Building high-performing teams through better understanding of work preferences
Successful teams are made up of people with different strengths, perspectives and approaches to work. The challenge for leaders is understanding how to harness those differences to improve performance, collaboration and results.
Developed by Dr Charles Margerison and Dr Dick McCann, Team Management Systems (TMS) is a practical, workplace-focused framework that helps individuals and teams understand how they prefer to work, contribute and add value within a team environment.
TMS focuses specifically on work preferences and workplace behaviour. It helps people understand the types of tasks that energise them, how they interact with colleagues, and the contributions they naturally make to team success.
The Team Management Profile (TMP)
At the heart of the TMS framework is the Team Management Profile (TMP), which provides detailed insights into an individual’s preferred approach to work.
Participants receive a comprehensive personalised profile exploring:
- Work preferences and contribution styles
- Communication and interpersonal approaches
- Decision-making preferences
- Leadership strengths
- Areas for development
- Preferred team roles
- Approaches to planning, problem-solving and implementation.
The profile provides practical insights that participants can immediately apply within their role, team and organisation.
Understanding team roles
The Team Management Profile identifies preferences across a range of work roles that are essential for team success. These include:
- Creating and generating ideas
- Exploring opportunities
- Analysing and developing solutions
- Driving action and results
- Delivering outcomes
- Managing quality and detail
- Supporting people and relationships
- Gathering information and providing advice.
No single role is more important than another. High-performing teams require a balance of contributions across the full spectrum of work activities.
Understanding where individuals naturally contribute helps teams allocate work more effectively and appreciate the value that different people bring to the table.
Benefits for individuals and teams
TMS provides a powerful framework for improving teamwork and organisational effectiveness by helping people:
- Understand their preferred way of working
- Recognise and value different work styles
- Improve communication and collaboration
- Reduce workplace friction and misunderstanding
- Leverage individual strengths more effectively
- Create balanced and productive teams
- Improve leadership effectiveness
- Enhance team performance and engagement.
By creating a shared language around work preferences, teams are better equipped to work together, manage differences constructively and achieve stronger results.
Applications for organisations
TMS is widely used to support:
- Leadership development
- Team building and team effectiveness
- Project teams
- Organisational change
- Employee development
- Succession planning
- Coaching and mentoring
- Performance improvement initiatives.
Additional TMS profiles and team-based reports can also be used to explore leadership capability, team performance, work values and responses to change, providing organisations with deeper insights into both individual and team dynamics.
Why use TMS?
One of the greatest strengths of Team Management Systems is its immediate relevance to the workplace. Rather than focusing on personality labels, TMS helps people understand how they can make their best contribution at work and how to work more effectively with others.
The result is often improved communication, greater engagement, better allocation of work, stronger leadership and more cohesive, high-performing teams.
Ready to strengthen team performance?
Contact us to discuss how a tailored Team Management Systems workshop can help your people better understand their strengths, maximise their contribution and work together more effectively.