Attributes of High Performing Teams

The goal of building high performing teams is a popular one. Nobody is going to say, “I want to build a low performing team.” It’s important to understand what a high performing team looks like before trying to understand how to help build one. High performing team display the following:

1.    Trust between team members & lack of finger pointing.  Team members trust each other. They assume members are competent and capable. They accept, without judgment, that every member has strengths and it’s not possible to be great at everything. They recognize that their strengths compensate for their weaknesses. If someone drops the ball, someone else will be there to pick it up.

2.    Team members willing to step outside their comfort zone. There is no “that’s not my job” attitude. Instead, the team embraces the notion that they are all in it together. Members are willing to step outside of their comfort zone in order to help the team as a whole.

3.    Diverse and complementary skills, backgrounds, and experiences. The team isn’t made up of members who suggest similar solutions because they all look at things the same way. Different backgrounds, skills, and experiences, results in better solutions because the team looks at the problem from different perspectives. Diverse teams can take longer before they perform at a high level. However, they’ll reach an even higher level of performance than more homogenous teams.

4.    Desire to achieve.  There is a commitment to achieving team objectives and a desire to go above and beyond minimal expectations. The team has high standards and members of the team create a positive feedback loop that makes everyone better.

5.    The team’s values & culture are self re-enforcing. Team members are personally invested in the team’s performance and supportively hold each other accountable. Leadership isn’t solely responsible for re-enforcing team values and culture. Instead the team itself shares this responsibility.

6.    Aligned behind common goals.  The team is pulling in the same direction. They share a common vision and understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish. Individual performance evaluations are aligned with team objectives and encourage the right behaviors.

7.    Some of the team members have worked together before. Some members have previously worked together. They’ve achieved success, overcome obstacles, trust each other, are able to resolve conflicts, and understand how each other communicate. The entire team does not need to have previously worked together; just a significant sub-set of the team. If only a few members have previously worked together, they’ll achieve the same benefits after working together for a while.

8.    Ability to constructively resolve conflict. The team proactively identifies and resolves issues before they escalate, which minimizes conflict. When conflict does occur, it’s resolved constructively and often results in increased trust and understanding. This is accomplished by doing the following: (a) focus on the problem, not people; (b) focus on the future, not the past; (c) avoid blame game; (d) understand everyone’s position; (e) collaborate on the resolution.

9.    Believe they can overcome obstacles.  The combination of factors described gives the team the confidence they overcome difficult obstacles they encounter.

Related posts coming soon:

1.    Steps a leader can take to build a high performing team.

2.    Constructively resolving conflict.

Resolving Conflict

The ability to resolve conflict is a critical skill for anyone in the workplace. It is particularly important for those in a direct leadership role or often dealing with cross-group activities. Some people try to pretend the conflict isn’t there; however, unresolved conflict has a tendency to fester and make things worse over time. That’s why learning to constructively deal with it is such an important skill. Here are some steps you can take to help constructively resolve conflict.

It’s important to accept that conflict is going to happen. You can’t run away from it. As a leader, it’s your job to deal with it.

Step 1 - Prevention

While conflict is inevitable in the workplace, you can take proactive steps to prevent conflict from escalating. The best way to do that is to invest in building relationships before there is conflict. If you have a relationship with someone, some level of trust, they are less likely to escalate and more likely to come directly to you for a quick and often painless resolution.

Step 2 – Remain Calm

If you do find yourself in a conflict, it is important that you remain calm. You are not doing yourself any favors by loosing your cool and it is only going to escalate the conflict. Don’t try to interpret what someone else is thinking and assume the worse. Remind yourself that conflict happens all the time and usually can be constructively resolved.

Step 3 – Listen to Understand

If you want to diffuse a situation and prevent escalation, then seek to understand the other person’s point of view. Focus on the problem, not the person. Listen to understand, not to argue. Resist the urge to interrupt the other person and issue a rebuttal. Use active listening skills to show you are listening and sincerely care about their perspective.

A lot of times, you can make progress by simply letting the other person know that you actually care about the issue that is bothering them.

Step 4 – Ask Questions

Ask questions to clarify the other person’s issues. This not only re-enforces that you care about their point of view, but helps you zero in on the core issues driving the conflict. Restate or paraphrase what you think you are hearing and ask the other party if you correctly understood what they were trying to say.

Step 5 – Share Your View

Calmly explain your perspective on the issues. Use “I” statements so that you are conveying your perspective as opposed to making a judgment about the other person or their position.

Step 6 – Identify the Problem

Identify the true core issues or problem. Focus on the root cause instead of trying to enumerate every peripheral issue. Come to a common agreement on the problem driving the conflict. Agree to next steps, so that the conflict is actually resolved, instead of forgotten only to return later.

Up Next:

• Resolving conflict between members of your team or between someone on your team and their peer on another team. 
• Leading a group of people through the conflict resolution process. 
• Creating a team culture that reduces the frequency of conflict on your team.