Your Team Isn’t Broken—But Is It Thriving?

Understanding your team's operating style is the key to unlocking trust, energy, and aligned impact.

Most teams aren’t dysfunctional, toxic, or even misaligned. They work hard, show up, and do what needs to be done. But most teams are probably tired. Tired of carrying unspoken tensions, tired of accommodating unclear expectations, and tired of sacrificing innovation and creativity to keep the wheels turning.  

And that exhaustion doesn’t stop with teams. Leaders might be tired too, wondering why things still feel harder than they should despite having great team members and seemingly clear objectives and a common goal. As leadership consultants, we’ve spent the last decade helping leaders, teams, and organizations build cultures where people can truly thrive. What we’ve seen—over and over—is that many cross-functional teams and immediate teams alike are functional but not flourishing. They’re moving fast, but unintended friction is slowing them down. They’re producing results, but often at the cost of clarity, energy, innovation, and their team members’ well-being.  

The missing piece? Often, a conversation about their team dynamics, or, how they work together. Not what’s being worked on, or who’s doing what, but how they show up, collaborate, and move forward as a team. 

Most organizations recognize the importance of teams, aka the place where the work happens. But too often, teams are formed without much thought about how they’ll function—not just in terms of roles and responsibilities, but also enabling strong relationships, having open communication, setting clear expectations, and building trust. In a work environment, the assumption is that good people, who do good work and have a common enough goal, will operate like a well-oiled machine, and team success will just happen.  

However, teamwork does not work like that anywhere else in life, not in sports or in friendships.

Intentionally or unintentionally, every team develops an operating style that guides how it interacts and progresses toward team goals. This style can either support or sabotage team performance. Teams might be hitting goals, but it feels harder than it should. Feedback loops are inconsistent, and tough conversations are rarely had. Team collaboration feels functional, not fluid. Team communications and meetings primarily focus on updates, rather than alignment or learning.  

These subtle signals can indicate that a team’s operating style isn’t helping them do their best work—and it’s likely exhausting them more than they realize. 

We built a simple yet powerful tool to help teams understand how they’re currently operating, and where they might want to go next. It’s less about labeling teams as “good” or “bad,” but more about giving shared language and alignment on how collaboration, purpose, trust, and vision could show up at work.  

About the Team Styles Model 

The model is intentionally designed to resemble a gauge, indicating that there is a spectrum of ways in which teams can operate, depending on the environment, business, and team needs.  

• Some teams operate in Isolation, where trust is limited, there’s low shared vision, and a very short-term and individual focus  
• Some teams operate in Exchange, where there’s a little more trust and a shared short-term vision with a focus on tasks 
• Some teams can reach Partnership, where there’s mutual accountability, consistent execution towards a shared goal, and proactive team collaboration 
• Some teams can operate in the Alliance style, where there’s a high connection to the mission, big-picture thinking, and alignment to the organization’s goals 
• And, some teams function in the Community style with great emphasis on a long-term vision beyond the organization’s goals 

Maybe your team isn’t broken, and the work is getting done. But could it operate differently so it could thrive?  

Conversation Prompts for Team Leaders

The model is meant to serve as a springboard to have meaningful dialogue around how your team is operating, not just what you’re working on. Whether you’re looking to take the first step in improving your team or simply shift from functioning to thriving, consider facilitating a discussion around: 

• Your team’s current operating style – Isolation, Exchange, Partnership, Alliance, or Community 
• Where is it working really well? Where could it be improved? 
• What signals of fatigue, friction, or misalignment have you noticed lately? (Think about meetings, decisions, energy, trust.) 
• How clear is your team on its shared purpose—and how often does that purpose guide your day-to-day work? 
• What tradeoffs might your team be making right now that are limiting long-term performance or well-being? 

The Truth about Team Building

Every team style plays a critical role in achieving a desired business goal or outcome. However, they also each come with tradeoffs that can cost teams efficiency, productivity, long-term impact, and degradation of culture. 

When teams move with shared purpose, deep trust, and clarity on how they operate, a lot can change. Decision-making can become faster, more inclusive, and provide greater clarity. Collaboration can feel energizing instead of draining. Work relationships become stronger and more productive. Problem-solving is viewed as exciting instead of exhausting. Rather than maintaining results, teams seek new ideas and growth. 

Ready to transform your team's performance? Understanding team styles is just the beginning. If you're ready to help your team move with shared purpose, build deeper trust, and create the kind of energizing collaboration that drives real results, our consultants can guide you through the process. Contact us today to discover how we can help your team unlock its full potential and achieve breakthrough performance.