In the dynamic landscape of the modern workplace, fostering effective teamwork is essential for organizational success, and OD-Tools can play an important role in team building by providing valuable insights.

Accelerate Team Development with the TBFQ

TBFQ, the OD-Tools Teamwork Big Five Questionnaire, helps identify areas of strength and weakness within a team and can be used to track progress over time. It gets everyone on the same page and helps improve communication and collaboration within the team. By completing the survey, team members can reflect, clarify, and share their thoughts about how the team is functioning and identify areas for improvement. This can lead to increased openness and transparency within the team, which can improve communication and collaboration.

TBFQ informs managers and team members about the drivers of team effectiveness by distilling key messages from decades of scientific research into a concise format. It provides all the knowledge that team leaders and team members need to make teamwork work. As a diagnostic tool, it pinpoints the exact issues the team needs to improve and facilitates change by providing clear direction, leading to increased productivity and morale.

TBFQ assesses 48 indicators in the following areas: Shared Goals, Coordination, Team Spirit, Attention to Results, Adaptability, Psychological safety, Effective Communication, and Motivation. In addition to identifying areas of strength and weakness, the TBFQ can be used to track progress over time. This can be helpful in measuring the effectiveness of team development interventions.

The TBFQ is a team-level diagnostic tool and does not have individual reports. Trait-Map has both individual and group reports, it looks at the individuals that make up the team and the patterns of group dynamics of people with different traits making up teams. TBFQ and Trait-Map offer two entirely different yet complementary perspectives on team functioning.

Using Trait-Map for Effective Team Building in the Workplace

The Trait-Map Personality Assessment measures the key traits that influence how individuals think, feel, and behave at work and provides a scientific approach to understanding team members' preferences, strengths, and potential areas for development.

Enhancing Collaboration
Trait-Map includes a Team Role Report and a Collaboration Skill Tendency Report to improve communication and collaboration by describing team members' communication styles, work styles, and role preferences. Teams can use this knowledge to improve communication, reduce misunderstandings and role conflict, and promote effective collaboration.

Optimizing Team Roles
Trait-Map's Team Role Report provides insight into the dynamics of mixing the personality traits of team members as they form the team. It can highlight the missing behavioral components of team success and help teams strategically address these areas. This report also helps teams make the most of their diversity, leveraging their differences rather than frustrating each other.

Conflict Resolution
Trait-Map includes a Conflict Style Tendency Report that allows people to see if they may be overusing or underusing certain conflict management styles, or if they have unproductive conflict patterns. The report supports the path to more constructive conflict management, and understanding the personality dynamics within a team allows leaders to proactively address potential conflicts or implement targeted interventions.

Optimized Task Allocation
By understanding team members' strengths and preferences, managers can assign tasks that best match individual skills. This strategic allocation of tasks promotes efficiency and job satisfaction among team members.

Implementing Trait-Map in Team Building
Although Trait-Map is user-friendly, it is best practice to have a trained professional, such as an external or internal L&D trainer, to facilitate the assessment process. Professionals can ensure that the process is transparent and safe, that the results are interpreted accurately, and that all participants understand the constructive nature of the exercise. If conditions permit, provide feedback (one-on-one read-back) to individuals prior to the group session. Trait-Map makes it easy to conduct these feedback sessions on assessment results in a constructive and supportive manner, and provides employees with practical guidance on how to use this information for personal and professional development.

Incorporating Trait-Map into team building efforts is a strategic investment in organizational success. By understanding and leveraging the diverse personality strengths and preferences of team members, organizations can help teams become not only more productive, but also more resilient in the face of challenges.

More information about Trait-Map: Personality Assessment: Trait-Map®

More information about the Teamwork Big Five: Team Effectiveness: Teamwork Big Five Questionnaire

Written by: Gabor Nagy