DIAGNOSTICS

The Circumplex Team Scan (CTS)

Most team assessments tell you what people think or feel. The Circumplex Team Scan (CTS) reveals something different—the shared behavioural norms that shape how your team actually operates.

Not engagement scores. Not individual behaviour. The patterns of behaviour that become normal across the team.

Team culture isn't about values on a wall or what people say in surveys. It's about behavioural norms.The unwritten rules that govern how people actually interact, communicate, and work together.

What is the Circumplex Team Scan (CTS)

Measuring the Behavioural Norms That Make or Break Teams

Does your team speak up or stay silent? Challenge ideas or defer to authority? Collaborate openly or protect territory? These behavioural patterns determine whether your team executes brilliantly or stumbles repeatedly.

The Circumplex Team Scan (CTS) makes these invisible norms visible.

The CTS is a scientifically rigorous assessment that measures team behavioural norms across 8 (eight) distinct culture styles: Courageous & Confident, Timid & Hesitant, Engaged & Open, Evasive & Guarded, Respectful & Modest, Rude & Combative, Competitive & Pushy, and Yielding & Cautious.

The CTS doesn’t just tell you how people feel about your team culture, it also tells you how people actually behave in your team—and how that compares to the team culture you need.

We measure both:

Current Culture: How people actually behave today.
Ideal Culture: How people need to behave to support your strategy and values.

The gap between current and ideal becomes your team’s culture change roadmap.

The 8 (EIGHT) Team Culture Styles

COURAGEOUS & CONFIDENT

Team members tend to act boldly, decisively, and fearlessly. They are comfortable being assertive and taking charge. This style drives action, decisiveness, and willingness to take risks. Teams high in this style don’t wait for permission—they move.

ENGAGED & OPEN

Team members tend to welcome opportunities to interact and communicate with each other. They are involved and eager to share their perspectives. This style creates energy, idea flow, and psychological safety. People speak up because they know they’ll be heard.

RESPECTFUL & MODEST

Team members tend to support and care for each other. They are mindful not to behave in ways that other members might consider boastful or annoying. This style builds trust and cohesion. People feel valued and supported, not threatened or diminished.

YIELDING & CAUTIOUS

Team members tend to be very conflict-avoidant. They are careful not to say or do anything that might provoke controversy or negative attention. At moderate levels, this creates harmony. At high levels, it creates false consensus and suppressed dissent.

TIMID & HESITANT

Team members tend to anxiously avoid appearing assertive and ambitious. They prefer to remain inconspicuous and follow the lead of others. This style kills initiative and innovation. People wait to be told what to do rather than taking ownership.

EVASIVE & GUARDED

Team members tend to ignore or avoid each other. They may avoid contributing because they doubt their contributions would be positively received. This style creates silos and disengagement. People protect themselves rather than collaborate.

RUDE & COMBATIVE

Team members tend to forcefully struggle among themselves for power and dominance. They sometimes undercut, belittle, and bully each other to get their way. This style destroys trust and psychological safety. People spend energy on politics rather than performance.

COMPETITIVE & PUSHY

Team members tend to compete with each other for attention and prestige. They strive for opportunities to distinguish themselves and advance their own careers. At moderate levels, this drives excellence. At high levels, it creates toxic internal competition.

WHEN DO YOU NEED IT

SIGNS YOUR TEAM MIGHT BENEFIT FROM THE CIRCUMPLEX TEAM SCAN (CTS)

You're building a new team	New teams need to establish productive behavioural norms from day one. The CTS helps you define and embed the culture you want before bad habits form.
Team performance is inconsistent	The team has talent but results are unpredictable. Behavioural norms are likely misaligned with what high performance requires.
You're addressing team dysfunction	Conflict, silos, lack of trust and poor communication can be signs of problematic behavioural norms. The CTS helps reveal the behavioural patterns contributing to them.
You've changed team composition	New members, departures, reorganisation—team culture gets disrupted. The CTS helps you reset and realign behavioural norms.
You're scaling the team	As teams grow, the behavioural norms that worked when the team was smaller may no longer support how people need to work together. The CTS helps make those norms visible so you can intentionally shape them as the team grows.
Strategy execution is failing short	The strategy may be clear, but the team is struggling to execute. Behavioural norms such as avoiding challenge, holding back or weak accountability may be getting in the way.
You want to shift from good to great	The team is functional but not exceptional. The CTS reveals which behavioural shifts would unlock higher performance.
You're merging teams	Two teams with different cultures need to integrate. The CTS makes both cultures visible so you can intentionally design the new culture.
You need baseline data for culture change	You're investing in team development and need to measure whether behavioural norms are actually shifting over time.

Who is this for?

The Circumplex Team Scan (CTS) is designed for...

Intact Teams

People who work together regularly and have established behavioural norms—not groups that only meet occasionally.

Leadership Teams

Executive teams and senior leadership teams where behavioural norms cascade throughout the organisation.

High-Stakes Project Teams

Teams working on critical initiatives where behavioural norms can directly affect how effectively the team delivers.

Newly Formed Teams

Teams that need to intentionally design productive behavioural norms from the start rather than letting them form accidentally.

Teams Experiencing Dysfunction

Teams experiencing conflict, silos, lack of trust or poor communication, where behavioural norms may be contributing to the problem.

High-Performing Teams

Strong teams looking to understand the behavioural edge that could take performance further.

Teams Undergoing Change

Teams experiencing reorganisation, new leadership, changes in membership, or strategic shifts that disrupt existing norms.

