Leading and Teaming in Clinical Translational Science

Instructors

CCTSI (Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute) affiliates from Colorado State University will provide the workshops--Dr. Gemma Jiang and her team from the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRISS). The IRISS staff are sought-after speakers, regularly leading workshops on cultivating transdisciplinary teams, lecturing on the field of team sciences, and coaching various large NSF (National Science Foundation) and NIH (National Institutes of Health) funded teams.

Structure

The program's structure includes a pre-requisite self-paced online module, Teaming 101, that is recommended to be completed prior to workshop attendance. Teaming 101 is hosted on Canvas.instructure.com and is not affiliated with your university account. Instructions for accessing Teaming 101 will be emailed to you after you have registered for your first workshop.

Attendance at the workshops can occur in any order that fits with your schedule. Due to their interactive nature, the workshops require synchronous attendance for the full workshop duration.

Registration

First, we ask you to complete the workshop registration form by clicking on the registration button. You do not have to register for all workshops at once. Prior to your registered workshop(s), you will receive more details via email on how to access the course materials through CSU Online and Canvas. Please note that registration for workshops closes one week prior to the scheduled workshop.

Leading and Teaming registration (Fall 2025)

 

 

Teaming 101: Online Course

After registering, you will receive an email from CSU Online with access to a supplemental self-paced course titled  Teaming 101, which provides additional materials to support this workshop series.

This online, self-paced course includes six modules (about 20 minutes each) introducing you to the scientific literature on teams and team performance. It provides background knowledge that will help you get the most out of the interactive workshops.  It is recommended to be completed prior to participating in any of the workshops.

---

 Workshop 1: Compelling Purpose

This session centers on how teams can collectively develop, communicate, and sustain a compelling purpose. There is a deep human yearning to be part of something bigger than oneself, and a compelling purpose captures that “something bigger.” The vitality of this purpose—and each member’s relationship to it—is a critical determinant of team success. It acts as the force that draws the team toward convergence while skillfully managing the creative tension arising from a variety of perspectives and expertise. In this session, we will leverage insights from  Strategic Doing (Morrison et al., 2019) and the Six Conditions for Team Effectiveness (Hackman, 2002; Wageman & Lowe, 2019) to explore the concept of compelling purpose. You will learn practical facilitation techniques, sentence structures, and tools such as the ladder of abstraction, and the divergence-convergence diamond (Kaner, 2014) to help team members connect deeply with the purpose and articulate a coherent narrative about their role within the larger whole.

---

 Workshop 2: Integrating Task and Relationship

Task and relationship are two essential dimensions of effective teaming—and they must be integrated. In fact, they form a polarity pair (Emerson & Lewis, 2019), meaning they are interdependent forces that exist in dynamic tension. Overemphasizing one at the expense of the other can lead to imbalance, unintended consequences, and a sense of stagnation. Unlike problems, which can be solved, polarities are ongoing tensions that must be continuously navigated. The good news is that there are generative pathways beyond compromise or resignation to push-pull dynamics. In this session, we will introduce the Polarity Navigator—a powerful tool that helps teams identify and map these dynamics, develop a shared language around them, and shift from reactive responses to intentional, adaptive strategies. Participants will experience the transformative shift from Either/Or thinking to Both/And—a foundational mindset for navigating the complexity of team collaboration and creative work.

---

 Workshop 3: Practicing Polarity

Building on the foundation laid in Session 2, this session offers extended practice with the Polarity Navigator, applying it to additional polarity pairs that are particularly relevant to team science. These could include tensions such as Direct::Empower, Support::Challenge, and Competence::Warmth. Participants can choose a polarity pair that is their own growth edge, and practice filling out the Polarity Navigator with peers for important actionable insights.

Note: Participation in Session 2 is encouraged but not required for Session 3. We will provide a pre-session reading and begin Session 3 with essential conceptual grounding.

---

Workshop 4: A Team as a Network of Roles

This session explores how leaders in cross-disciplinary science teams can intentionally design, align, and recalibrate roles to enhance team coherence and agility (Jiang & Lurie, 2025). Moving beyond technical and interpersonal skills, this session positions role clarity as a foundational leadership capability. Participants will learn how to initiate role contracting at the start of a project, design effective role relations, establish clear rules of engagement, and maintain agility through ongoing re-contracting. Drawing on the RACI framework and the Orgonomics methodology, we will examine how role confusion, overlapping authority, and unspoken assumptions can hinder collaboration—and how structured conversations and sense-making rituals can help teams evolve with clarity and coherence. Through interactive activities and reflection, participants will leave with practical tools for leading teams that are greater than the sum of their parts.

Wednesday, October 15, 2025    9:00-10:30AM

---

Workshop 5: The Six Team Conditions

This session introduces the Six Team Conditions framework (Hackman, 2002; Wageman & Lowe, 2019), a research-based model developed by J. Richard Hackman and Ruth Wageman that identifies the key factors contributing to team effectiveness. Participants will explore how creating the right conditions—rather than focusing solely on individual performance—can unlock a team’s potential.We’ll begin by grounding in the three essential conditions: a real team with clear membership and boundaries, a compelling purpose that energizes and aligns, and the right people with the knowledge and skills to deliver. Building on this foundation, we’ll examine three enabling conditions: a  sound structure  with clear roles and norms, a supportive context with access to resources and information, and team coaching that helps the group reflect and adapt. Through guided reflection and conversation, participants will assess one of their own teams using this framework, identifying strengths, gaps, and areas ripe for experimentation. The session invites a shift from fixing individuals to designing better systems—recognizing that healthy teams are grown, not born.

Wednesday, November 5, 2025    9:00-10:30AM

---

Workshop 6: Practicing the Six Team Conditions

This hands-on session builds on our introduction to the Six Team Conditions framework by focusing on practical application through experimentation, peer learning, and real-time coaching. Instead of a fixed agenda, we’ll co-create the session structure based on the conditions most relevant to participants’ current challenges—whether that’s clarifying roles, energizing purpose, or deepening reflection practices. Through small-group work and shared exploration, we’ll reflect, test tools, and learn collaboratively in real time.

Note: Participation in Session 5 is encouraged but not required for Session 6. We will provide a pre-session reading and begin Session 6 with essential conceptual grounding.

Wednesday, November 12, 2025    9:00-10:30AM