Are you operating smoothly?

The third element for high performing teams is the operations piece.  How the group is structured and whether they perceive they have the tools and processes in place in order to be successful.  Note the word perceive.  You can have the most impressive software and tracking systems but if your employees find them cumbersome or get in the way of completing their work then you wont have a high performing team.

 Operations is about clearly defining roles and responsibilities.  When was the last time you sat down with your team and talked about roles and responsibilities?  It all too easily becomes assumed that everyone knows why each other is on the team and the strengths they bring to the group.  Unless this is reviewed and clarified regularly how can you hope to unlock the strengths of the group, leverage opportunities across the team, understand the gaps in knowledge or potential points of failure?

A relatively simple approach is to provide everyone with a sheet of flipchart paper (or more) and ask them to answer the following questions and then review these as a group:

• The value my role brings to this team / organisation
• Key Responsibilities / Tasks
• Dependencies up and down stream (ie who do i get work from and who do I give it to)
• Key Measures of Success / Metrics
• What prevents me from completing my work?
• What I need from this team in order to be successful

Then review the outputs as a group.  Thinking about the teams goals, ask yourself

• What is missing from the charts. 
• Are there areas of duplication?
• Are there items on one chart that might be better moved to another area?

Once clarity about individual roles and responsibilities has been achieved you can focus on the dynamics around empowerment and decision making.  Its one thing to know what you need to achieve its another to feel that you are empowered to take action and make decisions to deliver.

Clarifying roles and responsibilties is an activity worth doing every year.  It should also be part of the way you help to integrate new team members so that they understand what everyone else on the team does and how they fit into the process.

 Morag Barrett

Communicate?

Communication appears to be deceptively simple.  After all, we spend hours in meetings with our coworkers.  We talk with each other all the time.  Therefore we communicate.

While this may be true, I have found that with many teams it is not what is talked about that is important.  Many times it is the things that aren’t discussed that cause the biggest issues and challenges within a group.  Communicating effectively isn’t just about having the fun conversations it is also about ensuring that conflict and debate can happen in a way that prmotes creativity, innovation and ultimately a better outcome for the team.

How often have you sat through a meeting and not said what was on your mind?  How often have you listened to a ‘debate’ knowing that the answer has already been decided and that the ongoing conversation pointless?  Breaking the cycle and creating an environment where it is safe to say “I don’t agree” or “I don’t understand” is a huge undertaking that many teams fail to consider or achieve.

Try this simple exercise:  Ask your team what they think the three most important priorities are for your company and your team to complete by the end of this year.

I am guessing that this will result in a list of approximately (N-1) x 3 priorities.  Where N is the number of people you have asked (ok so you need to ask more than one for this to work).  But you get my drift.  If you dont have clarity around the goals that the team is working towards then you may want to reflect on the methods that you use to communicate them.  Ask yourself whether you just announced them or if there was an opportunity to discuss and truely understand them.  Why the goals are important and what role everyone on the team plays in achieving these.  An email is not sufficient.  A single meeting at the start of the year or quarter is not sufficient.  It takes numerous (research indicates over 7 times) times for information to be retained and remembered.  It will be the combination of your written word, the team meeting and the individual conversations and follow up that will help to ensure everyone understands what needs to be achieved, by when and why.

Communication starts with the goals and expectations for the team and individuals.  You then need to communicate your expectations for the daily interactions and dialogue that follows (more on this later)

Morag Barrett

What is trust?

Trust is the foundation to team success.  With out you can make some inroads to improved performance, but you will achieve nothing if the individuals on the team lack trust.

 Think about it.

Have you worked with someone who undermined you, or maybe took credit for your work? 
Have you had a manager who micromanaged and checked up on you numerous times a day?
Have you had co-workers who talked about you behind your back?
Worked in a culture that said it valued learning from mistakes but immediately penalised anyone who did?
Where there was a favourite? the person who got the high profile projects and opportunities?
Where more was continually expected of the few?
Where individuals undermine the decisions that have been made?

Trust is an odd thing.  We don’t always consciously think about it but we give and withhold trust all the time.  The coworker who said something that felt harsh…you now sit in a meeting and look for further examples of where they don’t trust you…therefore you don’t trust them.  Trust diminished.

You get on a plane and without a second thought settle down to review the films.  The pilot, the staff probably don’t merit a thought.  Trust implicit.

The coworker who asked for you advice, listened and implemented changes.  As a result delivers outstanding results and returns for more advice.  Trust enhanced.

So how do you build trust?

To build trust you need to know the person.  Not the job they do.  The individual behind the role.  What makes them tick, why do they communicate one way and you another?  I have discovered two tools that help to achieve this.  The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or the Birkman Method.  Both require a certified facilitator to lead a team or individual through their feedback (contact me 😉 ) but I have seen huge insights gained from participants who have had the confidence to share their results.  A realisation that two people either have the same profile or even opposite profiles can help them to understand why the either work well together or butt heads frequently.  These tools help to provide a common language that enable conversation about how people interact to happen in a safe way.  It is now about ‘the ‘MBTI’ seems to indicate x’ rather than a ‘you always…which is why I…’

Talking about the groundrules for the team and then holding the members accountable for meeting and maintaing them.  Discussing what the legacy is that the team wants to be remembered for.  How would they want others to describe the team (I challenge you to compare that to what people are saying and assess the gap!).

Trust is a relationship.  A relationship happens through interaction beyond the transactional.  You need to spend and invest the time to get to know the person.

Morag Barrett

Four Cornerstones for Success

The approach my friends and I developed was focused around the Four Cornerstones of High Performing Teams.  They were

• Trust
• Communication
• Operations
• Results

A simple list on paper, but achieving a level of high performance means continually reviewing the progress the team is making.  Ensuring everyone feels comfortable and will ing to participate.  It means not sitting back on your laurels but actively seeking new ways to take the group to the next level.

Many times I have heard people talk about the time not being right to focus on team development.

“we are too busy”
“lets wait until we fill the vacant position”
“we have always fought with that team, nothing is going to change it”
“lets do it after we finish this project”
“We have too many problems to fix”
“we can’t risk a confrontation…it would destroy morale”

In the moment, they all seem valid.  But look at this list again and seem them for what they are, excuses.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms can you really afford NOT to invest in developing your team?  If you could turn these comments into:

“we continually seem to be able to deliver”
“we have more applicants than ever for our position, we can fill it in record time”
“we work with teams up and down stream to understand where our goals are aligned and where there may be friction, it helps us to work to solve and prevent conflict”
“team building? we do it as part of our project”
“we understand how to leverage our strengths and prioritise opportunities to improve”
“we need to talk about the ‘big hairy gorilla’ at our table”

People want to be part of a high performing team, people want to join a high performing teams.  High performing teams can help to deliver outstanding business results.  Wouldn’t you want to be part of that?

Morag Barrett

What makes for an effective team?

There are loads of books and resources available about how to build a high performing team.  The one I found particularly pertinent was Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

 As with all his books, it is based on a fable and can easily be read on a plane flight or over a weekend.  He then outlines a simple 5 step model and actionable steps that can help to improve any team.  For a high performing team you need to have trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, results and the book goes on to explain why these elements are important and techniques for achieving these.

This book has been a main-stay on my bookshelf and recommended reading as I worked with teams across organizations.

Morag Barrett