how to lead high performance teams

How to Lead High Performance Teams

By: Romains Bos

• Introduction• Leading High-Performance Teams

• Team Success Factors• Rating The Factors

• Increasing The Focus on RESULTS• Building Team Member COMMITMENT• Improving Team PROCESSES• Improving Team COMMUNICATION• Building TRUST Within The Team• Team Performance Model• Foundations of Project Success

Agenda

• Increasing the focus on RESULTSTransition plan: Developing a purpose statementTransition plan: Refining a purpose statementTransition plan: Developing critical goals

• Building team member COMMITMENTTransition plan: Setting team ground rulesTransition plan: Identifying benefits

• Improving team PROCESSESTransition plan: Improving how the team records, communicates, and executes actions and agreementsTransition plan: Improving how the team conducts meetingsTransition plan: Improving how the team makes decisions

• Improving team COMMUNCIATIONTransition plan: Setting communication ground rulesTransition plan: Improving conflict resolutionTransition plan: Sharing information

• Building TRUST within the teamTransition plan: Increasing trustAdditional activities for building or maintaining trust

Introduction

Team Success Factors

RESULTS

COMMITMENT

PROCESSCOMMUNICATION

TRUST

Rating The Factors

RESULTS

COMMITMENT

PROCESSCOMMUNICATION

TRUST

54

32

1

54

32

1

1 2 3 4 5

12345

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5 - Strong

4 - More than satisfactory

3 - Satisfactory

2 - Less than satisfactory

1 - Weak

Team Success Factors

LIMITERSTeams hold themselves back when they do things such as:

ENABLERSTeams can move forward when they have things such as:

RESULTS

•Disagree on how to use resources•Carry out individual responsibilities and put off team responsibilities•Disagree on priorities•Compete for recognition, resources, or personal gain

•A clear, important, and accepted purpose statement•Understood and accepted short – and long-term team goals•Regular reviews of and discussions about team results•Team wide understanding of how team results support the organization•Team celebrations of successes

COMMITMENT

•Neglect to support team decisions•Withhold feedback to fellow members about mistakes or poor performance•Refuse to challenge the leader•Avoid volunteering to help or don’t cooperate with one another•Look to the leader to make most of the decisions or to take corrective actions

•Understood and accepted team member performance objectives•Understood and accepted ground rules for working together•Regular reviews of team members’ results and contributions to team success•Regular, open exchanges of positive and developmental feedback•Understood and accepted benefits of participating on the team



PROCESS

•Allow meetings to go off course or end them without reaching agreement•Neglect to share information and knowledge outside of meetings•Miss or delay opportunities, appointments, or assignments•Expand excessive time or resources in completing tasks

•Understood and accepted roles and responsibilities•Efficient methods for reviewing the effectiveness of work and team processes•Understood and accepted ground rules for sharing information and knowledge•Agreed-upon and documented actions and deadlines•An effective process for making team decisions•Meetings that follow an agenda that has been distributed in advance and reflects team members’ input

COMMUNICATION

•Withhold information in meetings•Let conflicts or disagreements go unresolved•Neglect to listen to one another•Quickly judge and reject ideas•Allow a few people to dominate meetings

•Equal opportunity to participate and offer opinions•Understood and accepted ground rules for resolving conflict•Openness to new ideas and opinions•Recognition of team members who use effective communication skills

Team Success Factors – Cont’d



TRUST

•Act on assumptions•Refuse to admit mistakes or ask for help•Disregard individual needs or expectations•Break promises

•Mistakes viewed as learning opportunities•Willingness to ask other team members for help•Differences of style and opinion that are leveraged rather than discouraged•Willingness to share thoughts, feelings, and rationale

Team Success Factors – Cont’d



RESULTS

•Disagree on how to use resources•Carry out individual responsibilities and put off team responsibilities•Disagree on priorities•Compete for recognition, resources, or personal gain

•A clear, important, and accepted purpose statement•Understood and accepted short – and long-term team goals•Regular reviews of and discussions about team results•Team wide understanding of how team results support the organization•Team celebrations of successes

