Using The Firo B

Know Yourself,
Strengthen Your Team:

Using the FIRO-B
Successful Teams
What behaviors do you see in successful teams?

Today’s Agenda
• Use the FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal

Relations Orientation-Behavior) instrument
to understand your social needs
• Apply your findings to your team approach
• Learn about your team members’ social needs
• Discuss and determine ways to get your needs met and

meet your team members’ needs
What is the FIRO-B?
• Originally developed in the 1950s to predict how

military personnel would work together in groups
• Now one of the most widely used instruments in the

world to help individuals understand their interaction
approaches
• Used primarily to look at group dynamics

and leadership in organizations
What Does It Measure?
• The extent to which people attempt to satisfy three

basic social needs:
• Inclusion: participation, recognition, belonging
• Control: power, authority, influence
• Affection: openness, warmth, closeness
AND
• How much one initiates behavior (Expressed) and How
much one would like others to initiate that behavior
toward her/him (Wanted)
Your FIRO-B Grid
Expressed v. Wanted
What Does That Mean?
And the Numbers?
• In the 6 Main Cells

• Low Score (0-2): you probably tend to show these
behaviors in very few situations
• Medium Score (3-6): you probably tend to show these
behaviors in selected situations
• High Score (7-9): you probably tend to show these
behaviors very often
Get to Know Your 6 Cells:
Exercise
• Look at the scores in the 6 main
cells (the green squares) of your
self-scorable results
• Look at descriptions on pages 2-5

of your handouts
• Use page 3 to write your

reported scores and your self-
select scores
Share with a Partner
• Share about your 6 cells:

• What does this validate about your interaction with your
PC team?
• What new awareness does this highlight about your
interaction with your PC team?
Now for the Totals
• Total Expressed: illustrates the extent to which you

initiate behavior
• Total Wanted: illustrates the extent to which you

prefer others to initiate behavior
• Overall Total: illustrates the extent to which you prefer

working alone v. working with others
Team Roles
• Role associated with highest expressed
score:
• Inclusion: Clarifier – integrates,
summarizes, clarifies, creates ways for
everyone to participate
• Control: Director – mindful of tasks and
time, directs action, suggests closure,
guides assignments, offers structure
• Affection: Encourager – mediates
conflict, identifies energy and resistance
levels, promotes intimacy and
engagement, harmonizes
Team Decision Making
• What is your highest expressed

need?
• Inclusion: provide information,
ensure everyone provides opinions,
summarize
• Control: push for closure, evaluate
options, structure debate, ensure
consistency
• Affection: push for depth and
openness, test support for decisions,
promote a “safe” climate for
differences
Team Decision Making
• What is your highest wanted need?

• Inclusion: look for common ground,
can live with group decision different
from own, bring in outside
perspectives
• Control: consider
implementation/compliance issues,
honor past team decisions, tease out
issues for clarity
• Affection: put great effort into
understanding individual perspectives
and needs, reconcile differences
Team Mismatches
• What is your lowest wanted need?
• When a team is expressing too much of
that need, you are likely to:
• Inclusion: be tempted to skip meetings,
tune in and out, sit far away, position
body away from group, work on other
business, keep head down
• Control: move quickly to a firm position,
be tempted to show up late/leave early,
avoid assignments, not respond to
emails, find a way out of rules
• Affection: avoid chit-chat, skip social
events, be tempted to take on contrary
positions, remove yourself by taking
detailed notes
Team Mismatches
• What is your highest wanted need?
• When a team is expressing too little of

that need, you are likely to:
• Inclusion: share more information, ask for
time to share your thoughts, request to be
caught up, encourage everyone to express
their opinions, offer a proposal, arrive early
and sit centrally
• Control: ask many questions, point out
options, express lack of confidence in team,
identify obstacles, share your progress,
express concerns
• Affection: offer to help people, encourage
“tough” feedback, go above and beyond,
make personal sacrifices, schedule lunches
Case Study
• Read the case study on page 12 of your handouts
• Discuss the questions at the end with your tablemates

Team Climate
• What topics need attention when there is not enough

INCLUSION on the team?
VALUING DIFFERENCES
OUR COMMON GOAL
PROCESS FOR PARTICIPATION

Team Climate

CONTROL on the team?
ROLES, EXPECTATIONS
OUTCOMES, DELIVERABLES
DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES
Team Climate

AFFECTION on the team?
STRESSORS, FRUSTRATIONS, OBSTACLES
VALUES, MOTIVATIONS
PERSONAL HISTORIES,
BACKGROUNDS
Your Team, Your Next Steps
• What do you think your PC team needs more of

(inclusion, control, affection)? What’s your evidence?
• What one thing could you do more of in your team?
• What one thing could you do less of in your team?
Share with Your Team
Resources
• Introduction to the FIRO-B Instrument (Judith A.

Waterman and Jenny Rogers)
• Participating in Teams: Using Your FIRO-B Results to

Improve Interpersonal Effectiveness (Eugene R.
Schnell)
• Team development, team transitions, team chemistry,
leadership role, more on conflict
• Both booklets are available at cpp.com

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Know Yourself,

Strengthen Your Team:

What behaviors do you see in successful teams?

• Use the FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal

• Apply your findings to your team approach

• Learn about your team members’ social needs

• Discuss and determine ways to get your needs met and

• Originally developed in the 1950s to predict how

• Now one of the most widely used instruments in the

• Used primarily to look at group dynamics

• The extent to which people attempt to satisfy three

• In the 6 Main Cells

• Look at descriptions on pages 2-5

• Use page 3 to write your

• Share about your 6 cells:

• Total Expressed: illustrates the extent to which you

• Total Wanted: illustrates the extent to which you

• Overall Total: illustrates the extent to which you prefer

• What is your highest expressed

• What is your highest wanted need?

• When a team is expressing too little of

• Read the case study on page 12 of your handouts

• Discuss the questions at the end with your tablemates

• What topics need attention when there is not enough

OUR COMMON GOAL

PROCESS FOR PARTICIPATION

• What topics need attention when there is not enough

• What topics need attention when there is not enough

STRESSORS, FRUSTRATIONS, OBSTACLES

• What do you think your PC team needs more of

• Introduction to the FIRO-B Instrument (Judith A.

• Participating in Teams: Using Your FIRO-B Results to

• Both booklets are available at cpp.com

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