A Team SWOT Analysis is not a new tool. Yet, by now, you all know that I am a huge fan of figuring out how to use current frameworks and integrate them with AI to get better, faster, or cheaper results for your business.

This post is crafted based on insights from the standard Team SWOT Analysis framework that you can find many references about online and through several scholarly works. Some of the references are Jenčo & Lysá (2018) who explore the evaluation of work team strategies using SWOT analysis, Namugenyi, Nimmagadda, & Reiners (2019) work to design a SWOT analysis model for diverse digital business ecosystems, Askarany & Yazdifar (2012) work to investigate the diffusion of management accounting innovations, and Nyarku & Agyapong (2011) work that discusses an extended version of the SWOT analysis. Lastly, Helms & Nixon’s (2010) work provides a comprehensive review of academic research on SWOT analysis, contributing to the toolkit’s foundation.

Introduction to Team SWOT Analysis

A Team SWOT Analysis is a strategic tool that enables leaders to identify and assess the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats inherent in their teams. By conducting this analysis, leaders can gain a comprehensive understanding of their team’s capabilities and potential challenges. The process involves defining the team and its objectives, conducting the SWOT analysis, prioritizing the findings, and developing actionable strategies. This methodical approach not only facilitates strategic planning but also enhances team performance and aligns goals with capabilities. One small addition we added to this tool is to add some additional prompts you can type into ChapGPT to give you additional insights into each of the steps of the analysis.

Why do a Team SWOT Analysis?

Conducting a Team SWOT Analysis empowers leaders to develop tailored strategies that leverage their team’s strengths, address weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, and mitigate threats. By systematically analyzing and understanding these elements, leaders can foster improved team performance, strategic alignment, and proactive problem-solving. This approach ensures that teams are well-prepared to navigate challenges and seize opportunities, leading to sustained growth and success.

How to do a Team SWOT Analysis?

This is a step-by-step playbook you can use to create your own Team SWOT Analysis. Each step will include the action that you intend to take, a bit of a description of what this step is meant to achieve, some details around the step, and then a follow-up prompt that you can type directly into ChaptGPT to take this analysis to the next level.

Consider this playbook like a coach on Team SWOT analyses. A great coach ensures that you never leave a session without action. Since I am an AI Enablement coach, my goal is to get you to find a way to take action that involves leveraging AI in some way that will make you more effective than if you were not to include an AI-enabled action. Consider entering each prompt and using it to refine each step before you complete your Team SWOT analysis.

Team SWOT Playbook

1. Define and Understand:
   • Action: Clearly define your team and its objectives.
   • Description: Begin by defining your team and its objectives, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
   • Detail: Clearly outlining your team’s purpose and objectives sets the foundation for the SWOT analysis. This step involves understanding your team’s role within the organization, its goals, and the expectations of stakeholders. A well-defined objective provides direction and focus, ensuring that the SWOT analysis is relevant and targeted.
   • ChatGPT Prompt: Can you help me understand how to define clear objectives for my team?
2. Spot Strengths:
   • Action: List your team’s core competencies and strengths.
   • Description: Identify and list your team’s core competencies and strengths.
   • Detail: Recognizing your team’s strengths involves assessing skills, resources, and attributes that give your team an advantage. This could include technical expertise, strong communication, or a history of successful project execution. Acknowledging these strengths provides a foundation for leveraging them in strategic planning.
   • ChatGPT Prompt: What are some examples of core competencies that a team might possess?
3. Acknowledge Weaknesses:
   • Action: Document the areas for improvement within your team.
   • Description: Recognize areas for improvement and list the challenges faced by your team.
   • Detail: Identifying weaknesses involves a candid assessment of areas where your team may be lacking. This could include gaps in skills, inefficient processes, or resource constraints. Addressing these weaknesses head-on ensures that they don’t hinder your team’s progress.
   • ChatGPT Prompt: How can I identify and address the weaknesses within my team?
4. Identify Opportunities:
   • Action: Determine and list external factors that can be leveraged for growth.
   • Description: Determine external factors or trends that can be leveraged for your team’s growth.
   • Detail: Spotting opportunities involves staying abreast of market trends, technological advancements, and external factors that your team can capitalize on. This proactive approach ensures that your team is ready to seize opportunities that align with its strengths.
   • ChatGPT Prompt: Can you suggest ways to identify opportunities in the market that align with my team’s strengths?
5. Assess Threats:
   • Action: Evaluate and list potential challenges that may obstruct progress.
   • Description: Evaluate potential challenges and threats that may obstruct your team’s progress.
   • Detail: Assessing threats involves identifying external factors that could pose challenges, such as competition, regulatory changes, or economic downturns. Being aware of these threats allows your team to develop strategies to mitigate their impact.
   • ChatGPT Prompt: What are common external threats that teams might face, and how can they be assessed?
6. Prioritize and Strategize:
   • Action: Evaluate the SWOT elements and develop actionable strategies.
   • Description: Evaluate and prioritize the SWOT elements and develop actionable strategies.
   • Detail: Prioritizing involves assessing the significance of each SWOT element and determining which areas require immediate attention. Developing strategies based on this prioritization ensures that efforts are directed towards the most impactful areas.
   • ChatGPT Prompt: How can I prioritize the findings from a SWOT analysis and turn them into actionable strategies?
7. Implement Action Plan:
   • Action: Develop and execute a clear action plan.
   • Description: Develop a clear action plan with specific tasks, timelines, and responsibilities.
   • Detail: Implementing an action plan involves translating the strategies developed from the SWOT analysis into concrete steps. This includes assigning tasks, setting timelines, and ensuring that everyone on the team understands their responsibilities.
   • ChatGPT Prompt: Can you guide me in creating an effective action plan based on a SWOT analysis?

SWOT Reflection Exercise

It is important to reflect on any work product that you produce as sort of a final action that concludes the activity. As a coach, I am a big fan of requesting my clients use a journal to reflect on what they are doing so they can gather evidence on what is working and what isn’t. Here is a journal prompt you can consider using to reflect on the Team SWOT Analysis exercise you just performed.

Journal Prompt: Reflect on a situation where conducting a Team SWOT Analysis led to a significant shift in strategy or improvement in team performance. What were the key insights gained, and what strategies were implemented as a result?

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