COMMITMENT

•Neglect to support team decisions•Withhold feedback to fellow members about mistakes or poor performance•Refuse to challenge the leader•Avoid volunteering to help or don’t cooperate with one another•Look to the leader to make most of the decisions or to take corrective actions

•Understood and accepted team member performance objectives•Understood and accepted ground rules for working together•Regular reviews of team members’ results and contributions to team success•Regular, open exchanges of positive and developmental feedback•Understood and accepted benefits of participating on the team

PROCESS

•Allow meetings to go off course or end them without reaching agreement•Neglect to share information and knowledge outside of meetings•Miss or delay opportunities, appointments, or assignments•Expand excessive time or resources in completing tasks

•Understood and accepted roles and responsibilities•Efficient methods for reviewing the effectiveness of work and team processes•Understood and accepted ground rules for sharing information and knowledge•Agreed-upon and documented actions and deadlines•An effective process for making team decisions•Meetings that follow an agenda that has been distributed in advance and reflects team members’ input

COMMUNICATION

•Withhold information in meetings•Let conflicts or disagreements go unresolved•Neglect to listen to one another•Quickly judge and reject ideas•Allow a few people to dominate meetings

•Equal opportunity to participate and offer opinions•Understood and accepted ground rules for resolving conflict•Openness to new ideas and opinions•Recognition of team members who use effective communication skills

TRUST

•Act on assumptions•Refuse to admit mistakes or ask for help•Disregard individual needs or expectations•Break promises

•Mistakes viewed as learning opportunities•Willingness to ask other team members for help•Differences of style and opinion that are leveraged rather than discouraged•Willingness to share thoughts, feelings, and rationale

• Developing a purpose statement– Preparation

• Schedule a meeting for writing a team purpose statement. Before the meeting ask the team members to write a brief statement (35 words or less) describing why the team exists. Team members should be prepared to post and discuss their statements at the meeting

Increasing The Focus On RESULTS

• Developing a purpose statement– Discussion

• Present individual statements• Select common elements• Write the initial purpose statement• Test the purpose statement• Publicize the purpose statement

Increasing The Focus On RESULTS – Cont’d

• Refining a purpose statement– Preparation

• Schedule a meeting for refining an existing team purpose statement. Before the meeting ask the team members to review and edit the current purpose statement. Team members should be prepared to post and discuss their edited statements at the meeting


• Refining a purpose statement– Discussion

• Present individual edited statements• Select common elements• Write the refined purpose statement• Test the purpose statement• Publicize the purpose statement


• Developing critical goals– Preparation

• Schedule a meeting to develop critical goals


• Developing critical goals– Discussion

• Identify critical organizational and customer expectations• Choose the critical expectations• Write team goals• Test the goals• Track and display the results


• Setting team ground rules– Preparation

• Schedule a team meeting to set ground rules. Before the meeting ask the team members to think about and list some ground rules for how they will work together as a team. They should consider topics such as:– Attendance and participation at team meetings– Giving and receiving feedback within the team– Fulfilling responsibilities and commitments– Resolving differences within the team– Communicating with one another

Building Team Member COMMITMENT

• Setting team ground rules– Discussion

– Present each team member’s list of ground rules– Select common ground rules– Determine tracking methods and consequences– Determine how to exchange feedback on observing the ground

rules

Building Team Member COMMITMENT – Cont’d

• Identifying benefits– Preparation• Schedule a team meeting to identify how team members hope

to benefit from being part of the team. Before the meeting ask team members to make a list of things they expect to gain, such as:– Recognition– The feeling of making a difference to the organization– New or improved skills– Bonuses or other rewards– The feeling of being a part of something important


• Identifying benefits– Discussion

• Present each person’s list of things he or she expects to gain by being on the team

• Discuss the list• Determine when and how to measure team members’

satisfaction with the benefits they are gaining• Summarize and schedule follow-up


