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What’s the Fuss
Just Get Together and "UATTRA"!
by Kelly Rupp

In Parts I and II we looked at how knowledge workers in today’s crazed workplace are required to "fast form" into teams with little direction or support. We explored different dimensions of effective team behaviors and introduced the concept of "team customer(s)" as a centering tool to improve team effectiveness. In Part III, we share an assessment tool whereby individuals gain a visual indication of how well-equipped their workteam is to embark upon their team efforts. Visual interpretation of the resulting graphic suggests priority actions for the team to address to improve its effectiveness and likelihood of success in its objectives.

"Up and to the right" is the desired direction for a chart of business success. It’s the picture we usually want to see when our business results are charted over time. Graphs of financial results that rise from the lower left-hand corner and bust through the upper right corner will generally signal "success."

The Up-And-To-The-Right-Arrow — abbreviated to UATTRA — is adapted and stylized to evaluate team success. We allow each of four dimensions of team effectiveness to be scored and plotted relative to each other to create a graphical illustration of how well our team is equipped to proceed towards its objectives. A series of questions for each dimension of the UATRRA leads us to a numeric score that — when charted — will graphically illustrate an arrow-like form. The symmetry of the arrow and distance of each plot point from the UATTRA center provides a visual check of our team’s strengths and weaknesses.

Points that are plotted very near the UATTRA origin indicate weakness in a dimension and suggest a priority for individual or team action. The catch-phrase from a popular NBC television series can be adapted here to admonish team members to work on the "weakest link" — the shortest or most out of sync dimension.

The UATTRA assessment can be brought to the team at any time during their work journey. If the entire team cannot or chooses not to consciously engage the exercise, individuals can proceed with an independent evaluation. Even one individual taking action to prepare the UATTRA schematic for a team can trigger improvement in effectiveness if she inspires dialogue around individual assessment items.

The UATTRA template and scoring questions are included below. The scale for plotting scores along each dimension is not important. One question in the assessment is not more important than another. The value of the assessment is largely the process of self-examination; looking inwards and outwards at our preparedness, our awareness, and our commitment to the team’s effort. The visual interpretation of "up and to the right" reminds us to focus on these attributes of team effectiveness that will lead us most surely to business success!

Click here to download a free copy of the UATTRA assessment in PDF format.