Building High-Performance Teams

Currently we are confronted with rapid changes in the fast-paced business world. As a result, it becomes very challenging to coordinate teams and organizations. So the question is, how can management and team strategy evolve to become antifragile systems? Let’s step on the road to discover the secrets to building high performance teams. How should leaders view the process of building a high performance team? How should team members understand their position with the organization and contribute to its success? What is the ideal size and structure of teams? How can we build trust and promote empowerment?

Size

It has been shown that a team should be comprised of 6-7 team members in order to allow effective collaboration. If the size of the team is too big, it could cause tension, passivity and problems in coordination. The result of this is lower team productivity. On the other hand, if the team is too small, there could be lack of resources to pursue certain goals, thus results are inefficient. Optimal team size facilitates communication and collaboration.

Diversity

Diversity is about members of a team having complementary skills and that differences should become strengths when engaged in problem solving. It is important to perceive the unique qualities that an individual possesses. Within a team there are also differences in information processing and perspective, which affects how fast and how successful a team would be at solving problems.

Complementary skills

As mentioned before, variability between team members is important because complementary skills are valuable when building teams. A team that is composed of people with different competencies yields great results. A growth mindset within the organization is also vital for team performance. Encouraging team members to specialize in the field that they are passionate about is a win-win scenario for both sides. Team members should also understand the their role and the role of other collaborators in the realization of projects.

Feedback mechanism

Regular feedback and reports for individual performance would help in making quick corrections to the working process, and accelerate the development of each member. Motivation affects performance, and individual efforts should be commended. Feedback should be part of team culture, and negative feedback should be taken onboard as it helps the team member grow. Creating a feedback culture has its difficulties, but it is totally worth investing in, because it molds effective work dynamics.

Team leadership

High quality leadership is about articulating team vision and purpose in order to achieve great delivery. The purpose of leaders is to motivate the team, and inspire them to reach the goal despite the obstacles faced. More precisely, one of the main leadership skills is the ability to focus on the relationships between people and to empower team members’ self-awareness, as well an awareness of the team dynamics. A healthy team dynamic, which promotes engagement of all members, is evident in high performance teams. Developing teams also includes the development of the leader, who is the primary role model for the team.

Building trust

Trust is a highly valuable characteristic that provides a safe environment for expressing various points of view and showing vulnerable traits. The process of building trust should be done by developing integrity and confidence between team members. Trust includes loyalty, open communication, transparency, and encourages team members to face challenges. In order to establish mutual trust, team members need to frequently experience positive interactions upon providing feedback. A lack of trust can have detrimental effects on the functioning of teams, thus maintaining trust is a matter of great impact.

Empowerment

Empowerment is founded upon knowledge about team skills, and this plays a part in making better decisions. It should be noted that great autonomy also increases team motivation and the willingness of people to take responsibility. An approach founded in empowering team members demonstrates trust in the team’s capabilities and strengthens the team’s confidence in the long-run.

Adaptability

A popular trait in this era is the concept of adaptability – both at an individual and team level. Adaptability – flexibility to change when necessary – should be developed in teams. This could be done through resilience building, asking questions and resolving complications through innovative thinking. It may take time and patience to see progress, as adaptability organically evolves over time. High performance teams embrace challenges and persevere, and throughout this process they become more durable and open to trying out new things. Experience is heavily linked to adaptability.

Team training

In order to maximize the contribution of each employee to a team, training can be implemented to convey team dynamics, role expectations, communication and other aspects. Training is very useful for increasing the competency and confidence of team members. This internal investment provides numerous benefits to the organization. It later allows team members to engage in innovation and experimentation, as they have a solid foundation of basics concepts. Team training encourages members to adopt a practical approach when tackling problems, and reduces the time taken to resolve issues. 

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence plays a decisive role in determining whether an individual’s performance or a team’s performance will reach the top level. Interestingly enough, research has shown that emotional intelligence was a more significant predictor of future success than IQ. This brings to mind the impact of accumulated emotional intelligence at a team level. Emotional intelligence is about recognising and understanding our own emotions and the emotions of other people. Ways to improve emotional intelligence include examining the strengths, weaknesses and mindset of team members, and also providing options how they can become a better version of themselves. Team members should be motivated by future personal development.

Awareness

The level of an individual’s self-awareness is a great indicator of their emotional intelligence. We can evaluate the team based on how self-aware they are, whether or not they can manage their emotions, do they possess self-regulation. Social awareness is about social empathy towards others by understanding their view, emotional concerns and needs. The potential for empathy of a team is directly connected to its performance.

References & Further Reading

https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/how-to-create-a-high-performance-team/

https://www.greatmanagers.com.au/creating-high-performing-teams-recipe/

https://blog.proofhub.com/how-to-build-a-high-performing-team-1043f93d6f5f