Cross-Functional Teams

Teams bringing together people from different functions who need to align on how they’ll work together.

Distributed or Hybrid Teams

Teams where physical distance makes behavioural norms harder to establish and maintain.

WHAT MAKES THE CIRCUMPLEX TEAM SCAN (CTS) DIFFERENT

Behavioural Focus, Not Attitudes	The CTS measures behavioural norms—how people typically behave together as a team—rather than personality types or engagement scores.
Current AND Ideal Culture	The CTS captures both current and ideal behavioural norms, making the gaps visible and showing where change is most needed.
Scientifically Validated	Built on the Interpersonal Circumplex model and its application to team behaviour.
Comprehensive Coverage	Measures team behavioural norms across eight distinct styles, capturing both effective and problematic patterns.
Visual and Intuitive	The circumplex visual makes complex team dynamics easier to see, understand and discuss.
Actionable	The behavioural specificity helps teams move from broad intentions such as “improve communication” to identifying the behaviours they need to strengthen, reduce or change.
Real-Time or Online Deployment	Can be used live as part of a facilitated workshop or deployed online, depending on the team and context.
Benchmarked	Provides comparative context to help teams understand their behavioural profile in relation to other teams.
Outcome Measures	The 12 culture outcome measures explores the relationship between behavioural norms and important aspects of team effectiveness, including trust, psychological safety, innovation, accountability and collaboration.

How This Integrates with Our Programs

The Circumplex Team Scan (CTS) can be used as a standalone diagnostic or as the behavioural foundation for broader team development and culture work.

The High-Performance Team Culture Sprint

The CTS provides the behavioural baseline for our 4-week team transformation Sprint, making the team’s current and ideal behavioural norms visible and identifying where the greatest opportunities for change lie.

Custom Team Programs

For teams with more complex needs, the CTS can inform a tailored program focused on the behavioural patterns affecting collaboration, decision-making, accountability and performance.

Leadership Team Development

For executive and senior leadership teams, the CTS reveals the shared behavioural norms shaping how the leadership team works together—and the patterns it may reinforce across the organisation.

Ongoing Measurement

The CTS can be repeated over time to assess whether targeted behavioural norms are shifting and where further attention may be needed.

A Standalone Snapshot

The CTS can also be used independently, with facilitated interpretation and action planning, when a team needs clarity about its behavioural culture without a broader program.

HOW IT WORKS

The Circumplex Team Scan (CTS) Process

1. Define Scope and Approach

We work with you to determine:
Which team(s) will participate (intact teams only—people who work together regularly)
Deployment method: Real-time workshop or online collection
Timeline and logistics
How results will be used (diagnosis, action planning, ongoing measurement)

2. Deploy the CTS

We have two deployment options:

Option A: Real-Time Workshop Collection

Option B: Online Collection

The Survey:

Team members complete the survey:
64 items measuring team behavioural norms across 8 (eight) culture styles
Takes approximately 10 minutes per survey to complete
Two surveys: Current team culture + Ideal team culture
Can be completed on smartphone, tablet, or laptop
Individual responses are confidential, with results aggregated at team level

3. Analyse the Data

We analyse results to identify:
Current culture profile: Which behavioural norms dominate this team?
Ideal culture profile: What behavioural norms would best support the team?
Culture gap analysis: Which specific behaviours need to shift?
Culture style patterns: Which behavioural norms are most prominent, and where are the significant gaps?
Team culture outcomes: How do behavioural norms impact trust, psychological safety, innovation, accountability, etc.?
Benchmark comparison: How does the team compare with relevant benchmark data?

4. Debrief and Interpretation

We facilitate a team debrief session where:
Present the current vs. ideal team culture circumplex visually
Explore what the data reveals about how the team currently works together
Examine the gaps between current and ideal team behavioural norms
Examine the 12 team culture outcome measures
Identify which team behavioural norms are helping or hindering team performance
Build shared language around the team's culture
Surface the beliefs and assumptions that might be reinforcing current team behavioural norms

5. Action Planning

Based on the gap analysis, we help the team:
Prioritise the team behavioural norms that matter most
Define specific, observable team behavioural commitments
Identify the situations where new team behaviours need to be practiced
Establish team agreements and accountability mechanisms
Plan how new team behavioural norms will be reinforced
Set milestones for reviewing progress and measuring change

WHAT THE CTS CAN PROVIDE

Team Behavioural Culture Report

A detailed view of the team’s current and ideal behavioural norms and the gaps between them across the 8 (eight) CTS styles.

Visual Circumplex Profile

A visual map of the team’s behavioural norms, making complex patterns easier to see and discuss.

Current VERSUS Ideal Team Culture Comparison

Shows where the team is now compared with the behavioural team culture members believe is needed.

Team Culture Gap Analysis

Highlights the most significant gaps between current and ideal team behavioural norms, helping identify where to focus.

12 Team Culture Outcome Measures

Provides additional insight into important aspects of how the team is functioning and how these relate to its behavioural culture.

COmparative Context

Where appropriate, provides context for understanding the team’s results in relation to available comparative data.

Facilitated Team Debrief

A facilitated session to interpret the results, explore their implications and identify the behavioural priorities that matter most.

Team Behaviour Action Planning Workshop

Translates insight into specific team behavioural commitments and practical actions for the team.

Agreed Team Commitments

Captures the behavioural shifts the team agrees to work on and how team members will reinforce them together.

Follow-Up Measurement

Where appropriate, the CTS can be repeated to assess whether targeted behavioural norms have shifted over time.