We have developed and tested a new development tool in the TMS family which we call the Team Compass. We use this to obtain a measurement of how a work group as a whole deals with the different work functions described in the Team Management Wheel. The members of the team each answer a series of questions and evaluate both what characterises the group’s current way of working (the “is situation”) and what should be improved (the “should situation”). In this way an image is created of the group’s characteristics and motivation for change. The gap between “is” and “should” then becomes particularly important. On the basis of this, an in-depth analysis can be carried out of the group’s way of working and what should be improved in relation to the group’s tasks, challenges and work orientation. At the same time, the analysis can provide indications for particularly important management inputs. The Team Compass can be used without linking it to the TMP personal profile. The result is then exclusively based on the members’ perception of the group’s way of working.

This development tool thus measures the extent to which the group carries out the different work functions in the Wheel and what the group should do more of. The TMP personal profile measures a person’s work preferences, which can be seen as motivations for different types of work. They capture different aspects of a group’s dynamics but are constructed using the same language and concepts and can to advantage be combined in different ways.

The questionnaire is answered electronically in roughly the same way as the TMP.
The supervisor supplies us with information about the people involved and their email addresses. This is done using a specific template. The supervisor receives all information from the relevant focus person.

Response data from the group is collected and processed in our own Enalyzer system. The scale values are converted into percentage figures which state how characteristic different behaviours are in the different work functions. For example, out of 100%, perhaps 50% is organisation, 30% production and 10% review. This is the same construction which can be found in the TMP under the heading “Work preference distribution”. In this way the values in the TMP personal profile can be related to the group’s profile.