Mihaela Diaconu enjoys this rich collection of 40 practical tools aimed at helping team coaches and facilitators to engage teams at their specific level of team development, whatever scenario they are facing.

The Triumphant Team is a practical, well-structured collection, broadly following the idea that teams go through various stages in their development and offering you the most suitable tools to move them forward in their journey. Dr Woods advises us from the outset that the session and the tool we choose are our playgrounds, and that we can tailor them to fit the needs of the team we’re working with.

The book is structured in three parts.

The first takes us through a comprehensive explanation of the various stages of team development – one that goes beyond the classic Tuckman structure by focusing on the possible team goals at each stage. While it appears linear in nature, somewhat paralleling the Tuckman model, the attempt to gravitate around team goals provides a flexibility that, these days, all teams need. It also provides background and guidance on how to use the tools. It touches upon the importance of leadership in any team development endeavour and it has a couple of team readiness tests for the facilitator/coach to undertake before embarking on an intervention.

The second part of the book takes us through each of the six team development stages identified by Woods, providing between five and eight different possible practices to choose from for each stage. The practices have inspirational quotes to accompany them, and abound with underlying subtle human focus, undoubtedly testament to the author’s rich experience as a coach and psychologist practitioner.

The third part is an epilogue with concluding remarks, and a list of references and resources for coaches to enjoy discovering.

As a closing remark, I would like to share with you my favourite practice: number 33, preventing your team from burning out. It’s a comprehensive practice that supports individuals and teams to take charge of their ways of working, set boundaries and work towards improving ‘endurance resilience’. Woods advises teams to monitor and measure what changes and boundaries work and to acknowledge them, setting the team on a virtuous improvement spiral.