Holgate
A Team Report
The Five Disciplines Diagnostic
A structured read on how this team is functioning, across the five disciplines of a high-value-creating team.
Acme Leadership Team
Prepared for Sarah Chen, CEO
6 team responses · Delivered May 2026 · Report ID HG-2026-05-DEMO
The Five Disciplines Diagnostic v5 · By James Correy, Holgate
Confidential. Individual responses anonymised. For the team leader's use in preparation for the debrief conversation.
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A letter, before the data
May 2026
For
Sarah Chen, CEO of Acme
A note before the report begins.

You know more about this team than this report ever will. You have watched them under pressure, in good weeks and bad, and you have felt the things the data can only point at. So treat what follows as a structured second opinion, gathered from the people who sit around your table.

Three things stood out in what they said.

The mandate at the top is broadly clear. Commissioning is the smallest gap in the report (1.7), and Q1 sits at 7.5 of 10. The team knows what it has been asked to deliver. The strain is everywhere downstream of the mandate, not in it.

The team's largest gap is Connecting (4.7). The single biggest indicator gap in the report is Q14, the consistency of your external story to stakeholders, rated 3.5 today against a target of 8.7. The open responses say the same thing in plainer terms. Stakeholders hear different things from different members of this team. The board, the investors, the engineering leaders downstream, all are running on partial pictures.

The third observation is for you. The widest spread in the report is Q11, "we confront hard issues directly", at 2.4 standard deviations. Half the team rates this 7 or 8. Half rates it 2 or 3. Two members of this team experience it as a team that confronts. Four experience it as a team that doesn't. That gap of perception is yours to sit with. It is rarely bridged without the leader stepping into the disagreement first. We will work on that together at the debrief.

Hold the questions, not the answers, until we meet.

James Correy
Holgate May 2026 · Sydney
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The Five Disciplines Diagnostic
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
How to read this report
This report is diagnostic, not prescriptive.

It tells you what your team has said about itself. It does not tell you what to do about it. That conversation is what the debrief is for.

The five disciplines
Contents
01
The shape of this team
04
02
Reading the chart
05
03
What stands out
06
04
Where the team disagrees with itself
07
05
Commissioning
08
06
Clarifying
10
07
Co-creating
12
08
Connecting
14
09
Core Learning
16
10
What the team said
18
11
Readiness and energy
19
12
Where this team is most vulnerable
20
13
Closing
21
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The Five Disciplines Diagnostic
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Where the gaps are biggest
Five disciplines, ranked from biggest gap to smallest.
The biggest gap is where this team's work begins. Every gap below it may be downstream of it.
ConnectingEngagement with the wider system
3.7
8.4
4.7to close
The team's relationship with its system is where leverage hides. Stakeholders hear different things from different members. Engineering, the board, customers, and your own people are all running on partial pictures of what this team is doing.
Co-creatingHow the team works together
4.6
8.3
3.8to close
Core LearningReflection, feedback, growth
4.1
7.7
3.7to close
ClarifyingPurpose, goals, roles
5.0
8.3
3.3to close
CommissioningClear mandate from above
6.8
8.4
1.7to close
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The Five Disciplines Diagnostic
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Reading the chart
Each indicator looks like this.

The same chart pattern repeats throughout the report. Read it once here, then every page that follows reads at a glance.

