Effective teaming requires intentional design and can’t be achieved simply by putting people together on a project.

Teaming by Design emphasises the importance of embedding team effectiveness skills within the context of real work, rather than teaching it as a separate subject.

This approach recognises that valuable teaming skills are often developed through practical experience and reflection, rather than through theoretical instruction alone.

For this episode, Dan and Pia are joined in-person by Sara Beckman, who developed the concept of "teaming by design" while teaching MBA students. Sara works on integrating team effectiveness training into various courses, particularly in innovation, design, and new product development, and has conducted research on team dynamics, including studies at Hewlett Packard.

Three reasons to listen

• To discover a unique approach to teaching teamwork called which embeds team effectiveness skills into project-based courses
• To explore goal congruence and its critical role in team performance
• To learn about the challenges of bringing about psychological safety in teams and how it relates to conflict management

Episode highlights

• [00:09:29] Teaming by design
• [00:14:42] Teaming in corporate vs academia
• [00:19:00] Conflict
• [00:19:59] The University of Unlearning
• [00:25:59] The importance of shared goals
• [00:29:55] How students view leadership
• [00:32:11] What is the future of teaming?
• [00:36:22] The benefits of teaming by design
• [00:38:05] Sara's book recommendation
• [00:40:07] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Sara via LinkedIn
• Books by Claire Keegan
• Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
• Rough Sleepers, by Tracy Kidder
• Track and improve your team performance with Squadify
• Leave us a voice note