This book on teamwork is different from others in that instead of expecting a facilitator to be responsible for group success these authors posit that it is the individual group members who are critical for successful collaboration.
Teamwork isn't always productive. In some cases, collaboration can lead to group members feeling anxious, vulnerable, and distrustful of others. The way through this is to capacitate groups to structure thoughtful conversations that lead to better decision making for sustainable change. This book gives team members guidance on how to be effective (mindful) members who construct meaning, listen, are self-revealing, have social sensitivity, adhere to group norms, maintain awareness of group processes, and monitor group goals.
The focus of this book is on cultivating and sustaining generative groups where everyone takes an active role in determining the success or failure of the group's work.
Industry Reviews
Transforming Teamwork is a unique book. It gets inside teams and organizational cultures, taking us into the arena of effective action. Full of fabulous insights on the dynamics of transforming teams and cultures, along with 9 Scales or Indexes for diagnosing safety, trust, conflict, collaborative inquiry and more, this is a book for those who are in the midst of improving their organizations. Zimmerman, Roussin, and Garmston will make you re-think your own organization, and then supply you with multiple ways of radically improving the motivation, and hence the effectiveness, of those you work with. -- Michael Fulla Transforming Teamwork is a tour de force. Written by three world-class educators at the top of their game, it is comprehensive and filled with wisdom derived from research and deep collective experience. It is brilliantly organized to be accessible and practical. Engage in the inquiry and practices it provides for team and individual learning and growth. Transforming Teamwork is indispensable for thoughtful, caring, and committed educators. -- Marilee Adams, PhD Transforming Teamwork is an intelligent and artfully crafted resource that provides deep insights into team learning. If you study this book as a team, not only will your team transform, your lives will be forever changed. It gets to the core of what it means to be human in relationship with others. Informed by current research from neuroscience, social science, and behavioral and cognitive psychology, Zimmerman, Roussin and Garmston challenge old assumptions, reveal new paradigms, and ultimately bring us to new collaborative actions that have the power to transform organizational cultures and even entire communities. Bravo! -- Anne Conzemius Practical, purposeful, and powerful-descriptors of Transforming Teamwork that resonate after I read it. Any team or team facilitator wanting to move teaming from mundane to transformative will want this book. The triple helix elevates core components that contribute to team success and serves as an underlying infrastructure that the authors dissect and examine. The core components challenge traditional explanations of teaming and present pathways to strengthen teamwork. The resources, reflections, and deeper learning tools offer ways to move the core components into practical action immediately. -- Joellen Killion, Senior Advisor to Learning Forward This book is relevant, timely, and useful. Using the triple helix of psychological safety, constructive conflict, and actionable team learning, the authors provide us with the 'how, what and why' of transforming the collaborative work of teams. Even teams that are working well will find this book rich with insights on how to get better! Conflict is perceived as a resource rather than something to be avoided, and the authors provide insights into how to become better at developing the psychological safety necessary for public, actionable learning. Individuals as well as teams will find the tools and protocols to be thought-provoking and engaging. -- Ochan Kusuma-Powell, EdD Such a powerful resource. With its multiple entry points, Transforming Teamwork: Cultivating Collaborative Cultures is like having a facilitator, researcher, and consultant in the room. The authors begin each section with a compelling WHY and introduce star-powered research to support readers as they identify the WHAT and HOW according to their needs. The intentional tools, passages, and proficiency scales provide a guide for reflective practice and collaborative growth that will undoubtedly deepen dialogue and increase capacity of our collaborative learning communities and grade-level teams. -- David Nelson
