The Seven Aspects of High-Performing Teams
As a leader, one of your most critical responsibilities is turning your team into what can be considered a high-performing team. And to do that there are seven elements that you need to bring together to turn your team into one that just exists into one that's considered really high-performing.
Set Direction
First you have to set direction. You have to lay out a vision for what that organization's going to be three to five years from now. You also have to help the team understand what is your mission? Why does the organization exist? Where do you fit in the broader company? Once you've articulated that vision and that mission, try to think more broadly and think about your customers and how you can involve them in what's called a shared purpose, how the two of you can achieve more than just the team alone. And then lastly, identify the strategy for how you're going to achieve that vision.
Gather and Deploy Resources
Once you've set that direction, you need to gather and then deploy resources. You have to articulate your resource needs. What type of resources do you need and why do you need them? And then you have to make a clear and compelling business case to get those resources allocated to you and your team.
Assemble the Team
Once you've identified those required resources, you have to assemble the team. You have to define the skills that are relevant and necessary for achieving your vision. You have to find the people who are going to help you achieve that vision, the people with the right set of skills. And once you've assembled them, you have to think through as a leader how are you going to build chemistry between those individuals? Build those bonds of trust between the team members and each other as well as that bond of trust between them and you as their leader.
Allocate and Prioritize the Work
You then have to allocate the work and prioritize your efforts. You'll have to think through I have all this work, how am I going to balance it across the members of my team? How am I going to set goals for them that are realistic yet are achievable and stretch the organization forward? And then lastly, prioritize your efforts so you focus on the most important things and execute them well.
Execute the Plan
Once you have those priorities set, you have to execute the plan, which includes making decisions. That's why you're put at the head of that team, is to make those tough calls. And then once you've made a decision, measure the results and adjust accordingly.
Motivate People
Next you have to think through your people and how are you going to motivate them, inspire them, get the best out of them every single day, which includes thinking through how are you going to empower them to do their jobs? How are you going to give them the authority to do what they need to do? Enable them to make decisions. Then providing feedback to them on their performance and resolve any conflict that may exist between them and other team members or them and you and make sure things run smoothly.
Develop the Team
Lastly, you need to take a longer term view of developing your people. How are you going to build their skills? How are you going to build depth in terms of the capabilities of the people on your team and build that bench strength? How are you going to create stretch assignments where people can grow into better performers than they currently are? So once you've looked at those seven elements of building a high-performing team, and if you're able to execute against each one, the likelihood of you delivering on that promise of a high-performing team to the organization goes up dramatically.
