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Leading Companies Online Magazine
The High-Performance Team
By Ray Smilor, Beyster Institute Executive Director
I’ve had the good fortune to help assemble and to work with some truly high-performing teams. Teams that were driven to succeed, passionate about their work and remarkably accomplished. It’s a joy to work with teams like this because the people in them feel good about what they do and are fun to be with. And even in really difficult circumstances, they never hesitate to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to get it done right.
How do teams like this come together? What is it that allows some teams to be so effective while others struggle and bicker?
In my experience, a number of factors contribute to shaping the high performance team.
Look for Attitude. I want people on my team who are positive, can-do and optimistic. I want the person who continually sees the glass as half full. I have come to believe that I can’t motivate anyone (though I may be able to inspire). Consequently, I look for people who are self-motivators, who don’t need to be told what to do every step of the way, who don’t just bring me a problem, but also come up with possible solutions and anticipate what can be done.
Provide Inspiration. In his marvelously titled book Organizing Genius, Warren Bennis observes that high-performing teams feel part of something larger than themselves. They are changing the world. In other words, they are doing something that provides meaning to them. Consequently, being associated with a worthy purpose stimulates the desire to work harder, smarter and more energetically. So, communicating a vision, conveying values, telling compelling stories, sharing testimonials, describing impact, setting an example, and keeping expectations high all contribute to keeping a team inspired and thus letting self-motivated people perform at a high level.
Foster Talent. Each of us has our own unique gift, our talent for doing something. Very often, because this is something that we’re really good at and really enjoy, we take it for granted and assume that it’s not actually something special. It is, and it’s important to recognize one’s talent as something special. I like to ask entrepreneurs a challenging question: “What is it that only you can do?” In other words, what do you do that makes a significant difference in the success of the company. Once you can identify that, you want to do it as much as possible. There is another way to think about this. Marcus Buckingham in his book, The One Thing You Need to Know, gets at the talent issue another way. The one thing you need to know is what you’re not good at and what you don’t like doing, and then don’t do it. On a high-performance team, fostering talent is a freeing and wonderfully enjoyable experience. Maybe one’s talent is event coordination, project management, financial know-how, selling or giving a presentation. Whatever it might be, fostering talent on a team results in higher performance and a more fun experience for everyone involved.
Encourage Disagreement. I want an environment in my organization in which everyone can feel free to disagree. If you have people with a great attitude who feel inspired and bring their unique talent to the group, then you also have people who have ideas and opinions and who want and expect to be heard. Therefore, it’s important to listen. When team members feel empowered to disagree, the team makes better decisions. Just as important, a more trustworthy climate is created when people can openly and candidly provide a different point of view.
Reward Performance. We all want to make a good income. Providing competitive salaries, benefits and financial incentives are important. But those on high-performing teams are willing to go the extra mile because they feel appreciated. Think about that. I want to feel appreciated and so do others. But we often don’t let our team members know how much we really do value their contributions. The simple “thank you,” the public acknowledgement of a job well done, the willingness to share credit, the occasional and unexpected gift, the hand-written note, all let someone know that they are valued and appreciated. I’m convinced that letting people know that you appreciate what they do is essential to the continuing success of the high-performance team.
Attitude, inspiration and talent, when rooted in a trusting environment and provided with both tangible and intangible rewards, will result in high performance every time!
©2007 The Beyster Institute and its authors and their entities. All rights reserved.
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