Most Team Development Programmes Begin With Awareness
This article is part of our Team Communication Insights Centre.
Explore more Improving Team Communication articles →
The assumption is simple:
“If people understand themselves better, that self-awareness will improve communication.”
And so the standard model tends to be:
- Complete a profile.
- Attend a workshop.
- Learn about your communication style.
- Discover your strengths and blind spots.
Yet many organisations discover something surprising. Months after the workshop, the same frustrations remain.
- The same misunderstandings occur.
- The same conversations are avoided.
- The same tensions continue to surface.
Why?
Because awareness and behaviour are not the same thing.
The Awareness Gap
Recently, discussions on LinkedIn have reignited debate around the validity of personality and behavioural profiling tools.
Some argue that certain profiles lack scientific validity.
Others point to research supporting the reliability of their chosen model.
While the debate is interesting, it may be focusing on the wrong question.
Even if a profile achieved perfect validity, it would still face a significant challenge:
Profiles do not change behaviour.
People do.
A profile may help someone understand their preferences. It may provide useful language. It may generate insights. But insights alone rarely change a relationship. Awareness alone will not improve communication.
The Team Communication Myth
Many teams leave a profiling session with a sense of optimism.
- They now know who is action-oriented.
- Who likes details.
- Who values relationships.
- Who enjoys generating ideas.
Everyone nods in agreement. Everyone understands the model. And yet six months later they are still experiencing friction.
Not because the profile was wrong. But because understanding another person’s style is only the beginning.
Real change happens when people start having different conversations.
What Changes Behaviour?
Communication improves when teams move beyond awareness and into feedback.
Not annual feedback. Not anonymous surveys.
Real conversations.
The conversations that help people understand:
- How their behaviour affects others.
- What helps colleagues perform at their best.
- What creates frustration.
- What needs to change.
These conversations are often uncomfortable. Which is why many organisations avoid them. Yet they are precisely where growth occurs.
Return to the Team Communication insights Centre
The Role of Colour Energies
This is the philosophy behind the Colour Energies Card Game.
- The cards do not attempt to profile people.
- They do not generate reports.
- They do not assign labels.
Instead, they create conversations.
Participants discuss behaviours they recognise in themselves and others.
They explore strengths, preferences and blind spots.
Most importantly, they exchange feedback in a safe and structured way.
The value does not come from the cards themselves.
It comes from the quality of the conversation they create. It is the conversations that improve team communication.
Why Facilitation Matters
The most successful team development activities are rarely those that provide the most information.
They are the activities that generate the most meaningful discussion.
- When people exchange observations.
- Share perspectives.
- Challenge assumptions.
- Recognise strengths.
- Acknowledge blind spots.
The conversation becomes more valuable than the model.
The framework simply provides a structure. The workshop facilitator provides the space.
Awareness Is The Beginning, Not The End
Awareness matters.
Understanding ourselves matters.
Behavioural frameworks can be incredibly useful.
But awareness alone is rarely enough.
When awareness is followed by team building activities that improve communication such as conversation and feedback, change begins to happen.
When conversation is followed by feedback.
And when feedback is followed by action.
Because communication does not improve when people complete a profile.
Communication improves when people start talking differently to one another.
And that is where meaningful change begins.
Most Team Development Programmes Begin With Awareness
This article is part of our Team Communication Insights Centre.
Explore more Improving Team Communication articles →
The assumption is simple:
“If people understand themselves better, that self-awareness will improve communication.”
And so the standard model tends to be:
- Complete a profile.
- Attend a workshop.
- Learn about your communication style.
- Discover your strengths and blind spots.
Yet many organisations discover something surprising. Months after the workshop, the same frustrations remain.
- The same misunderstandings occur.
- The same conversations are avoided.
- The same tensions continue to surface.
Why?
Because awareness and behaviour are not the same thing.
The Awareness Gap
Recently, discussions on LinkedIn have reignited debate around the validity of personality and behavioural profiling tools.
Some argue that certain profiles lack scientific validity.
Others point to research supporting the reliability of their chosen model.
While the debate is interesting, it may be focusing on the wrong question.
Even if a profile achieved perfect validity, it would still face a significant challenge:
Profiles do not change behaviour.
People do.
A profile may help someone understand their preferences. It may provide useful language. It may generate insights. But insights alone rarely change a relationship. Awareness alone will not improve communication.
The Team Communication Myth
Many teams leave a profiling session with a sense of optimism.
- They now know who is action-oriented.
- Who likes details.
- Who values relationships.
- Who enjoys generating ideas.
Everyone nods in agreement. Everyone understands the model. And yet six months later they are still experiencing friction.
Not because the profile was wrong. But because understanding another person’s style is only the beginning.
Real change happens when people start having different conversations.
What Changes Behaviour?
Communication improves when teams move beyond awareness and into feedback.
Not annual feedback. Not anonymous surveys.
Real conversations.
The conversations that help people understand:
- How their behaviour affects others.
- What helps colleagues perform at their best.
- What creates frustration.
- What needs to change.
These conversations are often uncomfortable. Which is why many organisations avoid them. Yet they are precisely where growth occurs.
Return to the Team Communication insights Centre
The Role of Colour Energies
This is the philosophy behind the Colour Energies Card Game.
- The cards do not attempt to profile people.
- They do not generate reports.
- They do not assign labels.
Instead, they create conversations.
Participants discuss behaviours they recognise in themselves and others.
They explore strengths, preferences and blind spots.
Most importantly, they exchange feedback in a safe and structured way.
The value does not come from the cards themselves.
It comes from the quality of the conversation they create. It is the conversations that improve team communication.
Why Facilitation Matters
The most successful team development activities are rarely those that provide the most information.
They are the activities that generate the most meaningful discussion.
- When people exchange observations.
- Share perspectives.
- Challenge assumptions.
- Recognise strengths.
- Acknowledge blind spots.
The conversation becomes more valuable than the model.
The framework simply provides a structure. The workshop facilitator provides the space.
Awareness Is The Beginning, Not The End
Awareness matters.
Understanding ourselves matters.
Behavioural frameworks can be incredibly useful.
But awareness alone is rarely enough.
When awareness is followed by team building activities that improve communication such as conversation and feedback, change begins to happen.
When conversation is followed by feedback.
And when feedback is followed by action.
Because communication does not improve when people complete a profile.
Communication improves when people start talking differently to one another.
And that is where meaningful change begins.
