Most organisations rely heavily on teams, yet research consistently shows that few sustain high performance. A key reason may be hiding in plain sight. Leadership development has long prioritised individual capability: self-awareness, interpersonal skills, and one-to-one effectiveness. These are valuable, but they don't give leaders a roadmap for thinking and operating at a team level. As a result, many leaders are well-equipped to manage people, but underprepared to build, lead, and sustain high-performing teams.

This masterclass introduces the Rocket Model, an evidence-based, high-performing teams framework developed by Dr. Gordon Curphy and Dr. Dianne Nilsen, that gives practitioners and leaders exactly that roadmap.

The Rocket Model integrates decades of team research and data from thousands of teams worldwide to identify eight factors that influence team performance: Context, Mission, Talent, Norms, Buy-In, Resources, Courage, and Results. Together, these elements provide a structured roadmap with two practical applications. Used prescriptively, the model guides leaders on how to set up and charter a new team for success. Used diagnostically, it identifies the specific strengths and challenges within a team and targets interventions where they will have the most impact.

In this half-day masterclass, participants will explore how the Rocket Model can be applied at multiple levels of organisational practice. The session will introduce the model’s research foundations before moving into practical application. At the individual team level, the focus is on using the Team Assessment Survey (TAS) to diagnose and address specific team challenges. At the leadership development level, the model is applied as a framework for guiding leadership development programs. At the organisational level, collective team diagnostics are used to surface patterns, trends, and systemic insights across entire organisations.

Through interactive activities and real-world case studies, participants will analyse the TAS and practise translating insights into targeted development actions. The session will also showcase a range of facilitation tools and activities that practitioners can use to strengthen each component of the Rocket Model.

Participants will leave with a practical toolkit for diagnosing team challenges, facilitating development conversations, and applying targeted, evidence-based strategies, equipping them to build, lead, and sustain stronger teams. Critically, the Rocket Model framework can be applied immediately, whether working with an individual team or guiding broader leadership development across an organisation.

While a half-day masterclass is the preferred format, the presenters are also able to deliver this content as a 90-minute how-to or traditional presentation.