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Team Analysis for Even Better Team Performance

Discover your team's strengths, where improvement is possible, and how to collaborate more effectively.

Written by Patrick van Dalsum
Assessmentpsychologist at Essentive

Team analysis

Strengthen Your Team with the ITTI® Method

Strong teams are built when people understand one another's talents and know how to work together effectively. Yet it is not always easy to gain insight into team dynamics, the distribution of strengths, and where development opportunities lie. An Essentive team analysis gives you an in-depth view of individual talents, collaboration between team members, and the potential of the team as a whole. Below, you will discover how a team analysis helps improve collaboration, where many existing team assessments fall short, and how Essentive's ITTI® method provides objective and actionable insights.

Team analysis

What is a team analysis/team assessment?

A team analysis, also known as a team assessment, provides insight into how a team functions and works together. It maps, among other things, the team's strengths, roles, communication, collaboration, and development areas. This creates a clear picture of what is working well and where targeted improvements can be made to increase team effectiveness

Team analysis

Why conduct a team analysis?

A team analysis makes clear where a team is strong and where it functions less effectively. It also shows where collaboration, communication, and the division of roles can be improved. This provides concrete insights that help teams develop more purposefully, collaborate more effectively, and achieve better results.

Team analysis

Components of our team analysis

Our team assessment begins with an analysis at the individual level, providing insight into 67 talents for each team member and how those talents interrelate. We distinguish between innate and trainable talents, making clear which strengths, development areas, roles, and preferred styles each team member brings. Once these individual profiles are clear, we map the team as a whole and analyze the team dynamics: how the different profiles relate to one another, where talents reinforce each other, and where potential overlap, gaps, or areas of tension arise.

Method

When is a team analysis valuable?

A team analysis is valuable when an organization wants to better understand how a team functions and where improvement is possible. This is particularly relevant for new teams, team expansion, change processes, growth, conflicts, disappointing results, or situations in which roles and responsibilities are unclear. Even for teams that already perform well, a team analysis can help strengthen collaboration further, make better use of talents, and shape team development more purposefully.

Method

Where do common team analyses fall short?

There are many different team analyses and team assessments on the market. However, many methods have clear limitations. They often remain focused on observable behavior or general team roles, while paying too little attention to the deeper motivations, thought patterns, and interpersonal dynamics within the team. As a result, they do not always provide a complete or reliable picture of how the team truly functions and what is needed to improve collaboration sustainably.

  • Insufficient scientific basis
  • Focus on behavior rather than who someone truly is
  • Susceptible to influence and subjective
  • Too simplistic and lacking nuance
  • Poor candidate experience

Method

Essentive's ITTI® method: a stronger alternative

Assessment firm Essentive developed the ITTI® method: a scientifically grounded, objective, in-depth, and respectful approach that also provides valuable insights in team analyses. By first mapping the individual talents, motivations, and thought patterns of team members, a rich and nuanced picture of the team as a whole emerges. This makes clear how the profiles relate to one another, where collaboration is strengthened, and where targeted development is needed.

  • Scientifically sound and ethically safeguarded
  • Focus on motivations and thought patterns
  • Eliminates subjectivity
  • Rich and nuanced personality profile
  • People-centered and respectful
  • Practical and concrete advice

Companies we work with

Method

At a glance: what ITTI® adds

AspectCommonly used assessmentsEssentive's ITTI® method
Scientific foundationQuality varies; not always scientifically validatedConsistent use of valid, reliable and evidence-based instruments
FocusOften focused on observable behaviourFocus on underlying drivers, thought patterns and personality structure
ObjectivitySusceptible to influence from self-reporting and assessorsStandardised measurement that cannot be manipulated, combined with professional interpretation
Accuracy / depthOften simplistic, insufficiently nuanced profilesNuanced, detailed profile showing the interrelationships between 67 traits
Candidate experienceCan feel impersonal; candidates may not sufficiently recognise themselves in the resultsPeople-centred approach with explanation, dialogue and high candidate acceptance

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Do you want more information about the way we work and our method?

