Building Smart Teams is an essential guide to creating a smart team fast. Based on research results from close to 2,000 individuals organized in more than 250 teams, Building Smart Teams identifies the three critical skill sets that teams need and shows how to transfer these skills to a group. The authors' research and experience shows that, by concentrating on these three critical skills sets, a group is almost certain to become a high performing team quickly. Within this model, there is ample room for teams to discover their own unique culture, performance strategies, and paths to success.

Chapter 1 Building High-Performance Teams: An Introduction Top-notch Teams - The What For and Why Your Roadmap: Introducing the Team Effectiveness Model Measuring Your Team¿s Progress How to Maintain High-Octane Group Functioning Exercises - The Starting Line: Assessing Your TeamChapter 2 Creating Top-Notch Team Management Practices Team Management Practices: Signpost #1 for Team Success More On the Model - Task, Social and Commitment Strategies: A Roadmap to Effective Teams The Team Management Practices Planner: Critical Conversations for Teams Creating Top Team Management Practices Using the Nine Planner Elements Exercises for Top-Notch Team Management PracticesChapter 3 Problem-Solving for Pros Team Problem Solving: Signpost #2 for Team Success What Confounds Successful Problem-solving? Thinking Traps and Biases What Supports Problem-solving Prowess? Introducing Our Model Exercises - Team Problem Solving for ProsChapter 4 Handling Team Conflict Handling Team Conflict: Signpost #3 of Team Success Tools for Handling Team Conflict Exercises - Developing Team Conflict-handling Skills Appendix - Conflict: An OverviewChapter 5 Maintaining a Supportive Climate for Teams The Big Question: Are You Really Ready for Teams? Coach¿s Corner: The Art and Science of Implementing Teams Research Roundup: A Review of Change Management Literature