FOR ONGOING TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Cross-team work should feel smooth. Let's make it so.
Collaboration Playbook is a working session for two or more teams who have to deliver together and aren't quite managing to. We map the dependencies, write handoff standards, and agree decision rules and feedback loops that cut rework and surprises. You leave with a practical playbook the teams will follow without reminders.
Download the session outline
A 30 minute call, no slides, no pitch. We'll talk through what's going on and whether Collaboration Playbook fits.
Does any of this sound familiar?
If two or more teams are working together and it's messier than it should be, one or two of these probably resonate.
The handoffs are costing you weeks, invisibly.
Work arrives incomplete. The receiving team has to chase. Somebody does half of it themselves rather than ask. Nobody's malicious; the interface between the two teams just isn't defined.
Decisions take forever because nobody knows who decides.
Two teams both think they need to sign off. Or both think the other does. Or the decision is made by one and then reopened by the other. The decision itself was rarely hard.
Rework has become a recurring feature.
The same kinds of issues keep surfacing late in the process. Either because the input wasn't right, or because the standard wasn't clear, or because the feedback loop arrived after the point where feedback could change anything.
The relationship is working at the personal level and not at the team level.
Individuals get on. The teams' collective dance is still awkward. Goodwill is carrying the load, and goodwill isn't a process.
If a few of those landed, Collaboration Playbook was built for this exact moment.
What we'll do together in the session
Collaboration Playbook is a working session, usually a full day or a full day plus a follow-up half-day, designed for two or more teams who need to deliver together. It works across functional boundaries (product and engineering; marketing and sales; policy and operations) or across partner boundaries where the interfaces are formal.
The session is built around three jobs. First, we map the real dependencies between the teams, not the org chart version but the actual flow of work. Second, we write handoff standards: inputs, outputs, and checks for the handoffs that matter most. Third, we agree decision rules and feedback loops, because the playbook only works if the decisions run through it rather than around it.
What you'll walk out with
Three practical outputs people can use the same day.
Output 1
A practical collaboration playbook.
Short. Written in the team's language. Covers the three or four handoffs that matter, the decision rules that apply, and the feedback loops that make the whole thing self-correcting. The kind of document people actually open.
Output 2
Clear handoff standards.
Inputs, outputs, and checks for each of the priority handoffs. What gets sent. What "done" looks like is what the receiving team is entitled to expect. Written so a new joiner could follow them.
Output 3
Agreed paths to raise and resolve issues.
Simple escalation rules for when things don't go to plan. Who talks to whom? What gets raised and when. A named route for the sort of problem that currently gets stuck in somebody's DMs.
What the session actually covers
The agenda flexes around the specific interfaces causing trouble, but most sessions follow a version of the below.
We start with where the work actually flows between teams, not where the org chart says it does. The team's own lived map is almost always more useful than the formal one. We identify the three or four handoffs that carry the most friction or risk.
Mapping the real collaboration.
We write the standards together for each priority handoff. What we send. What we receive. What "complete" looks like. We keep the language specific enough to hold up under a Friday afternoon.
Handoff standards: inputs, outputs, checks.
We agree on how cross-team decisions get made (who decides, who's consulted, who's informed), and how feedback gets surfaced and actioned. Feedback that arrives too late to matter isn't feedback; it's retrospective blame.
Decision rules and feedback loops.
We bring the structure and the prompts. The teams bring the actual work and the honest context. Between us, you leave with a playbook that respects both teams' ways of working rather than one imposed on them both.
Who Collaboration Playbook is for
This sprint works best for leadership teams, delivery teams, and cross-functional groups of 6 to 20 with authority to commit to priorities in the room.
Who it's for
• Functional teams with a recurring interface that isn't working (product and engineering; marketing and sales; ops and service delivery)
• Cross-organisational partnerships where the collaboration is structured but clunky
• Programme teams with multiple workstreams that need to interlock
• Teams that have grown past the point where goodwill alone can carry the collaboration
Probably not the right fit if…
— The real issue is a relationship breakdown between two individuals. That's a different piece of work, and we'll say so.
— Only one team is in the room. The playbook is a two-sided thing; we can't write it solo.
— Someone has already designed the operating model and wants us to sell it. We facilitate the agreement; we don't act as enforcers for a pre-baked answer.
We keep the pricing transparent because most people we work with need to justify the spend internally. If your situation doesn't fit one of these, we'll tell you and adapt.
Formats and investment
Pricing note: Collaboration Playbook is commonly booked as a multi-team engagement. The multi-team tier reflects the additional pre-work and coordination.
FORMAT
WHAT’S INCLUDED
INVESTMENT
Half-day session
6 hour session
Two teams
Playbook drafted and signed off
From £3,250+ VAT
Full-day plus follow up
Full-day session
90-minute review at 60 days
From £4,750+ VAT
Most
Popular
Two-day intensive
Full day of diagnostic and mapping
Second full day of design and sign-off
From £6,500+ VAT
Multi-team engagement
Three or more teams
Pre-work
Session
Follow-up review
From £9,000+ VAT
Prices exclude travel and materials. Scope agreed in writing before booking.
Future Proof Learning has supported leaders and teams across the public sector, third sector, and private sector SMEs. Most of the teams we work with are navigating something meaningful, and the patterns we see look remarkably similar in every sector we've worked with.
Our wider track record
Personal effectiveness and leadership development programmes for national bodies including Public Health Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
PUBLIC SECTOR
Team and leadership work with Scottish charities, often at executive and trustee level, including strategy and charter design for Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home.
THIRD SECTOR
Leadership and team development for SMEs across professional services, energy, and technology sectors, with a focus on owner-led and founder-stage businesses.
PRIVATE SECTOR
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Frequently asked questions
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A light amount, yes. We'll usually ask each team to map their view of the handoffs before the session. It takes under an hour per team and makes the session much sharper.
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We'll say so on the discovery call. If there's a real relationship breakdown, this isn't the right first step; Rebuilding Trust or a structured conversation between the leaders is.
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In our experience, six to nine months before it needs a refresh, give or take. The teams, the work, and the pressures change; the playbook needs to move with them.
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Yes, and it works well because the outputs are documents. We do recommend at least one in-person session if the teams haven't met properly before.
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Three to four weeks ideally, plus time for the pre-work.
We don't do hard sells. A discovery call is 30 minutes, no slides, no pressure. We'll talk through what's going on for your team, what you're hoping to move, and whether Change Compass is genuinely the right tool for the job. If it isn't, we'll tell you, and we'll usually suggest something else that fits better. That's probably a healthier way to start a relationship than a pitch deck.
Not sure if it's the right fit? Let's have a conversation.
Or email us directly at info@futureprooflearning.co.uk and we'll come back to you within one working day.
Download the session outline as a PDF