• Improving how the team records, communicates, and executes actions and agreements– Preparation

• Schedule a team meeting to improve the process for handling actions and agreements

Improving Team PROCESSES

• Improving how the team records, communicates, and executes actions and agreements– Discussion

• Reach agreement on what needs to be improved• Determine what actions your team will take to address the

practices that the team currently is not following at all or is not following effectively

• Document actions and agreements and set a follow-up date to assess improvement

Improving Team PROCESSES – Cont’d

• Improving how the team conducts meetings– Preparation

• Schedule a team meeting to improve the process for conducting meetings


• Improving how the team conducts meetings– Discussion





• Improving how the team conducts meetings– Preparation

• Schedule a team meeting to improve the process for making team decisions


• Improving how the team conducts meetings– Discussion





• Setting communication ground rules– Preparation

• Schedule a team meeting to set communication ground rules or revise existing ones. Before the meeting ask team members to think about and list some ground rules related to areas such as:– Listening– Participation– Clarity– Creativity– Openness– Respect

Improving Team COMMUNICATION

• Setting communication ground rules– Discussion

• Present each team member’s list of ground rules• Select common ground rules• Determine what actions the team will take to follow the

ground rules• Document and publish ground rules

Improving Team COMMUNICATION – Cont’d

• Improving conflict resolution– Preparation

• Schedule a team to improve the way the team resolves conflict


• Setting communication ground rules– Discussion





• Sharing information– Preparation

• Schedule a meeting to discuss what information each team member needs and how the team might share information with each one another. Ask each team member to create one list containing the information he or she needs to have to perform his or her responsibilities and, if known, who provides the information. Ask them to create a second list containing the information they think others need from them


• Sharing information– Discussion

• Identify the information that needs to be shared• Identify any gaps in information sharing• Determine actions that will close the gaps• Document agreements and distribute a summary of

agreements and actions to all team members• Set a follow-up date to assess information sharing


• Increasing trust– Preparation

• Schedule a meeting that gives team members the opportunity to get to known one another on a more personal level. Explain that when team members share information about themselves and learn more about one another’s background, trust begins to grow and they can reach a deeper level of mutual understanding and acceptance.

• Ask the team members to come to the meeting prepared to share information about themselves, such as:

– Education– Work experience– Something personal they’d like to share– Hobbies and interests– Likes and dislikes about the job– Things to eliminate in the job

• Note: Be sure no to create the impression that people will be pressured into revealing personal information that they might feel uncomfortable sharing

Building TRUST Within The Team

• Additional activities for building or maintaining trust– Discussion

• Have each team member complete a “social style” or “interpersonal style” inventory. These inventories provide an assessment of people’s motivations, communication styles, and interpersonal styles. Have a trained or certified facilitator lead the team through a discussion of team member's similarities and differences in styles. Such a discussion can help the team better understand and value individual differences

• Plan social activities as a team. For example:– Game (competitive, group problem-solving, etc.)– Picnic– Lunch or dinner– Sporting event

• Conduct a feedback session in which each team member receives feedback from the other team members about:

– One major strength– One thing the person could do differently to help the team be successful

Building TRUST Within The Team – Cont’d

1.Orientation

WHYam I here?

2.Trust

BuildingWHO are

you?

3.Goal

clarificationWHAT are we

doing?

5.Implementation

WHO does WHAT,WHEN, WHERE ?

6.High

performanceWOW!

7.Renewal

WHYcontinue?

4.CommitmentHOW will we

do it?

Unresolved

Team Performance Model (TPM)

Relationship

Creating Sustaining

Task Alignment

TPM – Cont’d1.

OrientationWHY

am I here?

2.Trust

BuildingWHO are

you?

3.Goal

clarificationWHAT are we

doing?

5.ImplementationWHO does WHAT,WHEN, WHERE ?

6.High

performanceWOW!

7.Renewal

WHYcontinue?

4.CommitmentHOW will we

do it?

