Team Canvas (Evaluation)
What’s this about?
The Team Canvas is a concise blueprint designed to foster high-performance teamwork on a single page.
The basic canvas illustrates the three core elements, align, collaborate and learn, then describes two essential building blocks for team effectiveness in each: Direction and Focus, Connection and Synergy, Awareness and Tempo
The aim here is to use the Team Canvas to identify and quantify team strengths and gaps so you can define development priorities for your team and affirm ways of working.
Why is it important?
The Team Canvas gives you a framework to describe, create and evaluate the way your team, or any team, is set up and how it operates. This helps create a shared view of what high performance teamwork means and the optimal tools needed to sustain and grow team effectiveness.
How does it work?
To fully set up your team we recommend a process covering five phases: Evaluate, Envision, Assemble, Implement and Adapt as described in Chapter 10. A Blueprint for Teamwork. Here we use the Team Canvas to evaluate your team in an activity of approximately 45 minutes.
Aim: The aim of this phase is to identify and quantify team strengths and gaps so you can define development priorities for your team and affirm ways of working.
Step 1. Download the Team Canvas (Evaluation) and if possible, arrange for it to be printed in poster size - or alternatively draw the canvas on a whiteboard or equivalent online format.
Step 2. At the opening of the team meeting / workshop explain how the Team Canvas framework is based on the ACL loop and highlight the six building blocks, encouraging questions along the way.
Step 3. Work through the canvas one building block at a time by applying a rating scale from –5 (significant derailer) to +5 (significant enabler). Ask each individual to rate the team against the two prompting items by placing Post-it notes or notes with their rating in the appropriate spots.
Step 4. Use a large Post-it to show the range and average score for each item in that block (there is an example in the book)
Step 5. Encourage a brief discussion to draw out reasons for the ratings in that block, and record those insights.
Step 6. Over approximately 45 minutes guide the team to rate and discuss each item until the Team Canvas provides a one-page view of the current maturity of the team in every area of the canvas. This will enable you and the team to identify and agree the key strengths to leverage and areas where improvement will be beneficial.
Apart from providing a clear sense of strengths and gaps, the Team Canvas Evaluation is also an excellent team development activity because it encourages everyone to contribute equally and agree a shared path forward.