CASE STUDY: HIgh5Teams Approach

European Inside Sales team

The High5teams approach is a 90-day development programme that helps (remote) teams improve their communication, resilience, problem-solving, and positivity. It involves a questionnaire to assess psychological safety levels and verbal behaviour analysis, with team and individual feedback sessions. The programme has helped this inside sales team become more open, supportive, and efficient in their communication, leading to better results and team cohesion. 
" A number of people are much more open than before. There is more conversation below the waterline. They support each other more actively and the humour is further enhanced. The programme really helps!          I highly recommend this programme for other teams looking to grow together.."

- Linda Janssen Abdullah, Teamleader Medtronic

So what happened?

Through the 'High5teams approach', Linda's team underwent an assessments that measured their:
* psychological safety,
* attachment styles,
* dependability, and
* connection to organizational purpose.

The team discovered their different attachment styles and learned how they affected their relationships.
In workshops held three months apart, the team was observed and received feedback on their verbal behaviours, which resulted in changes in communication patterns, increased initiative, and more efficient meetings.

The team leader's behaviour also changed, encouraging team members to propose ideas. Through this journey, the team was empowered to choose their growth behaviours, resulting in positive changes for all team members.

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1 

       Challenges

The most important issues to work on for this remote working team were:
• How can this team become more resilient by accepting impactful organizational changes and moving on?
• How can ownership for resolving problems grow and can people find their own solutions?
• How can this team help each other to grow with a positive mindset to work and being less judgmental to others?
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2

      Process

STEP 1: High5team questionnaire
We kicked off the High5team process by giving the team a questionnaire to assess their psychological safety levels, attachment styles, dependability, and connection to the team's purpose and objectives.

STEP 2: Observing a team conversation
We then observed the team in a meeting to analyse their verbal behaviours and share the results of the questionnaire. The team was surprised to learn about their different attachment styles and how that influenced their interactions. We also helped the team sort their tasks and challenges to clarify what can be influenced and what cannot.

STEP 3: Team verbal behaviour feedback session
In the feedback session, we showed the team the patterns we observed in their verbal behaviours and provided individual feedback. We discovered that the team communicated more factually and task-oriented, but some team members preferred a deeper level of connection. The team leader also learned about her communication style and gave her ideas on what behaviours to focus on.

STEP 4a: Team session one-measurement
After three months, we observed the team's verbal behaviours in another meeting where they worked towards for them relevant conclusions.

STEP 4b: In the second feedback session, we compared the results of the zero measurement to the one-measurement and discovered that more team members were actively involved in the conversation, the airtime was more equally distributed, and the (situational) leaders managed the meeting more efficiently. Additionally, more team members disagreed, which could mean that the team is maturing and feels more secure to raise their voices.
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3

      Impact

This 90-day development programme has transformed this team into a more resilient, problem-solving, and positive mindset team. Using the High5team approach, the programme assessed the team's psychological safety, attachment styles, dependability, and connection to the organization's purpose.

Through workshops, verbal behavior feedback sessions, and observation, the team improved their communication, equalized airtime, and took ownership of their development.

The team leader noticed a positive change in the team's openness, active support, and humor. This programme has allowed individuals to identify their blind spots and make changes consciously or unconsciously, resulting in a transformed team that can inspire and grow together.