Q14 · Connecting 3.58.75.2
When this team engages stakeholders externally, we tell a clear, consistent story.
Now bar
Where the team rates itself today, on a 1 to 10 scale.
Gap band
The distance between where the team is and where it says it needs to be. The wider the band, the bigger the priority.
Spread line
The range of individual ratings across the team. A long line means the team disagrees with itself, and that disagreement is often the finding.
Target mark
Where the team says it needs to be on the same scale.
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The Five Disciplines Diagnostic
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
What stands out
Three strengths to build from. Three gaps to confront.
Where the team rates itself highest today
The three indicators with the highest current score, out of 10. The number on the right is the team's average rating today.
01
The team has a clear commission from those who set it up.Commissioning · Q1 · 7.5 today · 8.8 target
7.5
out of 10
02
The team has the right mix of skills, experience, and perspectives.Commissioning · Q2 · 6.0 today · 8.0 target
6.0
out of 10
03
Every member can articulate, in plain language, why this team exists.Clarifying · Q4 · 6.0 today · 8.3 target
6.0
out of 10
Where the gap to target is biggest
The three indicators with the largest distance between where the team is today and where it needs to be. The number on the right is the gap to close.
01
External story is inconsistent. Stakeholders hear different things from different members.Connecting · Q14 · 3.5 today · 8.7 target
5.2
to close
02
Hard issues are not confronted directly. Team is split on whether they are.Co-creating · Q11 · 4.2 today · 8.8 target
4.7
to close
03
The team is not picking up changes in market, customer, or wider organisation early.Connecting · Q15 · 3.8 today · 8.5 target
4.7
to close
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The Five Disciplines Diagnostic
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Where the team disagrees with itself
The team's largest disagreements are not always its largest gaps.

The scores below are "where we are now" ratings only. Each row shows how the team sees itself today on a single indicator. Some members rate the team strongly, others rate it weakly, and the spread between them is the finding. This page is about how the team sees its current reality, not its ambition.

