TDS (Team Diagnostic Survey) is a scientifically validated instrument for diagnosing team effectiveness, developed by Hackman, Wageman & Lehman (Harvard). It measures the 6 conditions that explain up to 80% of a team's effectiveness. Used with management teams, top teams and project groups. Available in Russian.
A «team» only on paper — people work in parallel with no real interdependence
There are plans but no results — meetings happen, agreements are not kept
The leader is the bottleneck — everyone waits for decisions from above, the team does not self-manage
People leave — key employees burn out or find somewhere else, the roster is unstable
«We have no shared purpose» — everyone understands the objective differently, decisions take forever
The TDS report is only provided with a debrief — either individually for the leader or as a team session. Diagnostic data without professional interpretation produces no developmental effect: that is a principle built in by the authors of the method.
Diagnostics give you data where before there was only a feeling that «something is off».
HR or L&D need data for the leadership: what exactly to develop, why, and how to measure progress.
TDS gives you a baseline and metrics for assessing change in 6–12 months.
In calm times everything is fine, but under stress or change the team falls apart. You need to understand why.
A team's resilience is determined by conditions, not by people's characters.
You are creating a project group or restructuring a department. You want to set the right conditions from the start rather than fixing them later.
A Team Launch based on TDS — the right start from the first meeting.
People are leaving or demotivated. You want to understand whether this is a problem with the people, the leadership or the system they work in.
More often than not the cause is in the conditions, not the people.
You need to understand quickly what you have inherited: what conditions exist, where the gaps are, what to change first.
TDS is an objective snapshot in 20 minutes instead of 3 months of observation.
You have worked together for a year or two, but results are not improving. Meetings happen, decisions are made, but something is holding you back.
TDS will show whether the problem is in the processes, the structure or the external context.
The Hackman & Wageman model is the only instrument with proven predictive validity, built on cause-and-effect logic.
Most team problems have a systemic cause. Conflict, low engagement, poor decisions — these are symptoms. The cause is the absence of one or more of the six conditions.
The conditions form a chronological sequence: first the Essentials (the foundation), then the Enablers (the accelerators). You cannot skip ahead.
The six conditions explain three processes (effort, strategy, talent), which in turn determine three criteria of effectiveness.
Clear boundaries (who is on the team), interdependence in the work, a stable roster. Most «teams» are groups of people working in parallel.
A purpose that is clear, challenging and consequential. The leader sets the WHAT and leaves the HOW to the team. Without it there is neither motivation nor strategy.
The right skills including teamwork, the right diversity. A star performer who «holds the team hostage» is a classic problem.
Team size (the smaller the better), task design (autonomy + feedback), clear norms of conduct. Oversized teams are a common problem.
Rewards for team results, access to information, training, resources. Most HR systems are tuned to individual results.
The availability and quality of coaching — from the leader, team members or an external specialist. Coaching only works when the first five conditions are strong.
From launch to concrete team agreements — 2–3 weeks.
The colour map of the 6 conditions shows exactly where the systemic cause sits: purpose, composition, structure, context or coaching.
Each participant describes the purpose in their own words. The report shows whether 11 people give 11 different versions or one shared one.
The spread of opinion on each of the 6 conditions shows where agreement is simulated and where the contradiction is real.
The psychological safety scale (Edmondson). Often the most painful result and the most important one for how the team holds together.
Data on the leader's coaching focus and style: what helps the team and what holds back its independence and autonomy.
Open responses: what to keep, what to change. The team's voice — anonymous, unfiltered by HR.
Teams in the region face specific challenges that Western research does not cover.
People do not say what they think — especially under authoritarian leadership. The diagnostics include the Edmondson scale, and this is often where the most painful result sits.
Measured separatelyA high power distance index, team bonuses are rare, «why should I help others». TDS shows how far the organisational context actually supports real teamwork.
A systemic HR problemStrategy changes every 3 months. The Ends vs Means matrix shows whether the team has its own compass or depends entirely on directives.
The key question of autonomyRelocations, job changes, burnout — teams keep losing people. Stability of membership becomes a critical condition, and the TDS measures it explicitly.
Relevant for 70%+ of teamsThe choice of version depends on the team's language and the diagnostic objectives. The price is the same.
All packages include the questionnaire and the report. The difference is in how deeply you work with the team afterwards.
Prices are per team, not per participant. For several teams at once we quote individually. Travel to the regions and international projects are on request. All packages are available in EN and RU versions at the same price.
TDS is one of the few team instruments published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and validated on real teams across industries. It measures what actually drives effectiveness — not what intuitively seems important to managers.
TDS shows how the system works. Other instruments add the context of the people and the leadership.
The extended version of the diagnostics includes questions specific to the regional context: the stability of goals from above, informal structures of influence, and willingness to speak frankly with the leadership.
Learn more →TDS shows how the team works as a system. BASE!PRO shows how each person in it works — working styles, preferences, where friction comes from. Together: you see not only what is broken but who contributes what to it.
Include it in the diagnostics →TDS diagnoses the conditions for effectiveness. PCM® explains each person's communication patterns and motivation. Together: you understand not only what is broken in the system but why people behave the way they do inside it.
Learn about PCM® →TDS shows how the team works as a system. Hogan shows who these people are — their potential, risks under pressure, values. Together: a complete picture of why the system works the way it does. You see the link between composition and dynamics.
Learn about Hogan →
I specialise in diagnosing and developing management and top teams. I run TDS diagnostics with a debrief, team sessions for launching and relaunching teams, and support teams through transformations.
Certified in the 6 Team Conditions methodology (Ruth Wageman, Harvard). I also work with teams through Hogan (personality in a team), PCM® (communication and motivation), OKR and Agile frameworks for building an operating rhythm.
If you need to diagnose several teams, run a tender or obtain a proposal for budget approval — we will prepare everything required.
Fill this in and we will prepare it within one business day