There’s no doubt that every Director or Manager wants a high-performance team that delivers the best results and allows them to focus on building new business opportunities.
Come on, let’s face it! If we were comparing a work team with a sports team, who wouldn’t want to have a Barcelona Soccer Club, the Dodgers baseball team, or the Philadelphia Eagles in American football?
It’s easy to think and say, right? But where does the secret for building high-performance teams lives?
Martin Zwilling, founder and CEO of Founder & CEO at Startup Professionals, Inc., recommends the following list of actions for both entrepreneurs and senior executives to achieve the highest performance from team members (Zwilling, 2020):
Clearly and iteratively communicate team goals and objectives:
Don’t rely on those who understand the message quickly; at least repeat it five times in different forums to ensure it was heard and understood.
Define and document role content and standards for performance:
Don’t assume that team members already know what the expected standards of excellence are.
Give team members the right to make decisions in their role.
Remember that micromanagement is not an effective way to achieve top performance. Instead, you can practice process coaching and let the team make their own decisions and improve step by step.
Relay regular informal observations on progress and results.
Take the time to provide informal feedback weekly or even daily. This will help address gaps gradually and increase the team members’ psychological safety.
Give team members the training, tools, and data to do the job.
As a Scrum Master working in an agile framework, you are a servant leader. Team members cannot be top performers without necessary resources. Leaders should anticipate these requirements, listen carefully to feedback from team members, and provide resources on a timely basis.
Diligently provide follow-up and support on assistance requests.
As a leader you should recognize and support your team in situations that go beyond their domain.
Reward positive results.
Recognition is important for leveraging the team members confidence and the team’s health.
Related to this topic, the Center for Human Capital Innovation provides also some examples and key factors for high-performance teams:
1992 US men’s Olympic basketball team, known as the “Dream Team” tell us that “the essence of a high-performance team isn’t found in the individual capabilities of its members but in their ability to adapt, learn, and evolve into a synergistic unit. This transformation was marked by a shift in the team’s approach to playing together, emphasizing mutual understanding, trust, and a unified strategy” (Center for Human Capital Innovation, 2024).
Taking in consideration the last paragraph, high-performance teams relays on:
- Shared Vision and Direction by aligning team members to a common objective.
- Quality of Interaction: ensure trust, open communication and desire to embrace conflict happens.
- Sense of Renewal: high performer teams should feel empowered to take risk and innovate.
On the other hand, Expert Panel a former Forbes Councils Member provide these tips for optimizing the team’s level and avoid burnt out as well:
- Set boundaries and priorities between work and personal life.
- Encourage your team to succeed by discussing the goals so everyone is on the same page with priorities, timelines and deadlines.
- Identify tasks to be automated so everyone can have more time for learning, improve their performance and also have more time.
- Be transparent by sharing the business case, listen to the team’s feedback and ensure everyone feels valuable on what their role provides to the business.
I hope these tips will help you to get your desired top performer team. Be patient but most importantly, work on it!
Bibliography:
- Zwilling, M. (2020, 16 julio). 7 key steps to getting top performance from your team. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-key-steps-getting-top-performance-from-your-team-martin-zwilling/
- Innovation, C. F. H. C. (2024, 8 abril). Managing High-Performance Teams: Strategies for Success. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/managing-high-performance-teams-strategies-wcl8e/
- Panel, E. (2023, 2 junio). Council Post: 20 tips to Optimize your Team’s Performance level Without burnout. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/06/02/20-tips-to-optimize-your-teams-performance-level-without-burnout/
Source: Read MoreÂ