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Creating High Performance Teams
QUOTE
“Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."
Vince Lombardi
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 To compete in today’s rapidly changing domestic and global markets, organizations are increasingly relying on teams. Project teams, virtual teams, cross-functional teams, product development teams, and system development teams are all being formed to make change happen, solve complex problems, and carry out the work of the company. However, sometimes these teams lose focus, get derailed, or under-perform in spite of intense effort. Why does this happen, and how do we create High Performance Teams? In our research and experience we have found that there are three major components of High Performance Teams:
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The People. High Performance Teams have the appropriate people participating. They have the knowledge, skills, and ability to get the job done, but they also have committed members who know how to collaborate, build trust, and develop a sense of team. It is not enough for a portion of the team members to have these collaboration skills - all must have them to sustain high performance.
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The Team. The team must have a clear charter and work agreement. A work agreement documents how a team will work together to achieve its goals and optimize performance. High Performance Teams have clear plans and the resources and strategies in place to implement their plans. Each member of the team is accountable to the team, and accountability is embraced and practiced by everyone. Finally, High Performance Teams don’t stop improving; they just keep getting better and better.
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The Team Culture. Organizations must create a team culture to support and enable High Performance Teams. A company’s business infrastructure (“how things are done around here”) contains a number of things that make or break teams. For example, the organizational structure must recognize and empower teams. This typically includes some kind of matrix structure. Financial practices and the “flow of money” should be in line with team responsibility (i.e., teams should own their budgets and not have to beg for resources). Companies should clearly document their “essential producing processes” (typically what they do for customers and how they do it) so that teams have a basis for consistent cross-functional execution. In addition, companies need consistent processes for reviewing projects and governing their project portfolios. Decisions in these processes should be restricted to things like go/no go and funding decisions, and should not interfere with project team operations.
When teams and organizations take the time to address and develop these areas they can achieve extraordinary results. At Advance Consulting, we have a proven method for developing High Performance Teams. We have helped organizations across industries develop High Performance Teams that get results. If you would like to learn more about our services, please contact us at 831-372-9444 or email us at advanceinfo@advanceconsulting.com.
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