The Team Handbook

by Peter R. Scholtes, Brian L. Joiner, Barbara J. Streibel

This updated best-selling, comprehensive resource book provides everything you need to create high performing teams. In addition, book purchasers will be able to download electronic versions of forms and templates found in the book for use within their organization! The third edition provides information on the context teams need to be successful. Organizations using teams to improve efficiency and better serve customers will find information on how to start quality initiatives such as Six Sigma or Lean. New information on different types of teams, and new tools and strategies for leading change are covered as well. Several new tools have been added to help teams work well together: affinity diagrams, prioritization matrixes, effort/impact grids, new planning tools, and additional information on effective presentations. The Team Handbook Third Edition contains a brief description of the Six Sigma improvement method DMAIC, and highlights the methods and strategies that are useful in Lean. Also included is a new strategy for using designed experiments to identify and control sources of process variation. The book includes tools and techniques that go beyond the basics such as creativity tools, force-field analysis, and information to help leaders manage project pipelines.

Genres: Business, Management, Leadership, Reference

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1988

About the author

Peter Raymond Scholtes was a priest, consultant, and author. In the 1960s, as a parish priest and choral conductor, Scholtes wrote the hymn "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" for an ecumenical event.
By the 1980s, Scholtes had left the priesthood and become a business management consultant and author. He co-authored The Team Handbook, which was named one of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. His best-known book is The Leader's Handbook, from 1998.
Scholtes was a colleague of W. Edwards Deming and was a recipient of the Deming Award in 2006.

Reviews

[Mark Sturgell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A majority of my coaching business involves "team building" in some fashion, and at least half deals directly with improving team or organizational effectiveness. I am constantly on the lookout for new resources and have developed quite a library of slightly useful references. While there are many books and other resources on "team building" and related issues on the market, including some wildly popular best-sellers, few are truly practical and fewer still offer replicable actions that work. "The Team Handbook Third Edition" is a rare exception.

Not only do the authors capture extensive best practices, including straightfoward "how to's" in terms that work for the average manager or team member, they have catalogued what I believe to be the best (most comprehensive, useful and easy-to-use) team tool on the market. I still prefer to help my clients organically build their own strategies for improvement. However, I use "The Team Handbook" as a reference and reminder of best practices, processes and tools. And, so far, I have given it as a gift to a client's process improvement team, which I helped charter. I plan to present it to more clients in the future.

If you are looking for a great reference on teams that will help you make a positive difference, donate your copy of "The Five Disfunctions of a Team" to the local library and get a copy of "The Team Handbook" today. [Of course, for the most value, hire a professional coach to go along with the book!]

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for anyone who finds themself in the position of having to work as part of a team. Great insight into the team process, and handy tools to use throughout a team project.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was included in my book: The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. www.100bestbiz.com

[Bob Schatz]

This was Peter Scholtes book previous to the leadership book also on my list. Another good book from the past with a lot of great exercises to help teams become more effective.

[Sandrine Dumont · Rating 4 out of 5]

You would think that managing a team is not rocket science, that preparing a meeting is a piece of cake... well, think twice before assuming you know it all, cause you don’t.
Read the book and you will not be better by the day but at least it would be easier to define some issues and plan to sort them out.
Best quotation of the book as far as i am concerned : “Active listening is key to clear communication “

[Lamec Mariita · Rating 5 out of 5]

An effective useable resource to provide teams with the needed tools and processes so they can improve their workplace at all levels of any organization. The book is full of helpful tips, traps to avoid, notes and templates to help you be successful. It tells you everything you ever need to know about teamwork, and how to take on tasks, while also explaining how to overcome conflicts that can arise in a team. A must read for every project manager and for every leader. I highly recommend the book.

[Jeff Lampson]

Scholtes is a unique individual and a disciple of
Deming and highly regarded in the OD and Quality professions.

This is an excellent resource! It is so chalk full of tips, tools, methods, etc. He is a real systems thinker and makes many good connections between quality, collaboration and sustainable business results. It covers everything from the stages of team growth to building an improvement plan. Always practical and you can tell many lessons have come from the front line.

[Jay]

Time 100

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential tools to implement TQL/TQM.