Know Yourself,
Strengthen Your Team:
Using the FIRO-B
Successful Teams
What behaviors do you see in successful teams?
Today’s Agenda
• Use the FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal
Relations Orientation-Behavior) instrument
to understand your social needs
• Apply your findings to your team approach
• Learn about your team members’ social needs
• Discuss and determine ways to get your needs met and
meet your team members’ needs
What is the FIRO-B?
• Originally developed in the 1950s to predict how
military personnel would work together in groups
• Now one of the most widely used instruments in the
world to help individuals understand their interaction
approaches
• Used primarily to look at group dynamics
and leadership in organizations
What Does It Measure?
• The extent to which people attempt to satisfy three
basic social needs:
• Inclusion: participation, recognition, belonging
• Control: power, authority, influence
• Affection: openness, warmth, closeness
AND
• How much one initiates behavior (Expressed) and How
much one would like others to initiate that behavior
toward her/him (Wanted)
Your FIRO-B Grid
Expressed v. Wanted
What Does That Mean?
And the Numbers?
• In the 6 Main Cells
• Low Score (0-2): you probably tend to show these
behaviors in very few situations
• Medium Score (3-6): you probably tend to show these
behaviors in selected situations
• High Score (7-9): you probably tend to show these
behaviors very often
Get to Know Your 6 Cells:
Exercise
• Look at the scores in the 6 main
cells (the green squares) of your
self-scorable results
• Look at descriptions on pages 2-5
of your handouts
• Use page 3 to write your
reported scores and your self-
select scores
Share with a Partner
• Share about your 6 cells:
• What does this validate about your interaction with your
PC team?
• What new awareness does this highlight about your
interaction with your PC team?
Now for the Totals
• Total Expressed: illustrates the extent to which you
initiate behavior
• Total Wanted: illustrates the extent to which you
prefer others to initiate behavior
• Overall Total: illustrates the extent to which you prefer
working alone v. working with others
Team Roles
• Role associated with highest expressed
score:
• Inclusion: Clarifier – integrates,
summarizes, clarifies, creates ways for
everyone to participate
• Control: Director – mindful of tasks and
time, directs action, suggests closure,
guides assignments, offers structure
• Affection: Encourager – mediates
conflict, identifies energy and resistance
levels, promotes intimacy and
engagement, harmonizes
Team Decision Making
• What is your highest expressed
need?
• Inclusion: provide information,
ensure everyone provides opinions,
summarize
• Control: push for closure, evaluate
options, structure debate, ensure
consistency
• Affection: push for depth and
openness, test support for decisions,
promote a “safe” climate for
differences
Team Decision Making
• What is your highest wanted need?
• Inclusion: look for common ground,
can live with group decision different
from own, bring in outside
perspectives
• Control: consider
implementation/compliance issues,
honor past team decisions, tease out
issues for clarity
• Affection: put great effort into
understanding individual perspectives
and needs, reconcile differences
Team Mismatches
• What is your lowest wanted need?
• When a team is expressing too much of
that need, you are likely to:
• Inclusion: be tempted to skip meetings,
tune in and out, sit far away, position
body away from group, work on other
business, keep head down
• Control: move quickly to a firm position,
be tempted to show up late/leave early,
avoid assignments, not respond to
emails, find a way out of rules
• Affection: avoid chit-chat, skip social
events, be tempted to take on contrary
positions, remove yourself by taking
detailed notes
Team Mismatches
• What is your highest wanted need?
• When a team is expressing too little of
that need, you are likely to:
• Inclusion: share more information, ask for
time to share your thoughts, request to be
caught up, encourage everyone to express
their opinions, offer a proposal, arrive early
and sit centrally
• Control: ask many questions, point out
options, express lack of confidence in team,
identify obstacles, share your progress,
express concerns
• Affection: offer to help people, encourage
“tough” feedback, go above and beyond,
make personal sacrifices, schedule lunches
Case Study
• Read the case study on page 12 of your handouts
• Discuss the questions at the end with your tablemates
Team Climate
• What topics need attention when there is not enough
INCLUSION on the team?
VALUING DIFFERENCES
OUR COMMON GOAL
PROCESS FOR PARTICIPATION
Team Climate
• What topics need attention when there is not enough
CONTROL on the team?
ROLES, EXPECTATIONS
OUTCOMES, DELIVERABLES
DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES
Team Climate
• What topics need attention when there is not enough
AFFECTION on the team?
STRESSORS, FRUSTRATIONS, OBSTACLES
VALUES, MOTIVATIONS
PERSONAL HISTORIES,
BACKGROUNDS
Your Team, Your Next Steps
• What do you think your PC team needs more of
(inclusion, control, affection)? What’s your evidence?
• What one thing could you do more of in your team?
• What one thing could you do less of in your team?
Share with Your Team
Resources
• Introduction to the FIRO-B Instrument (Judith A.
Waterman and Jenny Rogers)
• Participating in Teams: Using Your FIRO-B Results to
Improve Interpersonal Effectiveness (Eugene R.
Schnell)
• Team development, team transitions, team chemistry,
leadership role, more on conflict
• Both booklets are available at cpp.com
