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Creating the Team Ecosystem β€” Exceleration Partners
Exceleration PartnersCertified by Team Coaching Internationalβ„’

Creating the Team Ecosystem for Powerful Results

The highest performing teams don't succeed by accident. They build thriving, balanced ecosystems β€” and measure what matters.

Jodie Charlop, NCC, CMC
Co-Founder, Exceleration Partners
Marty Murphy, CPCU, CMC
Co-Founder, Exceleration Partners
Productivity
Positivity
PeakPerformance
The Challenge

Your Team Is Your
Greatest Competitive Edge

Today's organizations face a myriad of obstacles β€” shifting demands, globalization, heightened pressure to perform, and the constant pull to innovate without losing focus on core goals.

Amidst this pace, you need time to grow your people and vital stakeholder relationships. To survive and thrive in today's rapidly changing world, counting on your team is critical to sustainable success.

"Every team creates its own unique culture β€” and that culture exerts tremendous influence on the team's ability to perform."

In great teams, the culture and spirit of excellence motivate members to contribute their best. In adrift teams, members feel aimless. The guiding question is: how can teams create the conditions for excellence to flourish?

Foundation

Five Characteristics of
Effective Teams

Based on extensive experience and work with Team Coaching Internationalβ„’, effective teams consistently exhibit these foundational characteristics.

01
Identity
A team is more than a collection of individuals. It is a dynamic, living entity with a past, a present, and an anticipated future β€” with its own personality and brand reputation.
02
Mission & Purpose
There is a clear reason for the team's existence. Members know that reason and understand how their individual contributions drive the team's mission forward.
03
Goals
Clear goals and milestones measure the team's progress. These benchmarks give members a tangible sense of direction and accomplishment.
04
Roles
Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and team members are genuinely interdependent. Each person makes an essential contribution to the shared mission.
05
Agreements
The team holds clear behavioral agreements and has a living process for updating and negotiating those agreements as circumstances evolve.
The Framework

Two Dimensions of
Peak Performance

Research by Team Coaching Internationalβ„’ across thousands of teams reveals that high performers build thriving ecosystems by mastering two interdependent dimensions.

Productivity Strengths support the team in achieving results, accomplishing tasks, and staying on course to reach goals. These seven attributes are measurable and essential.

Alignment
Common mission and purpose. The team values cooperation and collectively owns its results.
Goals & Strategies
Clear, challenging objectives linked to recognition, rewards, and compensation. Highly resilient in pursuit of goals.
Accountability
Clarity of roles with high follow-through. Team members actively hold each other accountable for agreements.
Proactive
Change is embraced as vital. The team is nimble and flexible, responding positively and creatively to opportunity.
Decision Making
Clear and efficient processes that have proven effective over time across varying circumstances.
Resources
The team effectively requests, obtains, and manages resources and training. Sufficient expertise to meet objectives.
Team Leadership
The leader's role is clear and supportive. Team members take initiative to lead as situations require.

Positivity Strengths focus on relationships between team members and the spirit of the team. They create the culture β€” the ground conditions for excellent work.

Trust
Safe to speak your mind without fear. Members count on each other and tell the truth even when it's uncomfortable.
Respect
Mutual respect and genuine positive regard. Contempt and hostility are not tolerated. Each member empowers others to contribute.
Camaraderie
Strong sense of belonging. The team celebrates accomplishments. Empathy, playfulness, and humor are present.
Communication
Clear, efficient communication is valued over indirect approaches like politicizing or avoiding necessary conversation.
Constructive Interaction
Conflict is seen as an opportunity for discovery and growth. Feedback is given and received well.
Values Diversity
Open-minded and genuinely values differences in ideas, backgrounds, perspectives, personalities, and lifestyles.
Optimism
An inspiring shared vision. Enthusiastic and forward-looking. Low levels of cynicism, pessimism, or helplessness.
Relationship Health

Toxins & Their Antidotes

World-renowned relationship expert Dr. John Gottman identified these patterns β€” what he calls relationship toxins β€” that creep in when team members feel powerless or frustrated.

⚠️ The Four Toxins

Attacking the person rather than the behavior. This erodes trust and makes it unsafe for team members to take risks or speak honestly.

