The Five-Star Team Workshop: bring new teams together
A practical workshop for teams formed after a merger, acquisition or restructure. Agree what a top-performing team looks like, map how to get there, and build the trust and tools to work as one team.
4 hours | Up to 15 people | In person | $6,000 + GST
Two teams on paper. One team in practice?
A restructure, merger or acquisition can create a new team overnight. Turning that group into a team that actually works together takes longer. People bring different histories, priorities and ways of working. Roles blur, handovers get missed, and it's easy to stay in old groups rather than build something new.
At the same time, change and uncertainty are wearing people down. Change fatigue has risen sharply over the past decade, and uncertainty makes all of us more likely to read neutral situations as threats.
The Five-Star Team Workshop gives your new team the time, tools and shared language to agree where they're heading and how they'll get there, together.
At the end of this workshop, your team will:
Have a shared picture of what a top-performing, five-star team looks like, in their own words
Know honestly where they are now, and what's needed to close the gap
Have a practical pathway to get there, covering mindset, behaviours, relationships, customer service and outcomes
Understand how uncertainty affects how people think and react, and how to stay focused on what they can control
Understand each other's perspectives, and why colleagues may see things differently
Have practical conversation tools to clarify responsibilities, handle tough questions and agree next steps
Who should attend
This workshop is a strong fit for:
Teams brought together after a merger or acquisition
New teams formed in a restructure from parts of existing teams
Teams combining different functions, such as technical and commercial, or operations and customer-facing roles
Teams with a new leader or a new direction
Teams where roles and responsibilities feel unclear, and things are falling through the cracks
Course Outline
Module 1: Working in uncertainty
What's happening in the world of work right now, what happens in our brains when we face uncertainty, and how people respond to change. Your team explores the difference between feeling things happen to them and taking control of what they can.
Module 2: Shifting our mindsets
How bias and our natural threat responses shape the way we see colleagues and situations. Your team explores growth and experimental mindsets, and the practical shifts that help teams thrive through change: from resilience to adaptability, from fixing to listening, and from failures to experiments.
Module 3: Creating a five-star team
The heart of the workshop. Before the session, each team member describes what a five-star team looks like. Together, the team agrees on their shared vision, sorts the true five-star behaviours from the baseline, honestly rates where they are now, and maps a pathway to get there using the GROW coaching model.
Module 4: Conversation tools to drive outcomes
How to see things from someone else's point of view, why some situations trigger a threat response in colleagues, and practical tools for conversations that lead somewhere: mirroring, labelling, open questions, paraphrasing, asking for action and agreeing a plan. Your team practises with realistic scenarios written specifically for your work.
Built around your team
Your team's own words. A pre-workshop survey asks each person what a five-star team looks like. Their answers become the foundation of the session.
Scenarios from your world. Practice scenarios are written for your industry and your team's real challenges, such as unclear handovers between roles or tough questions from customers.
Grounded in research. Tools draw on respected models, including Locus of Control, Growth Mindset, the SCARF model, OODA loops, the GROW model and practical negotiation techniques.
Visual and memorable. Mel sketchnotes live during in-person sessions, so your team takes home a visual record of what they agreed.
How the workshop runs
Four hours, in person at your workplace, facilitated by Mel Loy
Up to 15 people per workshop
Before the workshop: a planning meeting with leaders and a short survey for the team
After the workshop: a follow-up meeting to share feedback
You'll take away: printed tools, a copy of the slides, a summary of your five-star vision and pathway, and optional Certificates of Completion
Investment
$6,000 + GST for up to 15 people. This includes the planning meetings, workshop design and research, printed materials and facilitation.
A 30% deposit secures your date, and the balance is invoiced after the workshop. Travel and accommodation outside Brisbane are added to the final invoice.
FAQs
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A workshop from Cuttlefish Communications that helps teams formed after a merger, acquisition or restructure agree on a shared vision of what a top-performing team looks like, and build a practical plan and the communication skills to get there.
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Start by giving people a chance to talk about what's changing and how they feel about it. Then agree a shared purpose and what great looks like, clarify roles and responsibilities, and build regular ways of working together. The Five-Star Team Workshop covers each of these steps.
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Involve the team in defining it. When people describe what a great team looks like in their own words, they're far more likely to commit to it. Then turn that vision into specific behaviours and actions.
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Team communication skills training helps an established team understand each other's styles and give better feedback. The Five-Star Team Workshop is designed for new or combined teams that need to agree where they're heading and how they'll work together.
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Yes. A pre-workshop survey captures your team's views, and the practice scenarios are written for your industry and your team's real challenges.
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Ideally within the first few months of a new team forming, once people know the structure but before old habits set in. It also works well for teams that have been together a while but never quite gelled.
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Give us at least 48 hours' notice and reschedule within three months. Cancellations need at least two weeks' notice, or the deposit is forfeited.
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A planning meeting, a pre-workshop team survey, tailored scenarios, workshop design, printed tools, facilitation by Mel Loy and a follow-up meeting.
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$6,000 AUD + GST for up to 15 people. Travel and accommodation outside Brisbane are charged separately.
If you have a team larger than 15 people, we will provide a commensurate quote.
About your facilitator
Mel Loy is the founder of Cuttlefish Communications and has more than 20 years in senior corporate communication roles, including leading teams through restructures and change. She holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Behavioural Insights and a Diploma of Organisational Change Management, alongside other undergraduate and post-graduate qualifications, and the SCMP credential. Mel is a Board Member of IABC Asia-Pacific and the author of Change Isn't Hard and Less Chatter, More Matter. She specialises in internal, change, leadership and strategic communication.
Team Communication Skills: for established teams working on styles and feedback
Leadership Communication Skills Training: for the leaders of your new team
Change Communication Skills Training: for the people communicating the restructure
Research and Audits: if you need to understand how the change is landing first
Related training & resources
Ready to build your five-star team?
Book a non-obligation discovery call, or fill out the form and we’ll be in touch soon.