About
The Evolved Authority in Team Effectiveness Science
When Dr. Charles Margerison and Dr. Dick McCann challenged the world of personality testing in 1980s Brisbane, Australia, they sparked a revolution. Today, their complete system of teamwork has transformed over 2 million professionals across 190 countries—proving that extraordinary teams aren't born, they're systematically built.
Our Origin Story: Where Science Meets Human Potential
The Brisbane Beginning (1980s)
In the School of Management at the University of Queensland, two pioneering researchers were asking a question that would reshape team development forever: "What if we stopped labeling personalities and started building high-performing teams instead?"
Dr. Charles Margerison and Dr. Dick McCann weren't satisfied with existing personality assessments that reduced people to static categories. While MBTI focused on individual typing, and Belbin focus on team roles, they envisioned something revolutionary: a complete system that transforms how diverse talents combine to create collective excellence.
Their breakthrough wasn't just another psychometric tool. It was the world's first complete methodology for systematically building teams that consistently outperform, bridging the gap between individual potential and extraordinary team achievement. What started as academic research in Brisbane became the foundation for transforming millions of professionals worldwide.
Evolution, Not Revolution
While others promised quick fixes or revolutionary disruption, Margerison and McCann chose the path of continuous evolution. They established the Institute of Team Management Studies, ensuring that TMS would always be grounded in rigorous research while remaining practical and human-centered.
Four decades later, their systematic approach has proven its value across every continent and industry. We've learned that great teams aren't born but are built through understanding, intention, and the right scientific framework applied with genuine human warmth.
What We Stand For
Our Purpose: Igniting Human Potential Through Team Science
We empower individuals and businesses to achieve their full potential by transforming how teams work together. Every day, we help organizations unlock the extraordinary potential that emerges when diverse individuals unite as high-performing teams, making work a place of meaning, connection and collective achievement.
Our Vision: A World Transformed by High-Performing Teams
We envision a world transformed by high-performing teams that embrace human diversity to drive innovation, increase productivity and promote sustainable growth. Workplaces where teamwork isn't just encouraged but is scientifically optimized, where every team has the tools, language, and understanding to achieve collective excellence.
Our Mission: The Complete System for Team Excellence
As thought leaders, we continually strive to preserve and develop our research into the science of high-performing teams. We don't just assess personalities; we provide the world's most comprehensive, research-backed system that delivers high-quality, relevant and easy-to-use insights that transform individuals into exceptional teams.
We leave a legacy of lasting human behavioral change in the workplace. By supporting growing numbers of people to begin their journey of self-awareness and discovery each year, we amplify the positive impact of our systematic approach, creating teams that consistently outperform while honoring individual uniqueness.
Why TMS: The Complete System Advantage
Other Tools: Individual Assessment
✗ Focus on personality typing and behavioral styles
✗ Provide one-time insights or static categories
✗ Label individuals without team context
✗ Limited to surface-level feedback
TMS System: Team Optimization
✓ Optimize team effectiveness and collaborative performance
✓ Create ongoing development pathways and team capability
✓ Build collective excellence through systematic approach
✓ Deliver comprehensive team transformation
Proven Over Four Decades
Our systematic approach has evolved continuously since the 1980s. We've learned from 2 million+ profiles across 190 countries, validated our methods through 100+ research papers, and earned endorsement from the British Psychological Society. This isn't theory—it's proven team science.
Human-Centric Authority
We combine research rigor with authentic human connection. Our tools are scientifically robust yet deceptively simple. Our approach is evidence-based yet genuinely warm. We're the authority that remembers the human element in team development.
Our Values in Action
Client-Centric Partnership
We put client success at the center of everything we do. That's why we don't charge annual renewal fees for practitioners—we invest in long-term partnerships. Our 97% client recommendation rate reflects our commitment to value delivery.
Ethical Excellence
Our British Psychological Society endorsement validates our scientific integrity. We use positive, strengths-based reporting that empowers rather than limits. Every tool we create upholds the highest standards of psychological research.
Performance-Focused Innovation
Everything we develop is designed to elevate team performance. We measure success by the tangible improvements our clients achieve. Our continuous innovation pursues team effectiveness excellence.
Practical Simplicity
We make complex team science accessible and actionable. Our "deceptively simple" tools deliver profound insights without overwhelming complexity. We focus on immediate usability alongside long-term development.
Authentic Connection
We believe team development should be engaging and positive. While maintaining professionalism, we bring humor and warmth to our communications. We create genuine partnerships built on trust.
Our Global Impact
The Real Story: Human Transformation
Behind every statistic is a human story. Teams that moved from dysfunction to extraordinary performance. Leaders who discovered how to unlock their people's potential. Organizations that transformed their culture through systematic team development.
From Fortune 500 companies to small nonprofits, from government agencies to entrepreneurial startups—our complete system works because it honors both the science of team effectiveness and the humanity of the people who make teams work.
Looking Forward: The Journey Continues
Evolved Authority, Future-Focused
As we enter our fifth decade, we remain committed to evolution, not disruption. While technology promises instant solutions and competitors offer simplified alternatives, we continue deepening our understanding of what makes teams truly exceptional.
We're not interested in being the flashiest option—we're committed to being the most effective. Our systematic approach, proven over four decades, continues evolving to meet the changing needs of modern teams while maintaining the human-centric values that make work meaningful.
Innovation Grounded in Heritage
Every new development builds on our solid foundation of research and real-world validation. We innovate thoughtfully, test rigorously, and implement responsibly. Our clients don't get experimental products—they get the evolved authority in team effectiveness science.
Ready to Experience the Complete System?
For HR and L&D Professionals
Discover how our comprehensive team development system makes your talent programs measurably more effective while demonstrating clear ROI.
For Team Leaders and Executives
Access practical tools that help you build high-performing teams and deliver better results starting immediately.
For Consultants and Coaches
Add the world's most credible team effectiveness system to your practice, with ongoing support, global community, and no renewal fees.
At TMS, we don't just study teams—we transform them. For four decades, we've been the evolved authority that makes the complex science of teamwork simple, practical, and profoundly effective. Because when talented individuals become high-performing teams, extraordinary things happen.
Last updated: July 2025