Building a High Performing Team the Old Fashioned Way

Editor's Notes

• #3: Today we are here to discuss the notion of “what is a high-performing team? How do the dynamics of a service driven team differ from other groups? We’ll chat about what comes first, the team or the culture, and which of these is more “changeable” We will them shift to recruiting for your team – finding the “right” individual to fill an important seat from creating the staffing profile to interviewing Finally, we will discuss what it means to build, train and lead a multi-generational, high performing team.
• #5: Cohesive – part of a team – not strictly individual contributors. accountable to their fellow team members Common Purpose – if you asked each member of your team “why are we here”, would they answer the question in similar ways? Trust – Sounds so simple. Yet trust eludes many teams in the workplace and can be the main reason why your team doesn’t gel. Trust is eroded when individuals hold back information, when communication is not authentic and transparent. Roles and Responsibilities – your team members KNOW their roles and responsibilities and they OWN them. Emotionally intelligent – and value diversity. They don’t shut other people down. They don’t pre-judge and make assumptions. They are in inclusive team, not an exclusive team. The have a powerful leader You do all of the above, and you pay attention. You represent this team well. You own their errors and you celebrate their success by giving them credit. Your individuals know their roles, because you’ve communicated these clearly, you’ve established goals and you manage to them. You are engaged.
• #6: This is a great visual of the high-water marks of a high performing. A team that is hitting these benchmarks is by definition a high-performing team. We’ve all heard the “life stages of a team” right? Forming. Storming, norming….Not all teams make it to performing. Or they do and fizzle because of an unclear mission, or corrupted culture, poor communication – or ineffective leadership.
• #7: High performing teams are formed, led, inspired and or anchored by great leadership. Fierce Leadership - leaders confront “worst behaviors cloaked as best practices” Using that “squid eye” to notice things that other don’t see. Leaders take great pains to get the right people on the team. Jim Collins wrote about this in Good to Great, and spoke about it as a keynote speaker at Educause a few years ago. A good leader knows when they need to get someone OFF the team to save the team – takes managerial courage, hard conversations and it is time intensive. But doing something difficult that provides relief and improvement to your team will by leaps and bounds inspire trust in you as a leader. It is also gratifying to see someone grow and flourish. .
• #8: Ever heard this phrase? There are hundreds of visual depictions of culture in the workplace but I think this simple and straightforward depiction nails it – this depiction goes to the DNA of an organization. When people come and go from the organization, the culture can slowly morph BUT – change is slow – almost unclear to the naked eye. Forcible change to culture makes people very uncomfortable- because it is not organic. All teams, high performing or not have their own local behavior norms and accepted culture. This is why its so hard to take an existing team and “reinvent” them to be high performing. Culture is like a swimming pool. If you remove a gallon of water. What happens?
• #9: So I lost three people. If you are in a similar situation, you could have turnover, or you’ll have some people who will not take well to your changes, and will dig in for the long haul. Perhaps over time they will see value in your vision – but decide how long you are willing to abide by the situation. Make sure everyone understands the vision. When you are preparing for the reboot, think through what you will do. A reboot requires intentional and purposeful actions, and you should definitely consult your HR lead for guidance. . My suggestions for getting started are: Clarify your vision – it can be new or just reinforced Set new performance standards Reassign staff to the right teams Deal with performance problems head on Refocus the team on priorities and expectations, establishing attainable goals. Individuals should have goals but also lay out a team goal – and have regular check-in to ensure the team is on the path to success
• #10: Look at your current and future operational portfolio and projects and map to team competencies Do you have current talent who can be trained up? Opportunity Do you need to pursue talent to fill knowledge and skill gap? Document what that gap in Are you hiring a technician who can “do” excellent customer service? Or are you looking for someone who is GREAT at customer service but who is also a technician. Thinking through these things will help you to build a staffing profile. Use that profile to write a recruitment ad.
• #11: This your basic recruitment ad. It will read like many others and and you will get all types of personalities applying for this job. This listing says nothing at all about the company, the culture or the team. A computer could do this job Don’t limit your must haves to software knowledge, programming skills or a degree. Project management experience can be a must-have. So can great communication skills. Let the candidate know what kind of company they are applying to – are you giving your team the right “curb appeal”. You are interviewing the candidate – and they are interviewing your company.
• #12: With this ad for the same job, you are looking for a “person” rather than a skill set. This exudes an engaged and high energy culture, and will draw like-minded people to apply. Remember, if you have an amazing person apply for the job, know they are applying for other jobs. Wrtie the ad with PURPOSE, be intentional
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• #14: Time to make a decision. You’ve interviewed several qualified candidates and have more than two people who COULD do the job. Reference you evaluation sheet – so when memory fades a bit, you have a standard measure for each applicant Pull together your recruitment team. Discuss each candidate in the context of how they would do the job, and how they would fit in the existing team Ask for any impressions, positive or negative.- gut check Reflect on the existing team, and see if there is an opportunity to fill a knowledge or skill gap. Know what matters. Once again what is your team DNA - Are you a technical team that gets involved in customer service? Or are you a customer service team that works in the technology space. This will help you choose a like-minded individual.
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• #17: Consider opportunities to reinforce great individual and team behaviors. This include formal and informal recognition activities, small tokens of appreciation and office activities that are inclusive and promote a cohesive group. Meet with purpose - every few meetings change up the topic: What is hard about working here? What barriers can I help remove? Where do you want to be in 5 years?
• #19: Anything is possible Involvement Optimism Personal Gratification Team Oriented Want to “make a difference” Ability to handle a crisis Good communication skills Loyal to employers Strong work ethic Willing to take on responsibility   Recognition: Want to hear that their work and their ideas matter. Are motivated by their responsibilities to others Responds well to attention and recognition, often displays awards, certificates and letters of appreciation for public view.
• #20: Gen X’ers were the orginal geeks, owning the first Commodore and Apple computers, playing the first video games. The first generation to be affected and addicted to “screen time”. Independence is a core characteristic of this generation. As a leader of a team, you’ll have to work to keep these folks engaged, as they are very compfortable working independently. Gen X’ers embrace technology on every level, especially if it means staying connected AND working independently. Adapt well to change Direct communicators Receiving direction is fine but not intrusive supervision. Highly educated and multitaskers Not intimidated by authority Thrive on flexibility Value “information” Recognition: Care less about advancement than about work/life balance Let them influence the terms and conditions of the job Work/family balance is important to them Like a casual work environment Looking for meaningful work and innovation Prefer diversity, technology, informality and fun Want to get in, get the work done and move on to the next thing.  Not enamored by public recognition.
• #21: Ambitious but not entirely focused. Looks for workplace for direction and to help them achieve their goals. At ease in teams, attached to their gadgets AND parents. Have not lived without computers and internet Eager to spend – consumer minded Scheduled, structured lives 9-5 Appreciate Globalism (Global way of thinking) Innovative-think out of the box - seek responsibility early on in their roles Loyal to peers and sociable – makes workplace friends Strong sense of entitlement Want to please others, hope to make life contributions to world and patriotic (shaped by 9/11) Recognition: Flex time, job sharing, and sabbatical, training is a big deal