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HOW NASA

BUILDS TEAMS
Mission Critical Soft Skills for Scientists,
Engineers, and Project Teams
CHARLES J. PELLERIN
How NASA Builds Teams - Page 1

MAIN IDEA
Every successful organization needs high performance teams in order to compete and succeed. Yet the technical people who often
make up these teams don’t generally respond well to the traditional “touchy-feel” style of team building activities – they’re not the kind
of people who like sitting around campfires in the middle of nowhere singing Koombiya and toasting marshmallows. If you’re trying to
build a team of scientists and engineers, a different approach is needed.
NASA recognized this problem in the early-1990s. The catalyst
for this was the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990 Intuited
with a flawed mirror. In the aftermath of this very public E
debacle, NASA formed another team to mount a space repair m C V L
mission which was ultimately highly successful. This second o o
How t Cultivating g
team used the “4-D Team Building Process” shown at right. Visioning
decisions I I
In 2001, NASA extended the 4-D System right across the get
board. As of late-2009, more than 500 NASA project and o c
made I D
engineering teams involving more than 2,700 scientists have n a
used this process. The results have been impressive with most a Including Directing l
teams moving from below-average performance levels to l
consistent above-average performance. Sensed
It makes sense to learn from NASA’s mistakes and its
successes in equal measure. Integrate the 4-D System into the How information is conveyed
way you build and manage teams.

1,The basics of the 4-D system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2


The 4-D system simplifies leadership into the four dimensions you must address and balance to be an
effective leader:
1. Cultivating – you have to make everyone feel appreciated.
2. Including – you must make people’s opinions count.
3. Visioning – you have to think about possible futures.
4. Directing – you have to take action to make things happen.
Not only can 4-D be used to build good leaders but it is also a solid team-building process. It measures the
key driver of team performance – the social context.
2. How NASA uses the 4-D System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
There are eight behaviors (two in each dimension) which can and should be measured:

1 Express authentic appreciation 5 Express reality-based optimism


C V
2 Address shared interests Cultivating Visioning 6 Be 100% committed

I D
Appropriately include others 7 Avoid blaming and complaining
3
Including Directing
4 Keep all agreements 8 Clarify roles and accountability

By systematically establishing a baseline of performance and then regularly measuring ongoing


performance in each of these behaviors, more than 500 NASA teams showed systematic improvements.
3. Basic 4-D diagnostic tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
The real value of the 4-D System is it allows you to match the innate personalities and
strengths of those on your team with the tasks required. You can also measure your C V
team’s prevailing culture and see how it matches up with the culture of your primary
customer. The 4-D System is a good way to mesh projects, teams and customers
together well. I D

4. How to use 4-D to shift context for your teams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 5 - 8


To make the most of the 4-D system, you should be proactive in trying to improve your own individual
performance on the eight behaviors specified. Similarly, if you’re called to act as a team leader, you can
and should use these eight behaviors to improve your team’s social context. The more you enhance the
social context of your team, the better its performance will become.

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