Building IT Teams That Actually Deliver: The Assessment Framework

New CIO? Inherited team assessment is critical first 30 days. Here is the framework:

## The 30-Day Team Assessment

**Week 1: Individual Meetings**
- One-on-one with each direct report (60-90 min)
- Current responsibilities and challenges
- Career goals and development needs
- Team dynamics and pain points
- What is working / not working

**Week 2: Skip-Level Meetings**
- Meet with key individual contributors
- Unfiltered view of team health
- Identify hidden talent
- Understand morale and culture

**Week 3: Skills and Capability Audit**
- Technical skills inventory
- Certifications and training
- On-call rotation health
- Knowledge documentation (bus factor analysis)

**Week 4: Performance and Culture Assessment**
- Review recent performance reviews
- Analyze attrition patterns (who left and why)
- Survey team morale
- Identify toxic behaviors

## The Team Health Matrix

Plot each person on 2 dimensions:

**Performance** (Low to High)
**Culture Fit** (Low to High)

**High Performance + High Culture = Stars**
- Retain and develop
- Future leaders
- Give them challenges

**High Performance + Low Culture = Toxic Talents**
- Short-term contributors
- Long-term liabilities
- Coach or exit (usually exit)

**Low Performance + High Culture = Culture Carriers**
- Training and development opportunity
- May thrive in different role
- Give 90 days to improve

**Low Performance + Low Culture = Dead Weight**
- Performance improvement plan
- 30-60 day timeline
- Exit if no improvement

## Common Team Dysfunction Patterns

**Pattern 1: Hero Culture**
- 2-3 people doing 80% of work
- Rest coasting or overwhelmed
- Heroes burned out and leaving

**Fix**: Redistribute work, document knowledge, build bench strength

**Pattern 2: Siloed Expertise**
- Each person owns critical system
- No cross-training or documentation
- High bus factor risk

**Fix**: Rotate responsibilities, pair programming, documentation requirements

**Pattern 3: Reactive Fire-Fighting**
- 80% time on incidents
- No time for strategic work
- Technical debt accumulating

**Fix**: Root cause analysis, automation, on-call rotation, proactive monitoring

**Pattern 4: Low Accountability**
- Missed deadlines with no consequences
- No ownership of outcomes
- Blame culture

**Fix**: Clear expectations, measurable outcomes, accountability framework

## The Team Restructuring Decision Tree

After 30-day assessment:

**Scenario 1: Solid Team, Wrong Structure**
- Reorganize reporting lines
- Clarify roles and responsibilities
- Empower strong performers

**Scenario 2: Skills Gaps**
- Hire for critical gaps (security, cloud, data)
- Upskill existing team
- Outsource non-core functions

**Scenario 3: Performance Issues**
- Performance improvement plans for bottom 10-20%
- 60-90 day timeline
- Exit non-performers

**Scenario 4: Culture Problems**
- Address toxic behaviors immediately
- Reset expectations and values
- Exit culture detractors

## Real Case: Interim CIO Engagement

**Situation**: Team of 28, low morale, 40% attrition prior year

**30-Day Assessment Findings**:
- 3 high performers doing 60% of work (burned out)
- 8 solid performers underutilized
- 12 average performers coasting
- 5 low performers dragging down team

**Actions**:
- Retained and gave raises to 3 heroes
- Redistributed work to 8 solid performers
- Performance plans for 5 low performers (3 exited, 2 improved)
- Hired 2 specialists (cloud architect, security engineer)
- Restructured into product-aligned teams

**Results**:
- Attrition dropped to 12% (next 12 months)
- On-time delivery improved from 60% to 85%
- Employee satisfaction up 40 points
- Velocity increased 30%

The first 30 days determine if you build on strength or inherit dysfunction.