Making Your Team Work: 5 Keys To Developing High-Performing Teams

Do you ever have meetings where everyone agrees on a plan and then has side discussions about how they don’t agree with the plan? At times, does it seem like employees don’t understand - let alone align with - what you’re trying to accomplish? Do you find that certain team members often have conflicts?

In my travels, I see many businesses that are struggling with team dynamics. The reality is, that this has more to do with the lack of direction or expectations of the team than the individuals themselves.

About 60% of work time is spent engaging with teams. Yet we invest in all sorts of training, but rarely train or coach on how to be an effective team member. Let’s not confuse team training with team-building events; although those activities help align an intact team, they don’t fix a team that is not aligned or cohesive.

Here are some key concepts from a program I use to train ECPs, called the Five Behaviours. It’s a model for developing high-performing teams using five key factors: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.

Trust

It’s the foundation of teamwork, but what do we mean by trust? It’s a confidence among peers that their intentions are good, allowing us to be comfortable and vulnerable with each other. This requires a culture where we can all admit mistakes and shortcomings, starting with the leader.

How to help with trust: The more we understand each other, the more we can relate. Personality profiles can often assist in this (the Five Behaviours use the DiSC profile).

Conflict

So many teams avoid conflict when we should actually be embracing “productive conflict” - that is, a conflict where the only purpose is to produce the best possible outcome in the shortest period. This type of conflict is limited to concepts and ideas and avoids personality-focused, mean-spirited attacks.

How to help with conflict: Acknowledging conflict can be productive. Explain group rules, encourage everyone to share their thoughts, and identify “conflict miners” - people who can extract buried disagreements.

Commitment

To gain commitment, we must have clarity and buy-in. When we allow for productive conflict, everyone will feel heard, and this helps with commitment. The team must also understand that we don’t always need to reach a consensus; we do need to support decisions that are made and committed to.

How to help with commitment: At the end of meetings or discussions, recap what has been agreed upon and get a verbal commitment from all involved.

Accountability

In the context of teamwork, accountability refers to the willingness of team members to call their peers out on performance or behaviours that might hurt the team. Most of us tend to avoid difficult conversation, but holding each other accountable shows that we respect each other and have high expectations.

How to help with accountability: Clarify exactly what the team needs to achieve and who needs to deliver what. Conduct regular progress checks and issue rewards focused on team achievement.

Results

Clearly defined outcomes are a requirement for any team, but results aren’t limited to financial performance.

How to help with results: Make public proclamations about your intended success, and tie results to rewards. As a leader, you must see the tone for a focus on results.

You might wonder what the cost of ineffective teamwork is. According to a Wiley Workspace learning solutions survey, it adds up to seven hours per week and as much as two months per year. So it’s worth the investment to train employees on how to be effective as team members to improve productivity and results.

To learn more about this approach, check out the book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, or feel free to reach out to me.


Nancy Dewald is a business development professional, workshop facilitator and optical industry veteran. She is CEO and founder of Lead Up Training & Consulting, which specializes in identifying business gaps, implementing solutions and developing leaders.

Article as seen in Optical Prism.

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