The Defining Characteristics of High Performing Teams
Posted: Tuesday, August 18, 2009
by Todd Dewett
TVA Inc
For several decades now we have had a love affair with "teams." We have gone to great lengths to differentiate "teams" from "groups" and other such half useful label jockeying intended to help us all focus on the one supreme work structure. Teams trump individuals that's the punch line we've been sold and it's wrong. Understanding "teams" versus "groups" isn't nearly as useful for your organization as understanding "high performing" teams from "not so high performing" teams. Though we do see some variance in terms of the defining characteristics of any given high performing team, research has uncovered a list of common characteristics. High performing teams:
This is the backbone of the "group" versus "team" garbage. The terms are synonymous. The point is the same regardless of the label you choose. Is there a clear and compelling shared goal (or goals) being pursued? It must be crystal clear in detailed language, understood consistently across members, and be meaningful enough to supersede individual goals.
Know that size matters
Most groups are too large. There are too many people on the team because of politics, over inflated belief in the potential need for a particular type of expertise, etc. Listen closely. It is far easier to add members to a team than to remove members from a team. Start small and build as needed, never err on starting with twenty people on the team when five could effectively handle the job.
Effectively Build bridges
If you take my advice on team size, bridge building becomes important. Just because we put five people on the team instead of twenty does not mean we will not need some help from the fifteen folks not chosen. The ability to reach out to individuals and groups not directly involved in your work is a terribly important skill and proof that high performing teams are not just experts on the task side, but usually experts on the soft-skill side as well.
Leverage individual time
Though a well constructed team can be an amazing thing, it still needs to leverage individuals first and the team second. Translated: a strong majority of project time is dedicated to individuals (or at least subgroups) working alone on their well defined tasks, not sitting in long beauracratic meetings with every member of the team. Virtual meetings and tools become higher quality and lower cost every day. There is no reason to have even the best of teams having "all hands on deck" meetings more than twice per month.
Fill roles flexibly
Many discussions about teams will revolve around knowing the key roles which need to be filled if you are to achieve high performance. That's not the most interesting perspective. The roles are well known. You need a leader, a process analyzer, a referee, etc. A few books or articles and a little Googling and you'll find the short list of useful team roles. It's not about filling those roles per se. It's about how many roles each member fills. Average teams are lucky to have each role filled by even one person. High performance team members typically fill 2-3 key roles. No member is a one trick pony.
Exhibit rapid, honest, and constructive communication
Great teams do not run from conflict, yet they actually don't have much conflict how? The reason is that they are, by personality and by agreed upon work norms, genuinely open to debate and vigorous questioning and discussion. Ideas are not "shot down," they are positively debated. The motivation is rarely personal, it's objective. They communicate in real-time when something needs to be said, they don't "beat around the bush," and they don't merely tear apart ideas or plans but offer tangible new possibilities. Under these circumstances conflict can happen, but it is far less likely and when it does pop up it is typically diffused very quickly.
Are empowered to act
The greatest team ever assembled will fail or at least come closer to failure than need be if they are not given the authority to act. One of the fundamental beauties of high performing teams is that the reduce or eliminate the need for someone to fill the traditional leadership role over the group. When half or more of the members are willing and able to share leadership with others on the team, the traditional "boss" is not needed to guide the team. As a result the team can become empowered to do what only the "boss" used to do including hiring, budgeting, evaluations, etc.
Display mutual accountability
Most organizations rely on what I call a "performance management system" to maximize productivity (incidentally, most performance management systems are weak and only modestly effective but that's another article). High performing teams have no need for traditional employee evaluations and similar devices intended to move people successfully towards goal completion. High performing team members tend to be achievement oriented and very aware of the interdependent nature of their work. As a result they do not hesitate to point out deficiencies, seek to help others with performance issues, or seek help when they themselves reach difficult obstacles.
Pay attention to process and content
Work is not only about the tasks that must be completed to reach our goals. In fact, the tasks really are only half of what you must consider. The other half is process. Many common team processes include: team member support and feedback practices, managing the critical path of tasks and associated timelines, the process of knowledge management, the process of communicating progress upward in the chain of command, etc. Just to make the point clear, consider the classic case of problem solving. Without a great "process" observer, it is often the case that teams spend too much of their finite time expanding the possibilities as opposed to narrowing their alternatives, selecting one and planning the implementation.
Take calculated risks
Put simply, great teams do not become great by pursuing safe, incremental paths. However, abnormally high performance is not the result of reckless risk taking. Great teams do their homework, collect the data, confer with the relevant experts and then take a leap a highly educated and well informed leap in the name of innovation and improvement. Please don't get me wrong, not all risks pay off. The point is that high performing teams are more likely to take needed risks and are more likely to execute effectively. Nice punch line too: the better you execute, the lower the actual risk.
Take a long hard look at that list and ask yourself how many of them actually remind you of your team or of most teams in your organization. If you can only relate to half or fewer of these characteristics you need an intervention to build successful team skills. If you think you're consistently nailing seven or more of these congratulations, you're among the rare few deserving of the title "high performing team."
Dr. Dewett is a nationally recognized leadership expert, professor, author, professional speaker and consultant specializing in all aspects of organizational life. As quoted in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, CNN, the Chicago Tribune, MSNBC and elsewhere. He is the author of Leadership Redefined. Podcasts, blog, free newsletter and more at http://www.drdewett.com . Copyright 2009 TVA Inc.
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