Creating Sustaining

Relationship

Unresolved• Disorientation• Uncertainty• Fear

Task

Unresolved• Caution• Mistrust• FacadeResolved

• Purpose• Team identity• Membership Unresolved

• Apathy• Skepticism• Irrelevant competition

Unresolved• Conflict / confusion• Nonalignment• Missed deadlines

Resolved• Mutual regard• Forthrightness• Reliability

Unresolved• Dependence• Resistance

Resolved• Basic assumptions• Clear, integrated goals• Shared vision

Resolved• Assigned roles• Allocated resources• Decisions made

Resolved• Clear processes• Alignment• Disciplined execution

Resolved• Spontaneousinteraction• Synergy• Surpassingresults

Unresolved• Overload• Disharmony

Unresolved• Boredom• Burnout

Resolved• Recognition & celebration• Change mastery• Staying power

Alignment

1.OrientationWhen teams are forming everybody wonders WHY they are here, what their potential fit is and whether others will accept them. People need some kind of answer to continue.

Purpose: Understand what the group is formed to do; members see that as acceptable challenge; there is sense that the team is important to the organization.

Team Identity:Members know that they have a contribution to make; that they are qualified to do so; and that t team purpose represents the work they want to do.

Membership:Feel included by the other members; have sense of ownership; feel pride of involvement.

2.Trust BuildingNext, people want to know WHO they will work with – their expectations, agendas and competencies. Sharing builds trust and a free exchange among team members.

Mutual Regard: Understand what the group is formed to do; members see that as acceptable challenge; there is sense that the team is important to the organization.

Forthrightness:Members know that they have a contribution to make; that they are qualified to do so; and that t team purpose represents the work they want to do.

Reliability:Feel included by the other members; have sense of ownership; feel pride of involvement.

3.Goal ClarificationThe more concrete work of the team begins with clarity about team goals, basic assumptions and vision. Terms and definitions come to the fore. WHAT are the priorities?

Explicit Assumptions: What are the members’ basic assumptions, premises and philosophy, reconcile and acknowledge differences.

Clear, Integrate Goals:Members share an explicit understanding of goals and priorities, and how they fit together.

Shared Vision:Consensus about the results wanted, everyone is committed to moving ahead.

4.CommitmentAt some point discussions need to end and decisions must be made about HOW resources, time, staff – all the bottom line constraints – will be managed. Agreed roles are the key

Assigned Roles: What needs to be done to meet goal, who is responsible, and how roles fit together.

Allocated Resources:Material, money, people, space needed to do the job. Resources are dedicated and priorities clear.

Membership:Clear organizational support structure, decision process, and communication network.

5.ImplementationTeams turn the corner when they begin to sequence work and settle on WHO does WHAT, WHEN and WHERE in action. Timing and scheduling dominate this stage.

Clear Processes: Processes continue to be clearly defined, show who does what, when, where.

Alignment:Roles fit together, people support the same objectives, work is integrated.

Disciplined Execution:Team works smoothly, with good timing, and positive results.

6.High PerformanceWhen methods are mastered, a team can begin, to change its goals and flexibly respond to the environment. The team can say * WOW! * and surpass expectations.

Spontaneous Interaction: Team and team members are themselves, exercise freedom in the way they work.

Synergy:Transcend expectations and capabilities, whole greater than parts, model performance for the whole organization.

Surpassing Results:Anticipate each others’ needs, use shorthand communication, develop implicit trust by knowing preferences and styles, achieve exceptional results.

7.RenewalTeam are dynamic. People get tired; members change. People wonder << WHY continue >>? It’s time to harvest learning and prepare for a new cycle of action.

Recognition & Celebration: Take time to rejoice in accomplishments celebrate work well done, refresh themselves.

Change Mastery:Feel included by other members, acquire a sense of ownership, feel pride of involvement.

Staying Power:Able to handle changes in membership, adjust to new phases of work, take time to reorient to changes in team needs and vision.

Foundations of Project Success

Scope and Requirements

Sche

dul

eProject Success

Qual

ity

Cost

Integrity and Safety

The End

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