An overview by Peter Dunn - TMS accredited Maximillion Facilitator
Introducing
The Team Management Profile, usually known as TMS (team management system) provides individuals with a report on their preferences for working within a team and enables study of how a team works together. The model has its roots in Carl Jung's work, and measures someone's approach to work in 4 areas:
- extroversion-introversion
- practical-creative
- analytical vs. belief-based decision making
- structured-flexible approach to work
Key features
The report identifies one main preference and two related preferences. It places people in one of eight segments of a wheel, and typically their secondary preferences are in neighbouring segments.
This visual and colourful approach makes it very accessible to staff. For example, you can map out where a team's preferences lie, and discuss the distribution of staff preferences relative to the type of work done by the team. It's also about learning to value differences. As examples, people in opposing segments will take an opposite approach to some aspect of their work leading to useful discussion. For example depending on the segment, people in the same segment can spark off each other. It provides language and a focus for people to talk more safely about others' behaviour.
Key benefits
We sometimes get asked what difference it has made. One senior manager completely restructured her management team meeting agenda to improve the inclusion of certain staff. On the other hand, one person, in front of the team said "now I know why I hate my job!" (and she left 3 months later - probably good for the team as well in the long run). Usually the changes are more subtle, like learning to think more about who the best person for a task might be. We have also used it and its related tools in career counselling, to help people understand their relationship to work.
What also makes the model acceptable is the accuracy of the computer-generated report. It's not uncommon for people to say 'my mother could have written this' or 'scarily accurate'. We've found the average straw poll accuracy to be about 85%, based on running this with well over 500 people over the years. There is some psychometric validity in the model, even though it doesn't claim to be psychometric. The British Psychological Society reviewed it favourably.
How it works
The process is to send participants a questionnaire, or a link to an on-line questionnaire, which takes a few minutes to complete. To encourage honest completion of the form, we recommend that the team's management are not involved in this process except for completing their own form and we emphasise that the results remain confidential to the individual. Beforehand too, it is important that our event facilitator can clarify the objectives of the session with the team manager and talk through any team issues/sensitivities. As importantly, to discuss a process for the team to follow through into work what they take away from the event. We have found that a follow-through plan significantly improves the value accrued.
In the team event, participants are given their reports and time to read it. Then there is time to discuss it, answer questions etc. and then typically we map the team preferences on a flipchart. We can then introduce a range of exercises, depending on the objectives of the event. After that, some exercises based on the specific needs of the team - performance, conflict, 'getting to know each other better' etc.
Over half a million people worldwide have used TMS to gain insights into themselves and their colleagues and this has enabled them to work together more successfully as a result.