01 THE METHOD
Six pillars. One measurement cycle. A score that moves.
TEAM IQ Creator is not a workshop and it is not a framework. It is a way of scoring how well a team thinks together, applying named tools to the weakest pillar first, and then proving the improvement by re-measuring.
02 THE CYCLE
The TEAM IQ Measurement Cycle
Five stages, run continuously. The point of the cycle is that nothing stays as an opinion: every stage produces evidence that the next stage uses.
Set — what valuable change are we aiming to create?
Tools: T.A.R.G.E.T Value Index (TVI) · Value-to-Effort Ratio (VER) · Target Risk Burn-Down (TRB)
Communicate — what do we know, what are we assuming, and what has changed?
Tools: C.L.E.A.R.L.Y Evidence Standard (CES) · Expression of Value Delta (EVD)
Own — who owns this outcome, and what evidence will prove it?
Tools: D.R.E.A.M Outcome Contract (DOC) · Quantified D.R.E.A.M Boundaries (QDB)
Learn — what are we testing, and what uncertainty are we reducing?
Tools: M.I.N.D.S.E.T Value Engineering (MVE) · Risk-First Learning Loops (RLL)
Decide and improve — what should we continue, change, stop or scale?
Tools: D.I.R.E.C.T Value Routing (DVR) · Insight Risk Triggers (IRT) · D.I.R.E.C.T Decision Audits (DDA) · 7 C's Value Engineering Standard (CVE) · 7 C's Outcome Metrics (COM)
Fourteen tools in total. You do not apply them all at once — you start where the team has the greatest constraint, build evidence that it moved, and use that learning to decide the next move.
03 THE PILLARS
What the six pillars actually cover
Each pillar is taught in chapters, each chapter ends in a measurement task, and each produces a working artefact rather than a discussion.
Pillar 1 · 4 chapters
TARGET — a clear target related to the team, with a reward
Definition: TARGET is the team's shared line of sight to a valuable result. It is not a wish, not a broad corporate ambition and not a task list.
- 1.1 True and Explainable — defining the destination so anyone can repeat it. Measurement: T.A.R.G.E.T Value Index (TVI).
- 1.2 Achievable and Required — balancing ambition against value. Measurement: Value-to-Effort Ratio (VER).
- 1.3 Give — the reward component, and why effort without recognition decays. Measurement: G.I.V.E Recognition Signal.
- 1.4 Traceable — proving success and reducing uncertainty. Measurement: Target Risk Burn-Down (TRB).
Pillar 2 · 4 chapters
EXPRESSION — have great communication
Definition: EXPRESSION is the team's ability to exchange information, ideas, concerns, uncertainty, disagreement and learning in a way that is safe, clear, balanced and useful. Not the volume of communication — the quality of understanding it creates.
- 2.1 Create safety and lead by example — seven behaviours in the C.L.E.A.R.L.Y Toolkit. Measurement: C.L.E.A.R.L.Y Evidence Standard (CES).
- 2.2 Expectations — the clarity code and the 5 C's. Measurement: Expression of Value Delta (EVD).
- 2.3 Active listening (E.A.R.S) and regular team building. Measurement: Expression of Value Delta (EVD).
- 2.4 L.E.A.N conflict resolution and Yin Yang feedback — disagreement as a resource. Measurement: C.L.E.A.R.L.Y Evidence Standard (CES).
Pillar 3 · 2 chapters
ACCOUNTABILITY — shared certainty about who owns what
Definition: ACCOUNTABILITY is the team's shared certainty about who owns which outcomes, what evidence will demonstrate progress, and how handoffs work.
- 3.1 Define roles and model accountability. Measurement: D.R.E.A.M Outcome Contract (DOC).
- 3.2 Regular check-ins, empowerment and agreements. Measurement: Quantified D.R.E.A.M Boundaries (QDB).
Pillar 4 · 3 chapters
MINDSET — how the team reads challenge and failure
Definition: MINDSET is the team's shared way of interpreting challenge, uncertainty, failure, difference and opportunity — the belief that capability can be built.
- 4.1 Make a growth mindset and innovate. Measurement: M.I.N.D.S.E.T Value Engineering (MVE).
- 4.2 Networking and distributed shared ownership. Measurement: Risk-First Learning Loops (RLL).
- 4.3 Synergy, education and team tributes. Measurement: M.I.N.D.S.E.T Value Engineering (MVE).
Pillar 5 · 3 chapters
INSIGHT — sound decisions where the information is richest
Definition: INSIGHT is the team's capability to make sound, timely, evidence-aware decisions at the point where information is richest.
- 5.1 Decentralised decision making and purpose-based leadership. Measurement: D.I.R.E.C.T Value Routing (DVR).
- 5.2 Interconnected metrics and regular feedback loops. Measurement: 7 C's Outcome Metrics (COM).
- 5.3 Clear channels and transparent information sharing. Measurement: Insight Risk Triggers (IRT).
Pillar 6 · 3 chapters
QUALITY — the right value, standard, cost and time
Definition: QUALITY is the team's ability to deliver the right value, to the right standard, at the right cost and at the right time. It is not polish.
- 6.1 Continue with the end in mind and value stream mapping. Measurement: 7 C's Value Engineering Standard (CVE).
- 6.2 Customer-centric design and continuous feedback. Measurement: 7 C's Outcome Metrics (COM).
- 6.3 Corrective QA, cost analysis and cross-functional collaboration. Measurement: D.I.R.E.C.T Decision Audits (DDA).
04 IN PRACTICE
What actually happens in a diagnostic
Before
You tell us the area that hurts. We send a short pre-read and agree who needs to be in the room — usually the team plus whoever owns the constraint.
During
We work the problem in the room: what the target actually is, what evidence exists, who owns the outcome, what is being assumed, and where the decision is stuck.
After
A written score, the two starting exercises, and a plan you can run without us. If you continue into a programme, the £1,200 is credited in full.
05 QUESTIONS
Method questions
Do we have to use all six pillars?
No. Six pillars is the full model, but the starting point is always the one with the greatest constraint. Organisations routinely start with TARGET or EXPRESSION and come back to the rest.
How long before we see a change?
The first measurable movement normally appears within four to six weeks, because the early changes are about evidence and ownership rather than culture. The programme re-measures quarterly.
Is this compatible with our existing framework?
Yes, and it is designed that way. TEAM IQ raises the capability of the people operating Agile, SAFe, waterfall or anything else you have. We do not replace your process.
How do you measure something as soft as "mindset"?
Through behaviour and evidence, not attitude surveys. For example: how many ideas were tested this quarter, how long an assumption stayed unexamined, and whether people ask for help across team boundaries. Each pillar has named tools that make this concrete.
Can you work with just one team?
Yes — that is the pillar sprint. The larger diagnostics and programmes are for organisations with several teams that need a comparable measure across all of them.
06 NEXT STEP
Start where the team has the greatest constraint.
Score your team first — it is free and it takes eight minutes. Then decide whether the diagnostic session is the right next move.
Read next
- Why Team IQ: the published evidence
- The six pillars explained
- The book — three chapters free