Delivering Insights Discovering Team Effectiveness
Your complete resource for confidently delivering DTE sessions — the natural next step after Insights Foundations.
Understanding Team Effectiveness
Get grounded in the DTE model — its purpose, the four pillars, eight elements, and the 32 attributes that make teams thrive.
Effective teams are the building blocks of successful organisations. DTE helps teams find their balance and deliver their best performance, even during the most difficult times.
Defining Moments
Every team faces defining moments — a change of leader, the merging of two teams, or reaching for new heights of success. DTE helps successful teams maximise their potential and helps teams in difficulty improve their dynamic.
How It Works
- Each team member receives an Insights Discovery Personal Profile
- Through facilitated discussions, exercises, and breakout sessions, the team learns how individual and team preferences affect dynamics
- The result: clear, practical action plans that accelerate the team's progress toward their goals
What DTE Provides
A framework for teams to identify the most pressing issues, diagnose and confront problems, improve relationships, inspire success, and ultimately increase productivity.
The DTE model is built around four pillars, each containing two elements, with four attributes per element — giving you 32 measurable attributes of team effectiveness.
🔴 Focus
Results Orientation: Accountability, passion for action, focus on deliverables, commitment to results
Shared Purpose: Strong mission, shared vision, clear objectives, potency & belief
🟡 Flow
Collaboration: Acting on feedback, collective problem solving, knowledge sharing, agility
Working Methods: Effective meetings, smart resources, clear roles, shared decision making
🟢 Climate
Trust: Openness & candour, mutual respect, acceptance of difference, reliability
Cohesion: Mutual support, belonging, pride, celebrating success
🔵 Process
Agility: Creative thinking, constructive challenge, embracing change, learning orientation
Measurement: Progress reviews, accountability, course correction, continuous improvement
Each of the 32 attributes has paired coaching questions designed to help teams go deeper and turn insights into action. These are organised by pillar and element for easy reference.
Example Questions
- Accountability (Focus): "What can be done to ensure team members hold each other accountable?"
- Passion for Action (Focus): "How can obstacles that get in the way of people taking action be removed?"
- Shared Vision (Focus): "How can you ensure that the shared vision is shared by all?"
- Potency & Belief (Focus): "What will you do to ensure the team believes in its ability to achieve objectives?"
The complete document covers all four pillars — Focus, Flow, Climate, and Process — giving you ready-to-use questions for any area the team identifies for improvement.
Pre-Session Planning
Diagnostic tools and guidance for your initial conversations with the team sponsor — and choosing the right delivery format.
Before any DTE engagement, use these 12 key diagnostic areas to understand the team's context and ensure you target the right solution.
The 12 Key Areas
- Team identity: Is this actually a team? What type and how are members interdependent?
- Lifecycle: Where are they in the team cycle — start-up, mid-project, or end stage?
- Scope: Are the team's activities clearly defined? What's in and out of scope?
- Success measures: How is the team's output determined as successful?
- Stakeholders: Who is the client? Who are the key stakeholders?
- Organisational context: How does this team fit with strategy and the wider organisation?
- Environment: How does the team interact externally? What networks exist?
- Support: Where does the team go for support and assistance?
- Leadership: Who leads formally and informally? What's the leadership style?
- Sponsorship: Who is the sponsor? How effective are they in that role?
- Expectations: What are the deliverables, timeframes, and are expectations aligned?
- Ways of working: Co-located or virtual? How do meetings and interactions happen?
In-Person Workshop (Full Day)
- Best for: Teams that can meet face-to-face, deeper relationship building, teams facing significant challenges, newly formed teams
- Duration: Full day (~09:00–17:00)
- Materials: Personal Profiles, Workshop Journals, Team Wheel, printed activity sheets
Virtual Session (2 Hours)
- Best for: Geographically dispersed teams, travel restrictions, follow-up sessions, teams already familiar with Insights Discovery
- Duration: 2 hours (+ 15 min setup)
- Materials: Virtual conferencing tech, Personal Profiles, pre-session e-learning completion
- Pre-requisite: Learners must complete the DTE e-learning module before the live session
Delivering In-Person
Everything for your full-day face-to-face DTE workshop — the complete agenda, facilitation guide, and activity sheets.
Morning Sessions
| Time | Session | Key Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Welcome & Introduction | Positioning and objectives |
| 09:10 | Metaphorically Speaking | Use metaphors to describe the team and open up key issues |
| 09:25 | Year in Review | Review how each colour energy has been used well, on a bad day, and when missing |
| 10:10 | Colourful Queues | Physical ordering activity — team members place themselves by colour energy intensity |
| 10:40 | Break | |
| 11:00 | Strengths in the Team | Review strengths of the eight types; define what each person brings |
| 11:25 | Team Wheel & Dynamics | Review wheel positions; determine what to stop, start, and continue |
| 12:00 | Your Value to the Team | Define personal value; team members give feedback |
| 12:45 | Lunch | |
Afternoon Sessions
| Time | Session | Key Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 13:30 | Adapting & Connecting | Review relationships; identify what to do more/less of with colleagues |
| 14:15 | Communication Part 1 | Review dos and don'ts for the four colour energies |
| 14:30 | Communication Part 2 | Complete team communication worksheet using profiles |
| 15:00 | Break | |
| 15:20 | Team Effectiveness Model | Evaluate performance; identify an area for improvement |
| 16:00 | Your Ideal Environment | Use profile statements to define what's needed for an effective environment |
| 16:20 | Team Commitments | Each member commits to something for each colleague |
| 16:45 | Reflection & Action | Key learnings about self and others; define actions going forward |
| 17:00 | Close | |
Team Wheel Discussion Activity Sheet
Guides the team through reviewing their wheel with five key discussion questions:
- What does the data tell you about the distribution of colour energies?
