II

5 Replies

In addition to the four approaches there are Four Basic Roles identified in the Team Dimensions 2.0 Profile:

Creator – The Conceptual and Spontaneous Approaches combine to form the Creator role. The Creator generates fresh, original, out-of-the-box concepts and ideas in ways that defy generally accepted structures or rules. The Creator perceives “the big picture.”

Advancer – The Spontaneous and Normative Approaches combine to form the Advancer role. The Advancer recognizes ideas and new directions in the early stages and develops ways to promote them. The Advancer uses insightful planning based on past experiences and proven methods to advance ideas towards implementation.

Refiner – The Conceptual and Methodical Approaches combine to form the Refiner role. The Refiner challenges concepts, often playing the devil’s advocate. Using a methodical process to analyze things in an orderly manner, the Refiner will detect flaws, identify potential problems, and suggest alternative solutions.

Executor – The Methodical and Normative Approaches combine to form the Executor role. The Executor lays the groundwork for implementation, ensuring that the process moves forward in an orderly manner to achieve high-quality results.

A fifth role, the Flexer, appears when an individual uses a combination of all four innovative approaches.

Flexer – The Flexer monitors the contributions of all team members and steps in to fill gaps in the team during the various stages of the process.

This information helps team development and the creation of a stronger and more cohesive team.