Why high-performing teams are so rare and what to do about it.
By StarQuest Learning
Have you ever worked on a team that just plain excelled? Was it a team that consistently met goals and had a contagious, energizing “magic?” Did all team members perform well, even during crunch times? Such teams are rare, unfortunately, and many people either never experience working in one, or have forgotten what it was like. Why are such teams so uncommon?
In this article, we define a team as a group of individuals who collaborate in order to achieve a group objective. As the business environment continues to change and become more complex, businesses are establishing and relying on teams because teams in general outperform individuals. Teams that truly excel, however, produce results much greater than the sum of individual efforts.
At StarQuest Learning, we have had the opportunity to work with numerous teams focused on raising the performance bar. Whether a team is ongoing, like a workgroup, or disbands upon completing an objective, like a project team, we have found that the tools and techniques that work to create a high-performing team are the same. In this article, we will outline the best practices that drive successful team performance, and offer ideas on how you can lead and manage your team more effectively.
Best Practice #1
High-performing teams have both a clear understanding of the results to be achieved and a belief that the results are worthwhile and important. Simply stated, such teams have a common team objective supported by clear goals and a compelling purpose. The combination of these two elements keeps the team focused and inspired. Teams with a compelling purpose have a greater drive to achieve and are much less likely to let small problems prevent them from reaching their objectives. Teams that suffer from a lack of direction often become dysfunctional and experience team member apathy.
Ask yourself whether your team has clear goals — both short- and long-term — and for what purpose the team exists. If it does not, assemble the team and work together to define these elements.
Best Practice #2
A second success factor is a defined partnership between team members. Every member of the team must understand their own and other members’ roles and unique contributions to the team, and how their interaction will support reaching the team’s objective.
Highly effective teams emphasize partnership and provide structure for the way members interact with each other. To establish a common approach, a set of ground rules must be defined for the group, by the group. Ground rules are often referred to as “operating norms” or “guidelines.” They should describe behaviors the team considers to be acceptable. Ground rules might include: when you’re at a team meeting, you need to actively participate or be direct when communicating.
Ground rules can also help define behaviors that support collaboration. We know, for example, that team members who collaborate effectively exhibit both assertive and cooperative types of behavior. They are not afraid to bring tough issues to the table, and they listen well to other’s opinions and ideas. When teams suffer from low performance, it is rarely because members lack the technical expertise to achieve the team objective, but rather have difficulties with the individual behaviors necessary to work collaboratively.
Best Practice #3
The role of leadership in creating and sustaining results-driven teams is critical. Leading the team includes day-to-day management of the team once the purpose and partnership structures are in place. Your role as a leader is to help your team reach its full potential by resolving conflict, providing feedback and holding team members accountable. Also, the team leader plays an active role in making sure that communication occurs with adequate frequency, and that the channels the team uses are appropriate and reliable.
When individuals come together as a team, they bring differences that can create conflict. In fact, high-performing teams typically experience greater levels of conflict than low-performing teams. The key differentiator is how they manage conflict. If properly managed, conflict actually leads to increased levels of engagement, more creativity and better decision quality.
Ground rules should address how the team will manage conflict so that conflict doesn’t negatively impact the team’s performance. Ground rules should state how conflict will be resolved if, for example, one team member has a problem with another. Typical conflict resolution guidelines would first direct one individual to address the issue with the other individual rather than escalate the problem to the team leader. If resolution does not occur, the problem would then be directed to you.
As a team leader, you are largely responsible for helping the team retain its energy and enthusiasm as it works toward becoming results-driven. A team will develop its own personality and experience growing pains as it defines its identity. This is a natural, normal cycle.
As your team is becoming a high-performing team, relationships between team members become strong and collaboration is the norm. When the team is achieving the desired results routinely, you will have built that rare bird, a high-performing team.