- Where are the collective strengths and how are they helping accomplish goals?
- What colour energy does the team use least? What challenges does this cause?
- How might dominant energies help or hinder communication with other teams?
- What actions could the team start, stop, or continue?
Assess Your Team Culture
A diagnostic tool where teams identify cultural indicators across all four colour energies — Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green, and Cool Blue — to understand the team's prevailing culture and where it could be more balanced.
A visual diagnostic tool using the 8-element model. Teams rate themselves across each element, identifying which are highly effective and which need attention.
The Eight Elements at a Glance
- Trust: Team members feel safe and comfortable to be authentically themselves
- Cohesion: A sense of belonging, mutual support, and pride
- Collaboration: Proactive knowledge sharing and collective problem solving
- Working Methods: Clear roles, effective meetings, and smart resource use
- Results Orientation: Accountability and passion for action
- Shared Purpose: Strong mission and clear, linked objectives
- Agility: Creative thinking, constructive challenge, and embracing change
- Measurement: Regular progress reviews and continuous improvement
Delivering Virtually
Your complete guide for the 2-hour virtual DTE session — agenda, learner kit, tech requirements, and ongoing virtual activities.
Pre-Session Checklist
- Learners complete the DTE e-learning module
- Facilitator reviews preparation questions and customises the agenda
- Allow 15 minutes before start time for technical setup (audio, visuals, camera)
Session Flow
| Time | Session | Key Activity | Tech |
|---|---|---|---|
| -15–0 | Setup | Audio and visual checks | Camera, mic, chat |
| 0–10 | Objectives | Review purpose; surface pre-work questions | Chat, mic |
| 10–20 | How Do You View Your Team? | Perception exercise — fun approach using categories | Open answer boxes |
| 20–35 | You and Your Team | Review Insights model, colour energy balance, team wheel | Poll questions |
| 35–60 | Communication, Value & Environment | Pick 2 of 3 exercises based on team objectives | Open answers, draw |
| 60–70 | DTE Model Overview | Re-cap the Team Effectiveness Model | Presentation |
| 70–80 | Your Team's Effectiveness | Review through lens of the four pillars | Open answer boxes |
| 80–85 | Rate the Eight Elements | Poll: most and least effective elements | Polls |
| 85–105 | Areas of Focus | Breakout room discussions; return with one tangible action | Breakout rooms |
| 105–115 | Committing to Action | Agree on a practical team goal | Open answer boxes |
| 115–120 | Contract of Commitment | Take-away exercise for ongoing collaboration |
Learning Objectives
At the end of the session, learners will be able to:
- Understand personal preference to work effectively in their virtual environment
- Know the value each team member brings to collective efforts
- Build stronger individual and team relationships without face-to-face contact
- Understand collective strengths and focus on development areas to achieve team goals
Virtual Learner Kit
- Insights Discovery Personal Profile (Foundation Chapter recommended; Management Chapter ideal)
- Access to the pre-session e-learning module
- Virtual session link and setup instructions
Learner Commitments
- Full engagement with facilitator, fellow learners, and materials
- Webcam on — highly recommended
- Quiet, private space for full participation
- Complete the self-directed pre-learning before the session
- Treat the session as if attending a face-to-face experience
These activities help teams embed Insights Discovery into their day-to-day virtual working. Share these with team leaders to sustain momentum after the session.
Meeting Openers
- Team wheel check-in: Start each virtual meeting by showing the team wheel and reminding the team of its collective energy distribution
- Colour energy reflection: Have members share how they leveraged each colour energy in their role that week
- Profile share: In each meeting, ask a team member to share one Value to the Team or Strength statement from their profile
Team Building
- "Things You May Not Yet Know About Me": Each person creates a one-slide personal intro with photos, images, and words — then presents to the team
- Work in Colour Review: Members describe their role and responsibilities through the lens of each of the four colour energies
Communication & Effectiveness
- Communication Matrix: Collect 2 do's and 2 don'ts from each person's profile and create a shared reference — especially helpful for understanding introverted members
- Pillar polls: Vote on which Team Effectiveness pillar is a current strength and which needs more attention — then discuss as a team
Post-Session & Ongoing Development
Sustain the momentum — change frameworks, coaching tools, and follow-up resources to keep teams progressing.
The Team Change Keys framework uses the four pillars to guide effective, lasting change after the initial DTE session. Use this with teams to maintain momentum and translate insights into sustained action.
Four Change Levers
- Refocus: Find new ways to look at obstacles and overcome them. Learn required skills through practice and feedback to build team capability
- Repeat: Use repetition to ingrain new working methods. Build team capability over time through consistent practice
- Choose a Change Coach: Select a supportive person the team trusts to support the changes and examine the defensiveness that prevents change
- Reconnect to Purpose: Ensure actions are tied back to the team's shared purpose and results orientation
Thought Starters for Teams
- What actions can I take so the team supports one another?
- How will you enable team members to acquire new skills through practice and feedback?
- How will we be more results oriented?
- How can we use repetition to ingrain new working methods?
After the workshop, the 32 attribute coaching questions become your most powerful ongoing tool. Use them in follow-up coaching sessions with team leaders and in team check-ins.
How to Use Them
- 1:1 coaching with the team leader: Focus on the 2–3 attributes the team rated lowest during the workshop
- Team check-ins: Use questions from the team's chosen focus area to drive discussion and accountability
- Quarterly reviews: Revisit the diagnostic to track progress and shift focus as the team evolves
Practitioner Tip
The most effective approach is to pair the coaching questions with the detailed attribute descriptions. Share the description with the team leader to build understanding, then use the questions to facilitate goal-setting and action planning around specific attributes.
📁 Complete Resource Library
Every resource in one place. Download what you need for your next DTE session.
