The Team Alignment Map: A Tool for Collaboration, Accountability, and Project Success

by Stefano Mastrogiacomo, Alexander Osterwalder

Take advantage of a powerful visual management tool for teams as you work together and deliver great results. It's been used by thousands of teams for project success!

59% of U.S. workers say that communication is their team's biggest obstacle to success, followed by accountability at 29% (Atlassian). The Team Alignment Map: Know Who Does What, Build Trust and Get Results Fast explains a simple, powerful tool that helps team leaders and members align and get clarity on exactly who is responsible for each part of the team's most important activities and projects. The tool is complemented by four trust add-ons that help teams build trust and increase psychological safety, so every member can be confident in sharing ideas or concerns about obstacles the team may face. It's a proven tool for project teams, based on years of research, and thousands of teams are already using the Team Alignment Map to run effective "get-to-action meetings," give projects a good start and de-silo organizations. Co-author Alex Osterwalder is the international best-selling author who co-created the Business Model Canvas, a strategic management tool used by 1 million+ industry leaders globally.

Plan as a team and know who does what Uncover and proactively remove the most likely obstacles to any project Boost team member contributions Run more effective team meetings Get more successful projects With the guidance of The Team Alignment Map, you can be better prepared as a team leader or team member to plan effectively, reduce risks, and collaborate with others. Your team will be accountable and ready to deliver results!

Genres: Business, Leadership, Management, Nonfiction, Entrepreneurship, Reference

ebook

Published December 30, 2020

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a basis in the team facilitation exercises in Amy Edmonton’s work on psychological safety, I was excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint. A good description of the templates presented and how to use them in a variety of team settings. The processes and templates could be used in countless team environments regardless of what project management system or tool a team prefers to use.

[ANA · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in charge of establishing the work flow and rules for a new startup team. A remote team with a non-full-time commitment required us to save time and be concise about what they do and who does it, as well as keep discussions brief and effective. This book taught me how to speed up meetings and better align our team.

[Andrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct and practical. The advice provided is only as good as your implementation, but you might be more likely to succeed in managing change within your team if you let all the team members get familiar with this approach.

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers good ideas and tools, like a fact finder, respect card, and nonviolent request guide. Each tool is research-based and seems easy to use. However, effectively using these tools likely requires more hands-on experience. Still, it's a good introduction, and the original research behind the tools are fascinating.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Team Alignment Map is the main focus, and it’s a simple, useful way for teams without a current process to get started managing their work. I can see potential for using this structure in an online whiteboard tool as part of planning. The integration of discussions around risk is something teams often miss when they work directly in a tool like Jira. The forward and backward pass, and Reveal-Reflect-Repair loop are useful practices.

The elephant in the room here is Agile. Other systems have their own ways of describing and doing these same things. So the bright side is this book brings meta-cognitive awareness to the principles and practices teams may already be using.

The remaining tools are hit/miss. The team contract strikes me as too simple. Two of the other tools address ideas from NLP and NVC at a very high level. They likely won’t stand on their own without more scaffolding, training, and study.

And while I like the drawings in the book, the layout has a lot of space without content. I counted close to 80 pages out of 300 that could be considered as extra.

All that being said, I’m glad I read the book and will likely experiment with the Team Alignment Map.

[Ecaterina Moraru · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a niche book. The authors focus heavily on TAM (Team Alignment Map). I believe there are better / newer / faster frameworks out there to achieve the same results, for example using issue trackers for recurrent planning. There are some nice mentions on Psychological Safety and how to use NVC at work (Nonviolent Requests).

[Alfred Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the books from Strategyzer.
This one is no different.
You will see what's wrong with your team,
and walk away with the tools to fix it after reading this book.
I HIGHLY recommend everyone who works in a team read this one.

[Paolo Bortolotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riunioni poco produttive? Dobbiamo allinearci!🧑‍🚒

Senti il bisogno di chiarire le regole di ingaggio e creare un clima psicologicamente sicuro per il tuo team. Come fare? Con l'aiuto di 1(+4) canvas!

🔍 Cosa influisce negativamente sulle prestazioni dei gruppi di lavoro? Un clima non sereno e attività non ben allineate.

Per evitare che ciò accada servono riunioni produttive che facilitino il passaggio all'azione!

😬 I team hanno prestazioni deludenti quando manca la comunicazione. In un ambiente psicologicamente sicuro, i membri del team non si fanno problemi a intervenire (e a condividere informazioni preziose).💬

🌟 I team spesso faticano a realizzare il loro potenziale. Ecco 5 strumenti pratici dal libro di Stefano Mastrogiacomo e Alexander Osterwalder per allineare il tuo team di lavoro e favorire la sicurezza psicologica e la comunicazione:

1️⃣ Team Alignment Map 🗺️, ispirato alla ricerca dello psicolinguista Herbert Clark sulla reciproca comprensione e sul coordinamento di attività disgiunte. Utilizza questo strumento nelle riunioni e nei progetti per coordinare le attività in modo efficace.

