Quality of Interaction Index

Growth, innovation, and change are team sports. Guiding an organization or community from here to there is too complex an undertaking for any one individual, regardless of how smart or well-resourced they may be. The unit of change and transformation is the team – executive teams, project teams, boards of directors, for instance. Having smart, dedicated people in place is one thing, but the interaction between and among team members is another. The quality of this interaction matters. 

Cognitive Diversity & Psychological Safety

Research indicates two important factors that greatly influence the ways in which team members interact between and among one another: (1) cognitive diversity and (2) psychological safety

  • Cognitive diversity refers to the different ways individuals process information, solve complex problems, and optimally contribute to growth, innovation, and change. 
  • Psychological safety is the shared belief, among team members, that it is okay to take interpersonal risks, to express their ideas and concerns, and to admit mistakes – all without fear of negative consequences. 

The most successful teams are those that fully leverage their cognitive diversity and possess a high level of psychological safety. The Quality of Interaction (Qi) Index helps groups and teams visualize and benchmark these two factors. From there, they can create a roadmap for better leveraging their strengths, minimize their vulnerabilities and blind spots, and performing at even higher levels. A Qi Index assessment helps groups and teams identify the behaviors that need to be strengthened and those that should be let go. 

The Qi Index in Practice

The insights provided by the Qi Index will enable you and your team work together more effectively in ways that will directly impact performance. A Qi Index engagement will help you: 

  • Articulate the strategic behaviors needed for growth, innovation, and change;
  • Visualize the levels of psychological safety and cognitive diversity that are present in your team or organization; 
  • Prompt discussions that will lead to higher levels of performance
  • Measure progress toward more fully leveraging cognitive diversity and higher levels of psychological safety

A Qi Index Engagement

When we bring in the Qi Index into an organization, the engagement usually involves three phases: an initial assessment, a results workshop, and quarterly check-ins. This work is done in teams and we can work with a single team or multiple teams within an organization. 

  • Initial Assessment. First, we work with you to determine the scope of the engagement, whether we’ll be working with one team or multiple teams within your organization. Then, participating team members are invited to complete an online assessment. Completing the assessment only takes about 10 minutes.
  • Results Workshop. Next, we schedule a Results Workshop. This is where we bring team members together to review and discuss the results of the assessment. To prepare for the workshop, Hutcheson Associates analyze the results of the team’s responses, prepare informative data visualizations, and then lead the workshop(s) in which the team will review their results. You can see an example of the report we prepare here. During the workshop we’ll guide an interactive discussion that leads to a roadmap for better leveraging your team’s cognitive diversity and achieving higher levels of psychological safety.   
  • Quarterly Check Ups. After the initial assessment, participants will complete the assessment about every three months for the next year. We will prepare a check-up report that tracks progress toward higher performance. If additional quarterly workshops would be helpful those can be arranged. 

An entire QI Index engagement, including the Results Workshop, can be done onsite and in person, in settings where everyone is remote, or in hybrid teams with some team members onsite and others joining remotely.

A Note on Level of Analysis and Anonymity

Although individuals complete the assessment, the focus of the assessment is of overall team performance not individual performers. Participation responses are anonymous. 

Learn More

Interested in bringing the Qi Index to your organization? Use the button below to connect with us and learn more.

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