In an ever increasingly competitive world, made smaller by the speed and accessibility of the Internet, Organisations around the world are scrambling to be more profitable, productive and sustainable. And those that have cottoned on to the fact that their greatest chance of doing this is through creating highly performing teams in their ranks are way ahead of the rest of the pack.
We read about the research pointing to how teams are the answer to getting ahead and how collaboration and communication are two vital components of team success, yet why do so many companies struggle to get their teams right? And if they don’t it costs them big time.
Team transformation means a deliberate and sustained effort to move teams towards high performance with a key focus on increased team work, using team building activities as part of this strategy.
8 new research outcomes of studying teams
- The ideal team size is between 5 and 9
- Good chemistry makes teams less effective: Team members need to get along, but if there is not enough diversity and challenging of what they’re doing, and if they all think alike, GroupThink can emerge which is detrimental to ways of thinking and working productively
- The most effective teams don’t have leaders: Self-directed work teams are those that direct their own work, they’re competent in their roles and always looking for ways to improve. Their collaboration and communication is refined enough for them to work together productively without necessarily having a leader to guide them
- Effective teams need a co-ordinator/manager: To help them co-ordinate outcomes and work together, diverse teams tend to be more creative and achieve greater outputs
- Small teams outperform solo talent: We achieve more working in small groups than doing so alone, no matter what level of intelligence the lone wolf has
- Conflict within a Team is essential: Diversity, challenging the status quo and new ways of looking at things is critical to a team’s success. The conflict itself is not the problem but the way the team resolves it is
- Mixed-aged teams outperform youth-only teams: Whilst younger teams may show exuberance and excitement, research tells us that a team with some members who possess practical experience is more useful than youth-only teams, although the mixed-aged team requires more active leadership, to keep them working well together and onside.
- Virtual teams are vastly over-rated: Even with all the technology available today, teams work better together and get more done when members are in close physical proximity. If a team must be virtual, it should have periodic in-person team meetings.
Source: https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/10-surprising-scientific-facts-about-teams.html (Adapted)
Highly Performing teams in your Organisation
A highly performing team is a group of people who share a common vision, goals, metrics and who collaborate, challenge and hold each other accountable for achieving outstanding results.
High Performance Teams Checklist
What do highly performing teams do and how do they maintain their exemplary performance? Check your teams against these criteria. They:
- Have a clear vision and goal, and know where they want to go
- Have clearly defined priorities
- Have clear measures of success and receive feedback about how they’re doing
- Maintain open communication and positive relationships with each other
- Identify and solve problems together
- Make well-informed decisions when and where they need to
- Successfully manage conflict at all levels
- Share leadership responsibilities – we’re all in this together
- Ensure meetings are productive with actionable outcomes
- Have clearly defined roles and work procedures
- Work well across the business
3 Must Have Strategies for Transforming Teams
People don’t just ‘work well’ together over time. As social beings who live in groups, humans need rules and social norms to be able to work (and live) well together over time. It is the same for teams.
Strategy 1: Teams must have a vision and goals
If members don’t know what they stand for or what they are supposed to achieve, how will they know when they are successful? It’s like all team members in a boat, rowing to get somewhere. If they don’t know what that somewhere is, they will all row in different directions and at different times. But if they all know where they are headed and row in that direction, their goal of getting there will be achieved.
Strategy 2: Teams must design their own Code of Conduct and be appraised against it
The most difficult part of working in a team are the relationships within it. Team members will not always like each other or get along, but if they have a clear ‘credo’ or set of behavioural guide-lines that outline what is expected of each other, and call each other on it, the chances are you will have a team with solid relationships between the members.
Strategy 3: Teams need to have a system of ‘fun and celebration’ when working together
Those teams that enjoy working together always have some fun and enjoyment in their work. They celebrate their successes and are positive in their working relationships.
Highly performing teams don’t just happen but they are the outcome of key strategies to help members of the team work together productively and effectively.
We’ve developing teams in Australia and internationally been for many years. If you would like to know more about what we do and how we can help you, head to www.puremagicbusiness.com.au
Pure Magic International Business Solutions is an award-winning company, passionate about helping clients achieve strategic business outcomes by providing innovative leadership, management and people development strategies and techniques at all levels and by using a range of easy to implement OD and HR strategies.
To find out more, head to www.puremagicbusiness.com.au
Or you can chat with us about any concerns or ideas you about Organisational development. Book a free discussion at https://my.timetrade.com/book/QGY21
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