Hack to the Future

Based on Hackman's Team Effectiveness Model | AQA A-Level Business (2026) Unit 3.6.2 People management

Welcome to Hack to the Future!

You're about to lead a team through an 8-week project. But here's the challenge: Being a successful team leader isn't just about hitting deadlines and delivering results. Research by organisational psychologist J. Richard Hackman shows that truly effective teams need much more than that.

About Hackman's Team Effectiveness Model

Professor J. Richard Hackman spent decades researching what makes teams succeed or fail. His groundbreaking work identified five critical conditions that separate high-performing teams from struggling ones:

🎯 Real Team

Clear boundaries, stable membership, and genuine interdependence where team members need each other to succeed

🧭 Compelling Direction

Clear, challenging goals that energise the team and provide a sense of purpose and meaning

🏗️ Enabling Structure

The right people, clear roles, and productive norms that help rather than hinder team performance

🤝 Supportive Context

Adequate resources, recognition systems, and information that teams need to do their work

💭 Expert Coaching

Guidance at the right moments to help teams work through challenges and improve their processes

What You'll Experience

Over 8 weeks, you'll face realistic team leadership scenarios where you must make difficult decisions that affect:

  • Psychological Safety - Whether team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable
  • Goal Clarity - How well the team understands what they're trying to achieve
  • Team Structure - Whether roles, responsibilities, and ways of working are clear
  • Resources & Support - The tools, time, and backing your team has available
  • Coaching Quality - How effectively you help the team develop and improve
  • Overall Performance - The team's ability to deliver results and work effectively

Learning Objectives

This simulation aligns with AQA A-Level Business topics including:

  • Organisational design and structure (3.6.1)
  • Managing people and performance (3.6.2)
  • Leadership styles and effectiveness (3.6.2.1)
  • Motivation theories and practice (3.6.2.2)
  • Organisational culture (3.6.3)

This simulation has been developed by tutor2u as part of a suite of free teaching resources to support the new AQA A-Level Business specification (first teaching Sept 2026).

Understanding the Metrics

Six key indicators will track your team's health and performance:

  • Psychological Safety (🛡️) - Trust, openness, and the ability to take interpersonal risks without fear
  • Goal Clarity (🎯) - Shared understanding of objectives, priorities, and success criteria
  • Team Structure (🏗️) - Role clarity, task allocation, and effective working processes
  • Resources & Support (📦) - Tools, time, information, and organisational backing
  • Coaching Quality (💭) - Your effectiveness at helping the team learn and improve
  • Overall Performance (⚡) - The team's productivity, quality, and ability to work together

Important: These metrics are interconnected. For example, low psychological safety makes it hard to clarify goals because people won't speak up. Poor resources affect performance regardless of how well-coached the team is.

Tools Available

Throughout the simulation, you can access:

  • Hugh's Check-In - Hugh's inside scoop on current team sentiment and concerns
  • Ask Hugh - Reminder of the five conditions for team effectiveness from your expert guide
  • Progress Review - Summary of your decisions and their cumulative impact

This simulation has been developed by tutor2u as part of a suite of free teaching resources to support the new AQA A-Level Business specification (first teaching Sept 2026).

Choose Your Team Context

Experience team leadership in different business settings. Each context applies the same Hackman principles but with unique challenges specific to that industry.

📱 Tech Startup - Mobile App Launch
Lead a product development team at TechForward Ltd launching a customer feedback app. Navigate technical challenges, creative differences, and tight deadlines with a diverse team of developers, designers, and analysts.
🛒 Supermarket - New Store Opening
Manage a team opening a new FreshMart supermarket branch. Lead checkout staff, shelf stackers, duty managers, and trainee supervisors through the pressure of a grand opening while building a cohesive team culture.
🍽️ Restaurant - Busy Service Period
Run the evening service at The Olive Branch restaurant. Coordinate front-of-house staff, kitchen team, and new recruits during the busiest nights of the week, managing customer expectations and team dynamics under pressure.
🥤 Sixth Form Enterprise - School Fair Smoothie Stand
Lead your Year 12 classmates running "Smooth Moves" - a smoothie business for the upcoming school fair. Work with fellow students to plan, prepare, and execute your enterprise project while juggling schoolwork and different personalities.

This simulation has been developed by tutor2u as part of a suite of free teaching resources to support the new AQA A-Level Business specification (first teaching Sept 2026).

Team Effectiveness

Project Complete: Results & Analysis

Your Team Effectiveness Profile

Key Decisions & Their Impact

Hackman's Model in Practice

Recommendations for Future Teams

This simulation has been developed by tutor2u as part of a suite of free teaching resources to support the new AQA A-Level Business specification (first teaching Sept 2026).