This Is What It Takes To Build A High Performing Team

As we’ve worked with hundreds of clients, we’ve noticed there are four consistent benefits to building a high performing team: 

1. High performing teams get more work done in a shorter time, which leads to increased productivity and performance.

2. When you combine a high performing team with open and honest communication from the leader, the team is able to adapt quickly to change and is likely to be more resilient with any challenge or setback.

3. They’re able to generate new ideas and creative solutions that produce higher quality work.

4. They perform at a consistently high level and tend to achieve more goals, creating a higher morale and more motivation to create a positive work environment with greater job satisfaction and lower turnover.

Knowing this is one thing. Executing it is another.

What does it take to build a high performing team?

How to Build a High Performing Team

The first thing we recommend is to evaluate team performance by three categories:

a. Environment: How are they functioning? Are they naturally thriving? Are they part of the whole? Are they finding creative solutions to problems?

b. Enhancing: Have clear goals been set? Has the vision/mission been communicated to the team? Do team members see the role their efforts play and how it can enhance the end goal?

c. Measuring: Have data points, milestones, and achievements been set for each team member? Are you measuring each team member against these metrics?

The second thing we recommend is to start where you currently are, meaning be honest in evaluating the areas to improve and then make small steps to improve performance so that it’s not overwhelming for the team.

11 Lessons We Learned from Our Introspective Assessment

These are a few lessons we learned—the hard way—when we were doing this type of introspective assessment to determine our team’s status.

1. Clearly define the team’s goals and objectives: This helps them to understand their role and how it fits into the vision/mission. Be sure they’re measurable.

2. It’s the leader’s job to communicate: Leaders should clearly and effectively communicate the goals and objectives to the team and review and revise them throughout the process.

3. Establish effective communication channels: We found this was key to successfully developing a foundation for our high-performance team.

4. Encourage communication: Team members were invited to share their ideas, thoughts, and concerns openly and honestly without fear of repercussions.

5. Utilize different forms of communication: We communicated by email, in-person meetings, and messaging tools and worked within communication preferences.

6. Establish standards with the team: Standards were set with input from the team so that everyone was comfortable using these forms of communication.

7. Encouraged team members to work collaboratively: Regardless of roles or team responsibilities, collaborative work was encouraged, even if they were working on different projects.

8. Developed out-of-box thinking: Through brainstorming sessions and problem-solving activities, creativity and innovation were encouraged. This helped to develop buy in, appreciation, and a sense of ownership from the team.

9. Designed processes: Processes helped to develop and support each team member and their goals and career paths. We provided training, coaching, and development opportunities to the individual or team as they asked for it or needed it.

10.  Provided support and resources: These were focused on the need to recognize a team or team member when they succeeded.

11.  Set clear expectations and hold the team members accountable: We first confirmed that the team members understood their specific roles and responsibilities. We then established communication and expectations for performance and behavior. These helped individuals and teams to be held accountable by monitoring their progress and providing constructive feedback to help them improve.

It takes a lot of effort to develop a high-performance team. But it’s worth it. High performing teams can literally change the trajectory of your organization from good to great.

Based on an excerpt from IT’S PERSONAL, NOT BUSINESS podcast, Episode 12.