2️⃣ Il contratto di team 📜, ispirato ai lavori del professore di antropologia psicologica Alan Fiske. Definisci le regole del team, inclusi comportamenti, valori, decisioni e comunicazioni.

3️⃣ Fact Finder 🧐, basato sulla "bussola del linguaggio" della psicologa e coach Françoise Kourilsky. Riporta chiarezza nelle discussioni e costruisci fiducia dimostrando interesse genuino per le opinioni degli altri.

4️⃣ Carta del rispetto 🤝, ispirata agli studi sull'uso delle richieste cortesi del professore di psicologia Steven Pinker. Offre suggerimenti per dimostrare tatto e considerazione, valorizzando gli altri e mostrando rispetto.

5️⃣ Guida alle richieste non violente 🗣️, ispirata al metodo di Marshall Rosenberg. Gestisci i conflitti costruttivamente, facendo esprimere i sentimenti negativi in modo appropriato.

Utilizza questi strumenti per migliorare il lavoro del tuo gruppo di lavoro e creare un ambiente più collaborativo.

[Maximiliano Calderon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro muy rápido y ameno para leer. Aborda un set de herramientas bastante específicas y simples para alinear a los equipos de trabajo y alcanzar mejores resultados, y luego muestra las referencias y las investigaciones que están detrás de estas herramientas.
Si bien las herramientas se ven casi simplistas, me parecen que son muy aplicables (me parece que de ahí viene la búsqueda de no sobre-complejizar las cosas), por lo que recomendaría leer el libro y probar si este toolkit es útil para gobernar las dinámicas de equipo.

[I Read, Therefore I Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stefano Mastrogiacomo is a management consultant, professor and author, Alex Osterwalder is an author, entrepreneur and speaker. This jargon-heavy, somewhat clunky guide to building and operating teams to implement projects has great graphics by Alan Smith, Trish Papdakos and Chris White and offers accompanying precedents and sheets from a tie in website but is very broad and overly procedural and isn’t appropriate for every type of project.

[Jay Best · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it maps out the basics of good Project Management, but having been exposed to Scrum/ Agile I can't help but have nightmare flashbacks to my old corporate days of well run, old school projects - they just can't compare in effectiveness to Scrum.

The methods and approaches are absolutely correct. They are good practices. Many of the points are the basics of good management.

But to me, it felt like we work with faster tools these days.

* Listened on Blink at 2x

[Momo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely useful for new or future team leader, entrepreneurs and leaders of organisations.
I lead a small team for some time now and I'm always looking resources that help me to be a good leader and team member for my team.
Useful activities to conduct in meetings, projects and other activities to be sure that everyone is on the same path.

[Luca Nicoletti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for newly built teams.
I've been reading this carefully for more than a month and I can't wait to start using what the books suggest when I'll soon join a new company (a few weeks away now).
I will suggest everyone on the team (new for me - perhaps for someone else as well) read this book and share it, in order to have everyone aligned and onboard with the tactics.

[Javier Sastre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herramientas prácticas para la gestión de equipos de trabajo respaldadas por un buen soporte teórico. Aún más útiles gracias a su enfoque eminentemente visual. Me parece la mas interesante The Team Alignment Map para una mayor eficacia (claridad, concreción y factibilidad) de los compromisos de un equipo de trabajo y su posterior seguimiento más productivo

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a usually a big fan of these authors, but I found this book to be really lackluster. It seems more like a cliff's notes version of a PMP course. This could be well received by first time project managers and highly process-driven introverted engineers, but I didn't find much useful in here for entrepreneurial leadership.

[Daniel Bastardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome toolbox for team alignment in project management. I enjoyed the simplicity of the design and the applicability of the tools presented. Although I wish the authors had gone more in depth on the science behind the tools shared, I appreciated the general information and many references provided. Overall, a great book for anyone managing multifaceted projects.

[Karl Metivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent packaging of tools and concept to help teams grow.

[Asri Zahroh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of strategyzer. Love their book from business model generation, value proposition design and especially invincible company. This book is no exception.

[Ana Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Working in teams is not easy and it can be very frustrating. Pick up this book and learn how you can manage day-to-day interactions effectively. Very practical and fun to read.

[Scott Kuffel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book to assist organizations and/or consultants to improve the effectiveness of teams. The conflict resolution sections and the pieces on the Team Contract appear invaluable.

[zoagli · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book propagates a ridiculously simplistic view on how to make teamwork work: there’s a canvas for everything.

The layout is gorgeous, though. Bonus points for that.

[Sungil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the other books in the Strategyzer series, HITT is filled with tools to use in a business environment.
This time the focus is on teams, creating alignment and assesment, mutual understanding & common ground, trust and psychological safety.

I highly recommend this series and the accompanying downloadable tools.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ FEB 2021

Another solid resource in the genre of visual facilitation tools.