How Nasa Builds Teams: Mission Critical Soft Skills For Scientists, Engineers, And Project Teams

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Developed over 15 years by one of NASA's lead astrophysicists, the book and accompanying soft skills assessment questionnaire (included in the book and available free online), is a powerful, proven system to build high performing teams. It is widely used by NASA astronauts, Space Shuttle crew members, Space Station teams, and engineering teams as a rigorous, measurement-based, techie-friendly approach to improving communication, motivation, and soft skills. Each chapter describes key elements of an effective teambuilding system, based on the free assessment tool included in the book, which can be taken by each member of your team. In the 4-D System, 4-D is shorthand for the Four Dimensions that measure and enhance teams and their members. The Four Dimensions are Including/Relating, Cultivating/Valuing, Visioning/Creating, and Directing/Organizing. About The Author Charles Pellerin is the former director of NASA's Astrophysics division, where he oversaw an annual budget of$750 million a year, launched a dozen scientific satellites, and lead the team that successfully repaired the Hubble Space Telescope (for which he received NASA's highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal). Pellerin lead the development of NASA's post Cold-War strategic plan, and conceived NASA's Great Observatories program, which garnered $3 billion in funding for astronomy. After failed leadership was identified as the root cause of the Hubble's flawed mirror, he began research on teams, leadership, and soft skills, and became a Professor of Leadership in the Business School at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 1995 he founded 4-D systems to train NASA teams and private businesses in mission critical soft-skills (www.4-dsystems.com). He developed the 4-D soft skills assessment system, which has produced measurably dramatic improvement in leadership and soft skills for thousands of people in NASA and in business. In 2007, 4-D Systems won the Prism Award from the International Coaching Federation's enhanced excellence and business achievement...with documented return on investment. Table Of Contents Acknowledgments. Introduction. PART I: UNDERSTANDING AND ANALYZING CONTEXT. Managing Social Context Manages Technical Performance. The 4-D System: A Simple Tool to Analyze Team and Individual Performance. PART II: USING 4-D ASSESSMENTS AND REPRESENTATIVE RESULTS FROM NASA. The 4-D Assessment Process. NASA's 4-D Teambuilding Results. PART III: 4-D DIAGNOSTICS: HOW TO COLOR CODE YOUR TEAM'S CONTEXT. Using the 4-D System to Color Your Personalities. Incoherent Project Mindset Colors? Update Your Resume. PART IV: SHIFTING THE CONTEXT. The Context Shifting Worksheet (CSW). Red Story-Lines Limit Team Performance. Manage Your Emotions to Manage Your Team's Energy. People Need to Feel Appreciated by You. Mine the Gold in Your Shared Interests. People Need to Feel Included by You. Building Trustworthy Contexts. Creating the Future You Want. Your Team Can't Afford Drama. Don't Put Good People in Bad Places. Epilogue: Hubble's Legacy. References. Index.