Conversing with another teamwork author is a real treat, so I was delighted when Steve Ritter offered such a holiday gift. Steve, author of Team Clock, joined me on my couch for a video interview. While the video quality is decent (Steve got the good light ; ), his insights steal the show.

So, check out the interview by clicking the play button above. It’s been painfully pared down to nine golden minutes to make it readily watchable, but if you’re not ready to commit to all that just yet, read on…

I’d learned about “forming, storming, norming, and performing” as stages of team development, but heard little other exploration of this concept. So, when Steve’s publisher asked me to provide feedback on a draft of Team Clock, the book surprised me. Steve imbued a depth and elegance to the notion of stages in team development.

The summary premise is below, courtesy of the Team Clock Institute website (though the shoddy image pasting is on me ; ).

“The Team Clock™ model is a face clock where each hour represents a stage along the path of team development. The key to utilizing the Team Clock is to evaluate where your team is currently situated (or stuck) within the cycle. Team members invest in a vision for the future with initial caution (1:00 Investment/2:00 Testing) until a group structure is set that defines the uniqueness of the team (3:00 Dependence). From this platform, trust develops (4:00 Trust/5:00 Cohesion) leading to a unified sense of attachment and commitment to the goals of the team (6:00 Attachment). This closeness produces the fuel for innovation and measured risk (7:00 Innovation/8:00 Risk) resulting in productivity and freedom (9:00 Independence). Following accomplishment, team members reposition themselves (10:00 Distancing/11:00 Separation) as the group prepares for whatever shift in roles best supports further growth (12:00 Loss).”

Three helpful takeaways from the book and interview:

• Teams are always evolving—either healthily or unhealthily.
• Teams who under-invest at a certain stage often get stuck in that stage…or advance only to feel the repercussions later.
• Key to evolving as a team is pushing through some personal emotions (both the comfort and discomfort) to get to the next stage.

The short book offers some real gems for anyone trying to better understand teams. It hasn’t released to stores yet, but copies are available at the Team Clock website.