Indicator How the team rates "where we are now"
Co-creating · Q11 · Productive conflict
We confront hard issues directly. We don't avoid, go sideways, or let them fester.
2.4 Spread Range 2 to 8 · Mean 4.2
1 10
Mean 4.2
Co-creating · Q10 · Psychological safety
People speak up with dissenting views and difficult truths without fear of negative consequences.
1.1 Spread Range 3 to 6 · Mean 4.8
1 10
Mean 4.8
Commissioning · Q2 · Skills and perspectives
This team has the right mix of skills, experience, and perspectives to deliver on its commission.
0.8 Spread Range 5 to 7 · Mean 6.0
1 10
Mean 6.0
Disagreement on how the team sees itself is not a problem to solve. It often points to conversations the team has not yet had in the room. The 2.4-point spread on conflict (Q11) is the loudest signal in this report. Half this team experiences itself as a team that confronts. Half experiences itself as a team that doesn't.
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Commissioning
Is there a clear commission for this team, with defined success criteria, from those who brought it into being?
6.8 8.4 (Gap 1.7)
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Commissioning
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Commissioning is the strongest of the five disciplines for this team. The mandate is broadly held. The skill mix is broadly right. The strain in this report sits below this layer, not in it.
Q1 · Commissioning7.58.81.3
The team has a clear commission from those who set it up.
Q2 · Commissioning6.08.02.0
The team has the right mix of skills, experience, and perspectives to deliver on its commission.
What the data shows
The team broadly agrees on what it has been asked to deliver (Q1 at 7.5). The smaller dip on team composition (Q2 at 6.0) sits inside the spread story on page 7. The open responses qualify the agreement: members give different versions of what the board, the CEO, and the operating plan are actually asking for. The mandate is clear at altitude. The translation into shared priorities is where it starts to slip.
"The CEO says one thing, the board says another. We deliver to whichever has been loudest in the last meeting."
Team member · on whether everyone would describe the team's commission the same way
A question to sit with
If each member of this team wrote one sentence on what the team is here to deliver this quarter, how many different sentences would you get?
Commissioning · The Five Disciplines Diagnostic 9
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Clarifying
Is this team aligned on its purpose, goals, roles, and ways of working?
5.0 8.3 (Gap 3.3)
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Clarifying
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Clarifying sits in the middle of the gap distribution. Articulation of purpose holds. Priorities, roles, and follow-through are all materially below where the team needs them to be.
Q4 · Articulating purpose6.08.32.3
Every member can articulate, in plain language, why this team exists.
Q5 · Shared priorities4.88.53.7
Shared priorities genuinely drive how time is spent.
Q6 · Role clarity5.28.02.8
Clear individual and collective roles.
Q7 · Follow-through4.08.54.5
Clear ownership and genuine follow-through on commitments.
What the data shows
The team can broadly say why it exists (Q4 at 6.0). What it cannot do is translate that into shared priorities (Q5 at 4.8) and follow-through (Q7 at 4.0). The pattern named in the open responses is consistent: decisions made on Friday are unmade by Monday, commitments are carried by individuals rather than owned by the team, and the same plan gets reshaped each quarter rather than executed.
"How we make decisions. Decisions get unmade between Friday and Monday."
Team member · on what this team should be focused on that it isn't
A question to sit with
What is the difference between a decision made in this room and a decision held by this team?
Clarifying · The Five Disciplines Diagnostic 11
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Co-creating
Does this team work together generatively, producing more than the sum of its parts?
4.6 8.3 (Gap 3.8)
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Co-creating
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Co-creating is the second-largest gap and the discipline carrying the report's loudest spread. The data does not say "this team has no safety." It says "this team does not yet share an experience of safety."
Q9 · Ways of working4.58.03.5
We have agreed ways of working that we actually live by, not just discussed.
Q10 · Psychological safety4.88.53.7
People speak up with dissenting views and difficult truths. Honesty is safe.
Q11 · Productive conflict4.28.84.7
We confront hard issues directly. We don't avoid, go sideways, or let them fester.
Q12 · Generative output4.88.03.2
Outputs are genuinely better than any individual could achieve alone.
What the data shows
Q11 carries the largest spread in the report (2.4 standard deviations). Two members rate the team 7-8 on confronting hard issues. Four rate it 2-3. That is not a small disagreement. It points to a team in which some people are having the hard conversation while others are not aware it is happening, or are not in the room when it does. Underneath, the team is "individually strong" but "decides in parallel," in the words of one respondent. The output gap (Q12 at 4.8) is downstream of that.
"We are individually strong. We do not really decide together. We decide in parallel."
Team member · on the most common pattern that gets in the way
A question to sit with
If two members of this team think you confront hard issues well and four don't, what is happening that creates two different teams?
Co-creating · The Five Disciplines Diagnostic 13
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Connecting
Is this team effectively connected to the people and wider system it needs to serve?
3.7 8.4 (Gap 4.7)
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Connecting
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Connecting is the largest gap in this report. Every indicator in this discipline sits below 4. The team is heads-down. Its system is not.
Q14 · External story3.58.75.2
When this team engages stakeholders externally, we tell a clear, consistent story.
Q15 · Sensing the wider system3.88.54.7
This team picks up changes in market, customers, and the wider organisation early.
Q16 · Cross-team partnership3.78.04.3
We build value through partnerships with other teams. We deliver through them, not around them.
What the data shows
The team is operating inside the building. Stakeholders externally hear different things from different members (Q14, the report's biggest single gap). The team is reacting to its environment rather than reading it (Q15). Cross-team partnership is treated as a coordination problem rather than a delivery one (Q16). Across the open responses, multiple key relationships are named as either neglected or run on assumption: the board, the regulator, top customers, the people. None are hostile. None are well partnered.
"Our regulator. We update them. We do not have a relationship."
Team member · on the team's biggest stakeholder blind spot
A question to sit with
What would change for each of your top three stakeholders if they could hear one consistent story from this team next month?
Connecting · The Five Disciplines Diagnostic 15
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Core Learning
Does this team reflect, learn and grow over time, as a team and as individuals?
4.1 7.7 (Gap 3.7)
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Core Learning
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Core Learning sits as the third-largest gap. The team does not stop, gives little real-time feedback, and develops its people late rather than early.
Q18 · Team reflection3.57.74.2
We regularly stop to reflect on how we're operating as a team.
Q19 · Real-time feedback4.07.83.8
Team members give each other real, honest feedback in the moment, both support and challenge.
Q20 · Member development4.77.73.0
This team actively develops its members. People are growing, not just performing.
What the data shows
The team is so heads-down on delivery that it is not stopping to look at how it is delivering. The open responses name the same pattern in three different ways: "we never run a real retro on why," "we lose good people six months after they realise the team is not as good as the brand says it is," and "we promote too late, hire too late, are always behind on people." This is the pattern of a team that is reactive on its own learning. It is downstream of Co-creating, and upstream of the energy and readiness scores on the next page.
"We keep underestimating delivery time. We never run a real retro on why."
Team member · on the missed opportunity this team keeps repeating
A question to sit with
When did this team last stop, mid-quarter, just to look at how it was working together?
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Themes
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Beneath the numbers
What the team said.

