We help our clients to select and develop great leaders...who reimagine leadership and get results.

High Performance Teams

Thu, 07/05/2012 - 12:29 — thearlandgroup

High Performing Teams Process Overview

Do you want improved profitability, faster response times, higher productivity and greater sensitivity to customers? Your people--working together in teams—will make this happen.

Despite popular notions, success in today's work world is more about team than individual performance. A team is more than just a group of workers, located together, doing their jobs. Real teams are interdependent...which means team members must rely on each other to get the job done. Ideally, a team should accomplish that which the individual members cannot. High performance teams are engaged, compatible and collaborative.

So what differentiates high performing teams from others? A high performance team:

  • Has a clear vision of where they are headed and what they want to accomplish
  • Are excited about that vision because they took part in creating it
  • Act from clearly defined priorities with clear roles and responsibilities 
  • Have clear measures of success and are open to feedback about how they're doing
  • Maintain open communication and positive relationships with each other
  • Make decisive and timely decisions
  • Successfully manage conflict
  • Participate in productive meetings
  • Cooperate cross-functionally and collaboratively

Solid teams are the foundation of a high performance organization and developing those teams is an effort that requires serious effort and consistent discipline.

Through a flexible, but thorough process, GLS will help you develop your talented people into a great team. Some of the key components of the process include:

COMMIT to becoming a high performing team

Many times people find themselves on teams with clear goals, but the team does not have the right combination of people needed to succeed. Our TalMetrics Assessment system provides a multi-dimensional view of a team member's unique talent pattern. We show members how to understand each other's preferred communication styles.  We will show your team members how they can play to each other's strengths and understand each other's motivators and natural talent. This phase will allow you to swiftly get the right people, in the right roles, at the right time.

CLARIFY communication and process

Fast, clear, timely and accurate communication is a hallmark of high level team performance. The team must understand that effective communication is essential, and as a result, they need to approach communication with a determined intentionality. We focus on communications that effectively get people to work together to solve business problems and support progress toward their goals. High-performance teams also identify, map and then master their key team and business processes. At this phase, the team will be charged with creating a charter that defines communication protocols, aligns processes and solidifies how they will work together.

CONNECT people to purpose and define success

The single most important ingredient for team success is a clear, common, and compelling purpose; which provides the reasons for people to commit to a team. This critical phase focuses a team so they can connect, create and define the vision, goals and expectations to reach their outcomes. This stage will help the team focus on translating their "big picture" into the activities that the team must do to make the vision a reality. When people understand their role in helping the team win, performance accelerates.

CREATE a culture of trust and collaboration

Solid team relationships provide the climate needed for high levels of collaboration and are characterized by trust, acceptance, respect, understanding and courtesy. Team leaders cannot mandate trust; they can only attempt to create an environment and opportunities that will facilitate its development among team members. Through this phase, the team will receive the tools, strategies and approaches needed to drive success, remove barriers, and ultimately unify the entire group.

COMPOSE well-defined roles and responsibilities

It is essential that every team member be clear about his or her own role, as well as the role of every other team member. Roles are about the design, division, and distribution of the work of the team. While the concept is compellingly logical, many teams find it challenging to implement. Emphasis is placed on ensuring that the natural talents of each team member are tapped and utilized to drive team engagement and performance.

CULTIVATE an execution mindset

In a successful HPT, everyone on the team – regardless of rank, title, seniority and experience – holds each other and themselves 100% mutually accountable for achieving the clear, specific, measurable goals. We'll show you how to drive accountability; delegate authority and share best practices to ensure that innovation is fostered and the team executes like a well-oiled operation.

CELEBRATE success

High performance teams seem to have a better-developed chemistry, sense of humor and more overall fun. Members forge close-knit relationships and maintain high levels of camaraderie. We'll design some fun and celebration touch points acknowledging the innovation, impact and performance of your team.

Choose Your Pathway

Creativity, innovation, inspiration—these are indispensible traits for leaders to pilot people through today's turbulent times. In today's business environment, the old rules don't apply. Leaders need to be strong and agile, not only in their thoughts and actions, but also in their ability to get others to band together toward a common goal.

Since this transformation doesn't occur overnight we offer your leaders several options to elevate their skills and sustain their momentum.