Designing powerful teams: An evidence-based approach

Small teams that can take effective action in alignment with many other teams are the building blocks of great organizing. Yet many “teams” never quite get off the ground, struggle to develop appropriate norms and work practices, and accomplish little, or even disband.

Fortunately, decades of research has identified six conditions that can be deliberately designed into a team to make it more likely that great teamwork emerges.

The 6 Conditions framework has been applied in countless teams around the world, including teams organizing around elections, climate, health, and many other causes.

Watch this recording of Randall Smith from PowerLabs to learn how you can put in place the conditions that make it more likely a team will be great.

If you are interested in coaching to improve your teams, get in touch at [email protected]. Details about team coaching engagements are available here.

This presentation was recorded in October 2022.

Resources

Team evaluation

Team planning and reflection exercises

Team launch

Team templates

Learn more

We’re a Nerdy Movement Study Group - Learn evidence-based methods for recruiting, retaining, and mobilizing volunteers, activists, or members in this six-week online program and become a better organizer or campaigner.

Powerful Teams - Learn an evidence-based framework for designing, launching and supporting healthy and powerful volunteer or staff teams in this intensive online training from PowerLabs.

Behind the Scenes of Sunrise’s Volunteer-Led Phone Bank Program - Learn how Sunrise Movement staff and volunteers designed and supported eight teams of volunteers that led one of the largest voter contact programs in the 2020 elections.

Reflections on Sunrise Movement’s Strike Circle Program: Learn How We Created Hundreds of Local Teams - Learn how Sunrise Movement created hundreds of local teams that organized climate strikes at their schools.

Senior Leadership Teams: What It Takes to Make Them Great - Although this book is focused on senior leadership teams in corporations, senior staff teams in progressive organizations and activist/member teams face the same challenges. The methods in this book work in our contexts.

6 Conditions for Team Effectiveness Certification - Join the community of consultants, coaches, learning and development practitioners, and team leaders who are using the 6 Team Conditions to foster brilliant collaborations in their teams. Getting certified provides you access to knowledge, tools, and a global community of supportive practitioners.

Presenter

Randall Smith is the founder of PowerLabs. He specializes in helping clients use evidence-based strategies and tactics to design and run high-participation high-commitment people-powered campaigns. He is a leading expert on team effectiveness and has coached and advised senior leadership teams and member teams at Dream Defenders, Sunrise Movement, Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement Collaborative and many other organizations. Randall has supported organizations to launch and support over 1,000 member teams using the 6 Team Conditions framework.

Randall is certified to support teams to increase their psychological safety through the Fearless Organization External Practitioner Certification and has the highest level of certification from 6 Team Conditions to improve overall team effectiveness.

How can we help you?

If you are interested in collaborating, get in touch soon. It’s never too early. We typically book engagements six months or more in advance.

Some of the projects we worked on recently include:

  • Supported Dream Defenders, MN350, Pilipino Workers Center, Sunrise Movement, and other organizations to design, launch, and support teams of members

  • Coached leadership teams at Alabama Arise, People’s Action, Sunrise Movement to improve their effectiveness

  • Advised founding teams of several new organizations in the US, Canada, and Europe on how to grow a powerful and healthy organization