Build a high-performance team (video transcript)
Say you’re part of a team that’s not working. Maybe it’s because you don’t have the same priorities and everyone is running off in different directions. Or it could be because your communication is terrible and no one trusts one another anymore. You’ve probably tried some kind of team-building activity—maybe you ziplined your way to high performance—but it didn’t last. Perhaps you’ve read all about team dysfunction and everyone is just sitting around, waiting for someone else to make the first move. Unfortunately, turning a group of people into a healthy team isn’t quite that simple.
It takes four steps.
1. Align Your Team’s Objectives
The first step is to get aligned. Our approach when we’re helping teams facing challenges is to always start with the business side, because you can’t begin to fix the dynamics and the trust until you all agree on what you’re there to do. You have to figure out what your organization is counting on you to do—what is the unique value that your team brings to the table.
From there, you can describe the team’s mission and figure out what you’ll need to do differently to make it happen.
2. Understand Your Team’s Dynamics
The second step is to understand the people on your team. Consider using a style assessment tool. I love the Birkman method, but there are many others. What you want to do is get each team member to understand themselves a little better, but also start to understand one another. It’s important to figure out if your conflicts are coming from the fact that you’re so different, or from the fact that you’re too alike.
The other thing you will want to look at is how your team’s style and each team member’s style align with what your team is there to do. For example, if your team’s mission is to influence others, and you don’t have anyone on the team with a natural influencing style, you’re going to be in trouble. You probably need to hardwire some of these things.
3. Fix Your Team’s Issues
The third step is where you really roll up your sleeves. This is where we help your team fix the things that aren’t working. Whether it’s communication, meeting agendas, decision making, trust… Whatever it is, this is the stage where, once you understand what you’re there to do and you understand the people around the table, you can really start to make things better.
And most people think that’s where we’d stop. But the fourth step is actually the most important.
4. Sustain Your Team’s High Performance
The fourth step is where we make sure that your team can continue to function as a high-performance team after we leave. This is where we make sure that you know how to keep agendas really tight and on track, and that you don’t let operational stuff creep back in. We also make sure you’re comfortable enforcing the ground rules and calling one another out when you’re not behaving appropriately. Once we’re sure of that, then we know that you can sustain that high level of performance without us there helping you.
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Unfortunately, building and creating a healthy team is not as easy as a day on a zip line, but it can be done. These four steps will get you there.
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