Leadership Development – Page 17 – STL

The Secret to High Performing Teams: Do I have a High Performing Team?

The aim of any manager should be to create an effective team, also known as an HPT (High Performing Team). After all, the performance of a team reflects upon whom? Technically, everyone, but the manager or leader of the team in particular! So there are vested interests all round.

If you have succeeded in turning your team into a high performing one, well done you, but there are 2 key questions to consider: Firstly, how did you get there?

To answer this, please refer to Tuckman’s Theory of Team Development. Secondly, you think you’ve managed to create one, but how do you know for certain that you have? Has your team earned the HPT title?

To help you with this, let’s identify the key characteristics of a High Performing Team:

Goals

All team members are clear about the shared goals, which are sold as challenging but achievable. The team is highly productive; these goals are achieved and often exceeded.

Roles are defined

Each team member knows where they fit into the team and what they bring to it.

Strengths & weaknesses

Team members are aware of these. They learn from experiences and support each other, maximising strengths and minimising or eradicating weaknesses.

Communication

There is a relaxed climate for communication – people are direct, open and honest with each other. Team members share feedback, both positive and constructive, and conflicts can be resolved internally. Or, even better, avoided altogether!

Interdependence

There is a high level of interdependence amongst the team members. They work on important tasks together and teamwork and commitment are vital for achieving results.

Results

Members know they can influence the results of the whole team. They know they are part of a team that is made up of more than the sum of the individuals.

Trust

People develop mutual trust with each other. They believe that others have skills and capabilities which contribute to the team effort. They enjoy working together, which helps to build the team spirit. We’re in this together and we can do it!

Leadership

The manager has good people skills and is committed to developing a good team atmosphere (a nice place to work?). He/she acts as a ‘cheerleader’ for the team. Also, team members are encouraged to step up and demonstrate leadership when their skills and experiences are relevant to the needs of the team.

Creativity & innovation

Team members are encouraged to come up with new ideas, which are followed up and shared with the rest of the team. These ideas also assist the team’s internal mechanisms for decision making and problem-solving.

Risk-taking

Team members are prepared to take risks within established parameters. They feel able to develop their skills and abilities in a safe environment.

Conclusion

What have we learnt? The above list is not exhaustive, but if you can recognise these key characteristics within your own team, then well done. You may already have a high performing team, or are at least well on the way to creating one. If any of the above qualities are clearly lacking from your team, then this represents a development area for you and the team.

Once a high performing team has been created, some managers like to sit back and put their feet up. Understandable, but remember to keep an eye on things.

Creating an HPT is one thing, but maintaining that position can be just as challenging, if not more so. Good luck!

Practical ways to motivate

Motivation: the art of getting people to do what you want them to do, because they want to do it. Sounds good?

Let’s talk about motivation – what can a manager do to motivate the team? To make the team want to achieve the business goals just as much as they do? There are a number of theories around on this topic. Here we will focus on motivation at work, in which case a good chap to have a chat with would be the psychologist Frederick Herzberg. We will take a look at his Two Factor Theory of Motivation, which he shared with the world in 1959.

Regular catch ups are important for managers — Schedule regular catch-ups to maintain motivation

Hygiene Factors

Hygiene factors at work can be likened to hygiene at home – a source of complaint if not right, but not a reason to get excited. The idea is that hygiene factors will not motivate you, but if they are missing or not right, they cause dissatisfaction.

Examples could be working toilets, comfy chairs, a working heating system, or a reasonable level of pay. If these are not provided, they can be a huge source of dissatisfaction. As Herzberg discovered, removing the source of annoyance (the toilets are no longer blocked, here’s your chair and the heating’s working again!) does not cause motivation. The opposite of dissatisfied is not motivated – it’s just no longer dissatisfied.

In summary, we need hygiene factors to be in place and correct. They’re never going to motivate anybody, but they do have the potential to demotivate.

Motivators

Herzberg’s second set of factors are known as motivators. He argued that active motivation is based around these; they enable people to derive satisfaction from their work and they provide a stimulus to work harder.

Here are some examples – which ones could you work on with your team?

A sense of achievement – give the team something to achieve and acknowledge them when they do. Agree SMART goals which are also stretching.
Recognition for the work done – behaviour that is rewarded will continue! Praise them when praise is due. Also provide constructive feedback to help them to do it even better.
A chance to take on more responsibility – delegate tasks as much as possible, to demonstrate your faith in their abilities.
A chance to use their initiative – when delegating a task, where possible try and give them the what but not the how, i.e. specify the end goal but let them decide how they get there. They will feel very involved and the commitment and ownership will be instant.
Doing interesting work – aim to delegate a balanced range of tasks, so they get to try something different. Variety is the spice of life!
Personal growth – ensure the team members have the skill and the will to do their jobs well. Some may have a skills gap. Provide the relevant training so they can learn and develop in their role. Help them to be the best they can be!

A final thought

All of the above sounds good, but it all starts with you. Leading by example is a huge motivator. Good leaders have willing followers. If you can be positive and enthusiastic about work, then your team can too. But if you can’t, don’t hold your breath!

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