Case study

From Difficult Meetings to Clear Decisions

The management team of a medium-sized healthcare organization had reached an impasse. Meetings were strained, decisions were repeatedly reopened for discussion, and two of the five management team members clashed visibly. The director therefore wanted to understand what was really obstructing collaboration—and, above all, how the team could start moving forward again.

Following an intake meeting with the director, all five team members completed Essentive’s ITTI® analysis. By examining the individual results not in isolation but in relation to one another, a clear picture emerged of the division of roles, decision-making, collaboration, and the sense of psychological safety within the team.

The analysis

The findings revealed what was rarely expressed during meetings. Differences of opinion were often avoided at the table, only to surface afterwards. As a result, decisions were reopened for discussion and the unrest continued. At the same time, two team members proved naturally inclined to take the lead. Their clashes were therefore not the core problem, but mainly a visible consequence of unclear leadership and conflict avoidance

During a joint team session, Essentive presented this picture to the full management team—not as a judgment, but as a mirror. The findings resonated strongly. The team made concrete agreements about when a decision is final, who takes the lead in which situation, and how objections should be voiced directly during the meeting. Based on the insights from the analysis, the management team and Essentive jointly drew up a compact and practical action plan.

The result

Three months later, meetings were shorter and more focused, and decisions remained in place. The tension between the two team members had not completely disappeared, but it could now be discussed. By acting in accordance with the agreements, which stemmed from the action plan jointly developed by the management team and Essentive based on the analysis insights, a workable situation emerged in which the team could operate constructively.

That was precisely the difference: the team no longer avoided conflict but learned to use it constructively. The added value of the team analysis lay not only in making behavior visible, but above all in translating it into concrete, jointly supported working agreements.

Want to learn more about our approach? View our other case studies and discover how Essentive helps organizations translate complex assessment challenges into clear insights and concrete next steps.

For whom

Who are our team analyses for?

Our team assessments are suitable for organizations and teams in every sector. They are valuable for teams seeking a sound, nuanced, and scientifically grounded picture of their talents, interpersonal relationships, collaboration, and development areas. With these insights, organizations can strengthen collaboration, make better use of talents, and improve team performance in a targeted way.

Process

What the Program Looks Like

A team analysis using the ITTI® method follows clear, transparent steps. We begin with an intake to properly understand the team’s context, objectives, and composition. The team members then complete the assessment, after which the individual profiles and team dynamics are analyzed and translated into concrete insights, advice, and reporting.

  • Intake with the client & role analysis
  • Practical information for the candidate
  • Completing the assessment
  • ITTI® analysis: talent analysis using the ITTI® method
  • Results and advisory meeting
  • Report

FAQ

Our team analysis consists of two components. First, each team member is assessed individually. This individual analysis costs €1,995 excluding VAT per person. The individual results are then used to create an in-depth team analysis. This analysis maps the dynamics within the team and shows its strengths, areas for attention, and development opportunities.

For teams of up to and including 3 people, the price of the team analysis is €2,500 excluding VAT. For teams of more than 3 people, the price is €3,500 excluding VAT.

For comparison, market prices vary considerably depending on the scope and quality of the assessment. Rates for individual professional assessments generally range from €1,500 to €4,000 excluding VAT. For a team analysis of a larger team, prices often range from €3,000 to €10,000 excluding VAT. In view of the depth and quality of our assessment, we therefore offer excellent value for money.

A team analysis provides a clear and nuanced picture of how a team functions, where it is strong, and where improvement is possible. It shows how team members relate to one another, how talents are used, and where collaboration, communication, or the division of roles can be improved. For organizations, this enables better direction of team development, helping teams collaborate more effectively, lose less time to miscommunication or uncertainty, and achieve better results.

Interested in the possibilities?

Contact us, we would like to get to know you.