Team Management Profile (Margerison, McCann)

While the traditional unit of appraisal in an organization is the individual, increasingly the focus is on the team to get things done. The Team Management Profile, -Wheel and -Index (™) from Dr Charles J. Margerison and Dr Dick J. McCann constitute a method particularly useful for assessing work preferences in team context, and can also be used for assessing individual and organizational preferences.

The Team Management Profile Questionnaire is "a 64 item normative, forced-choice instrument which measures work preferences along the four key factors of relationships, information, decisions and organization. The scores on these constructs are then mapped on to the Team Management Wheel resulting in a major role preference and two related roles".

According to Margerison and McCann Types of Work Model, in general 9 essential team activities can be distinguished:

1. Advising. Gathering and reporting information.
2. Innovating. Creating and experimenting with ideas.
3. Promoting. Exploring and presenting opportunities.
4. Developing. Assessing and testing the applicability of new approaches.
5. Organizing. Establishing and implementing ways of "making things work".
6. Producing. Concluding and delivering outputs.
7. Inspecting. Controlling and auditing the working of systems.
8. Maintaining. Upholding and safeguarding standards and processes.
9. Linking. Coordinating and integrating the work of others.

Environments where diverse thinking is encouraged are believed to be conducive to innovation and finding better solutions.

Work preferences are measured in four main ways. First, preferences for extroverted and introverted work. Second, the balance between practical and creative work. Next, the influence of analysis and beliefs in decisions. Fourth, the extent to which you want to work in a structured or flexible way. These factors combined have a powerful influence on job choice, job satisfaction, motivation, teamwork, learning and development, and career moves.

This provides 8 team role preferences that people can perform in the Team Management Wheel (fig):

1. Reporter / Adviser. Supporter, helper, tolerant; a collector of information; he dislikes being rushed; knowledgeable; flexible.
2. Creator / Innovator. Imaginative; future-oriented; enjoys complexity; creative; likes research work.
3. Explorer / Promoter. Persuades, "seller"; likes varied, exciting, stimulating work; easily bored; influential and outgoing.
4. Assessor / Developer. Analytical and objective; developer of ideas; enjoys prototype or project work; experimenter.
5. Thruster / Organizer. Organizes and implements; quick to decide; results-oriented; sets up systems; analytical.
6. Concluder / Producer. Practical; production-oriented; likes schedules and plans; pride in reproducing goods and services; values effectiveness and efficiency.
7. Controller / Inspector. Strong on control; detail-oriented; low need for people contact; an inspector of standards and procedures.
8. Upholder / Maintainer. Conservative, loyal, supportive; personal values important; strong sense of right and wrong; work motivation based on purpose.

The Linking Role is shared by all team members. Work preferences reflect the psychology of the emotions and desires that you and others bring to the job. Where there exists a low alignment, or mismatch, then people tend to either adapt the job to their preference, or move to another job.

ORIGIN OF THE TEAM MANAGEMENT PROFILE. HISTORY

The study of group dynamics began after the end of the Second World War. The terms teams and teamwork, although common in sport, did not become commonly used within organizations until the 1970s. Work Preferences has links to the theory of Carl Jung on Individuation and Peter Drucker on developing personal strengths in the work context. It is the alternate to Type Theory, where assessments tend to stereotype people. Work preferences reflect choices that people make, rather than being stereotyped.

CALCULATION OF THE TEAM MANAGEMENT PROFILE. FORMULA

Measured by the Team Management Questionnaire, a 64 item set of questions to provide a 5000 word personal profile.

USAGE OF THE TEAM MANAGEMENT PROFILE. APPLICATIONS

Has been used by over 1000 organizations in more than 100 countries for:

• Teamwork improvement.
• Project staffing and management. Work allocation.
• Basis for continuing professional / individual development.
• Basis for leadership and talent management. Counseling.
• Cross functional teamwork communication.
• Recruitment and selection, career development and promotion.

STEPS IN ASSESSING YOUR INDIVIDUAL PROFILE. PROCESS

1. Self assessment via completion of the Team Management Questionnaire.
2. Receipt of personal Work Preferences Feedback Profile.
3. Reading and discussion on applications to work.
4. Action on the issues agreed.
5. Review of the results and the learning en route.
6. Sharing the above with colleagues and clients to improve performance.

STRENGTHS OF THE TEAM MANAGEMENT PROFILE. BENEFITS

• Particularly useful for putting together and managing project teams.
• Strengths of people are leveraged in teams.
• While individuals should be encouraged to work in areas that match their preference, it is the responsibility of the team as a whole to make sure all types of work are covered.
• Understanding work preferences, both your own and other people's, are vital to successfully managing colleague and client relationship, and improving personal performance.
• What we prefer we tend to practice, and what we practice is where we tend to perform well.
• Focus is on personality in work, less on personality / life in general.

LIMITATIONS OF THE TEAM MANAGEMENT PROFILE. DISADVANTAGES

• Focus is on personality in work, less on personality / life in general.
• Focus is on working in teams, less on individual scores or organizational scores.
• The dynamics of a group are the constantly changing relationships and influences that occur between the people within that group. Because of changing
  team composition and changing objectives, the dynamics of a team are rarely stable for very long.
• Conflict can be the result of having diverse personalities in a group, but a team that is committed to diversity will use conflict and disagreement to their advantage.
• Method is based on self-assessment. Not everybody is capable of making the right judgments and willing to be honest.

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE TEAM MANAGEMENT PROFILE. CONDITIONS

• Work preferences are important to people.
• People tend to practice what they prefer.
• People perform better in those areas that match their work preference.
• People do their best to ensure that these are satisfied in their jobs (or they will move on elsewhere).