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.