Every epic journey has to start somewhere. Where are you and your team?

Activity | Individual Interviews

Instructions:

Step 1. Meet with each team member individually, and ask them the following questions:

• If we could accomplish anything, what would make you proud 2–3 years from now?
• What are our biggest challenges as a team from your perspective?
• What successes has the team had that you are most proud of?
• What are the obstacles that keep us from achieving what will make us proud?
  How might we overcome these obstacles?

Step 2. Listen and learn as if your team members were genuinely the most fascinating documentary mystery you had ever seen!

• What are you surprised by?
• What questions or insights arise?
• What opportunities are surfacing? 

Step 3. Capture the feedback anonymously in a document that you can share at the next meeting with everyone. Highlight the top 3 comments to share, and make note of any recurring themes.

Why individually first?

You want to gain clarity of where each team member is without the influence of anyone else’s input. This step enables the team member to be heard fully. Very often team members are not asked their opinion. The opportunity to be heard often has an incredibly positive impact.

Pro Tip: Consider including external stakeholders (internal to the company, customers, influencers) and asking them, for example, “What do they most value about this team’s work?” or “What do they want more of/less of from this team?”

Next Steps | Team Activity

Instructions: Meet as a team and collectively explore the biggest themes that emerge from the individual responses. Share the top comments and key themes.

Duration: 20 minutes

You don’t need to come to any agreements at this point. Simply listen to each other to identify major themes. The focus here is about creating a shared understanding for how the team sees the world both individually and collectively.

All of what you have read and done so far is the fodder to create your unique team purpose statement.