Three themes run through the open-ended responses. They echo in the numbers, but the team's own words give the numbers shape.

I
A team that decides in parallel.

Across the open responses, members describe themselves as "individually strong" but failing to "decide together." Decisions made on Friday are unmade by Monday. Commitments are carried by individuals, not owned by the team. The follow-through gap (Q7) and the agreed-ways-of-working gap (Q9) are downstream of this same pattern: this team has not yet built the architecture of a collective.

"We are individually strong. We do not really decide together. We decide in parallel."
II
Two different teams in the same room.

The largest spread in the report is on confronting hard issues. Two members rate the team 7-8. Four rate it 2-3. The same dynamic shows up on safety. The pattern is not "this team avoids conflict." It is that two members are in conversations the other four are not aware of, or not invited to. There is a smaller team operating inside the team.

"Things get raised. Nothing changes. Eventually people stop raising them. I have stopped raising several things."
III
Heads-down inside, partial picture outside.

Stakeholder relationships are named in nearly every open response and named differently each time. The board, investors, the regulator, top customers, engineering, the people. Each appears as a relationship the team is running on assumption rather than partnership. Connecting is the largest discipline gap for a reason. This team has stopped looking up.

"Top customers. We assume we know them. We are running on data that is two years old."
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Overall
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
The team in two numbers
Readiness and energy.
Team readiness
2.8
Below target
From 5.7 today to 8.5 target.
The team is unsure it is set up to deliver what is expected of it over the next 12 months. The hesitation is real, not catastrophic.
Team energy
3.0
Below target
From 5.2 today to 8.2 target.
This team is, on its own account, consuming more energy than it generates. The work is happening. The fuel is not being made.

Both numbers sit just above 5 of 10 against a target near 8. That is the signature of a team that is functioning but not flourishing. It is working hard, doing reasonable things, and quietly not believing the current pattern can carry it through the year. The energy gap is rarely closed by working harder. It closes when the team starts to make decisions together that hold.

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The Five Disciplines Diagnostic
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
Where this team is most vulnerable
Two members of this team are having a different experience of the team than the other four. Until that is named, the rest of the report cannot move.
The 2.4-point spread on confronting hard issues is the loudest single signal in the diagnostic. It is not about whether the team confronts. It is about who is in the room when it does. The same pattern shows on safety, on follow-through, on stakeholder picture. There is a smaller team operating inside the team, and four members can feel it without being able to name it.
What it is costing
Decisions are being made in conversations that don't include everyone, then surface in the room as already settled. Members who have stopped raising things have not stopped having opinions. The compounding cost is the slow disengagement of the four, and the over-reliance on the two. Over twelve months, teams in this pattern typically lose at least one strong contributor who decides the smaller conversation is the only one worth being in.
What this team has tried
The reflections name the right instincts: "name the avoided thing in the moment," "stop being the one who keeps the peace," "process the history, then move on." This team is not unaware of the pattern. It is unable to make the pattern visible to all six members at once, in the room. That is the work the diagnostic cannot do. It is the work the debrief begins.
"Conflict happens. It does not get resolved. People go quiet. The work suffers in places nobody connects to the original disagreement." Team member, open response.
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Closing
Acme Leadership Team · May 2026
What to take into the debrief
One pattern. Three questions.

This team is clearly commissioned, internally divided on how it works together, and structurally disconnected from its wider system. The work ahead lives in surfacing the inside disagreement and rebuilding the outside conversations.

Three questions, before the debrief. Each one points at what the data has named, and at what only you can answer.
Three questions to sit with before our debrief
Question OneIf two members of this team experience it as a team that confronts and four don't, what is happening inside that gap, and what is your part in it?
Question TwoFor each of your top three external stakeholders, what would they say this team has consistently delivered against this year? Could you predict what they would say, or are you guessing?
Question ThreeIf readiness and energy are both at 5 of 10 today, with no change, what does this team look like at end of year?
Built on Peter Hawkins' five disciplines model of systemic team coaching. This diagnostic measures 17 indicators across the team's current state and aspiration, plus six open-ended responses synthesised into themes. Individual responses are anonymised. Holgate · holgate.au
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