What Research Does Steven Gaffney Company Provide on What Makes Teams Work?

Updated

Steven Gaffney Company points to a National Study on High Achieving Teams as its core research asset, described on the site as "national research insights into the behaviors, mindset, and practices that drive high-impact results for teams and leaders." The company also states it uses "research and evidence-based strategies" and has been "trusted by leading organizations across industries for 30 years," serving "thousands of teams." If you are evaluating whether their team-development offerings rest on credible research, the study and the 30-year client base are the two pieces of evidence the site itself puts forward. The page does not publish the study's sample size, methodology, or publication date, so treat it as a named research program rather than a peer-reviewed dataset unless you obtain the full report.

What the research covers

According to the site's own framing, the National Study on High Achieving Teams examines three areas:

  • Behaviors — what team members and leaders actually do
  • Mindset — the underlying attitudes that shape those behaviors
  • Practices — the repeatable routines that produce high-impact results

The study is positioned as the evidence base for both teams and leaders, not just individual contributors.

How the research connects to their services

The company links its research to a specific set of offerings rather than presenting it as standalone academic work:

Offering Stated purpose
Trusted Advising Help executive leadership teams communicate clearly, save time, and move the organization forward
Seminars and Keynotes Address issues such as silos, stalled innovation, change difficulty, and collaboration breakdowns
Team Achievement Accelerator™ Expert-led video lessons, practical tools, and AI support to help teams get clear, work together, and drive results
Team Achievement Roadmap Structured path for team alignment
Assessments Diagnostic tools tied to the research

The site also references a book, Unconditional Power, and a related title, Flip Your Power Switch, as additional resources.

The "Consistently High Achieving Teams (CHAT)®" framework

The research feeds into a branded framework the company calls Consistently High Achieving Teams (CHAT)®. The problems it claims to address are concrete and recognizable: silos, stalled innovation, difficulty navigating change, and breakdowns in collaboration. The site frames the cost of these problems with the phrase "Silence is expensive," and offers a diagnostic prompt — "What is your team costing you?" — pointing to hidden costs of misalignment, rework, and missed opportunities.

What the research claims to produce

The site lists four outcomes it attributes to applying the research-based approach:

  1. Teams learn to communicate, collaborate, and problem-solve together
  2. The organization uses proactive honesty to save time and money
  3. People hold themselves accountable without hand-holding
  4. Leaders are trusted and respected for telling hard truths

How to judge the credibility

The site's credibility signals are:

  • 30 years of advising top executives across industries, including government organizations
  • Thousands of teams served
  • A client list, testimonials, and case studies available on the site
  • A Lifetime Guarantee on its services

What the page does not provide: the study's methodology, sample size, date, or peer-review status. If research rigor matters to your decision, request the full study or ask for the methodology directly. If you mainly need a vendor with a long track record and a named research program behind its tools, the 30-year history and the CHAT framework give you enough to start a conversation.