Refusing to own your own behavior. Deflecting responsibility prevents the team from learning from mistakes and moving forward together.

Using hostile behavior such as sarcasm or cynicism. Contempt is particularly corrosive because it communicates fundamental disrespect for others.

Cutting off communication and withdrawing. When team members shut down, vital information stops flowing and problems compound silently.

✦ The Antidotes

When a toxin appears in conversation, call it out clearly and without judgment. Naming the pattern creates awareness and interrupts the cycle before it escalates.

Develop agreed-upon protocols for how your team will handle toxins when they emerge. A shared plan means no single person bears the weight of intervention.

Provide team members with more effective ways to express frustration, disagreement, or concern β€” so emotions find constructive outlets rather than destructive ones.

Team States

Where Is Your
Team Today?

The balance of Productivity and Positivity determines your team's performance state. Most teams move across these quadrants over time.

"When the ecosystem gets out of balance, consequences occur."

Before team development, fewer than 10% of teams self-identify as high performing. With the right investment, any team can shift its position.

High Positivity Β· High Productivity
Thriving & Energized
  • Successful and genuinely fun
  • Synchronicity and flow
  • Inspiring, challenging vision
  • Change-proactive
  • Open, honest communication
  • "How do we keep improving?"
Low Positivity Β· High Productivity
Burning Bright, Burning Out
  • Focus is pure efficiency
  • "Just Do It" bottom-line orientation
  • High turnover and retention problems
  • Guarded relationships
  • Clear objectives β€” but at what cost?
High Positivity Β· Low Productivity
Collegial but Adrift
  • Friendship-based, insular culture
  • Lack of effective focus
  • Conflict-averse β€” won't "rock the boat"
  • Incompetence tolerated
  • Fun, but not results-oriented
Low Positivity Β· Low Productivity
In Crisis
  • Atmosphere of blame and cynicism
  • Fear-driven, constant firefighting
  • Turf protection and sabotage
  • One step forward, two steps back
  • Morale is nonexistent
Reflect

Team Self-Assessment

Rate your team on all 14 dimensions using the 1–9 scale, or N/A if not applicable. Complete all to reveal your full spider graph.

0 of 14 dimensions rated
Productivity
Alignment
β€”
The team shares a common mission, values cooperation, and collectively owns its results.
Goals & Strategies
β€”
Clear, challenging objectives with aligned strategies, priorities, and strong resilience.
Accountability
β€”
Roles are clear, follow-through is high, and members actively hold each other to agreements.
Proactive
β€”
Change is embraced as vital. The team responds positively and creatively to opportunities.
Decision Making
β€”
The team has clear, efficient decision-making processes proven effective over time.
Resources
β€”
The team obtains and manages adequate resources and expertise to meet its objectives.
Team Leadership
β€”
The leader's role is clear and supportive. Members take initiative to lead as needed.
Positivity
Trust
β€”
Safe to speak openly without fear. Members count on each other and tell the truth even when hard.
Respect
β€”
Mutual respect and genuine positive regard. Contempt and hostility are not tolerated.
Camaraderie
β€”
Strong sense of belonging. The team celebrates wins. Empathy, playfulness, and humor are present.
Communication
β€”
Clear, direct communication valued over politicizing, gossiping, or avoiding necessary conversations.
Constructive Interaction
β€”
Conflict is an opportunity for discovery. Feedback is given and received well. Defensiveness is low.
Values Diversity
β€”
Open-minded and genuinely values differences in ideas, backgrounds, perspectives, and approaches.
Optimism
β€”
Inspiring shared vision. Enthusiastic and forward-looking, with low cynicism or helplessness.
Your Team Spider Graph
Rate each dimension to build your profile
Productivity
Positivity
Rate all 14 dimensions to reveal your full results
Take the Next Step

Ready to Build a
Thriving Team Ecosystem?

Using Team Coaching International'sβ„’ proprietary Team Diagnosticβ„’, you gain a measurable 360Β° snapshot of your team's strengths and challenges β€” then take actionable steps toward high performance.

Get the Team Leader Viewβ„’ Contact Exceleration Partners

excelerationpartners.com Β· [email protected] Β· 404-445-0070