Help Your Team Become Outstanding Performers

Hundreds of articles, theories, and suggestions have been written for managers with tips on how to generate higher performance from their teams. However, painfully little has been written to help team members help their teammates perform better. Until now.

Why Teams Work

It is no deep mystery why teams perform better than a group of individuals—however talented they may be. High-functioning teams are always stronger, more efficient, and higher performing than a group of individuals because of their focus, commitment, and communication.

Teams generate a feeling of participation, energy, and ownership of a common objective. This is not just a widely held opinion. Various independent studies, research, and compiled statistics reinforce this as fact. Teams create a strong sense of “involvement” for their members. The real feelings of support also power teams to stronger performance.

“United we stand; divided we fall,” may be a cliché, but the phrase has been proven true over 2,000 years of recorded history. The more unified the team, the better it will function. Those groups that form true teams can outperform others that maintain a more individual stance.

Smooth, high performing teams seldom simply evolve into fine-tuned machines on their own. Even experienced managers cannot mandate that a small group become a team. There are more important factors that must align.

What Identifies a Good Team?

Unfortunately, regardless of all the hype and articles in recent years, there remain many more groups than high performing teams. Many continue to seek coordination, focus, and cohesion. Many fail to find or get what they need.

A strong sense of ownership, participation, and trust are common components of high functioning teams. Members are confident that their teammates always “have their back” and are ready to lend support.

Real teams use the words “we,” “our,” and “us.” Contrast this to those groups that still prefer “I,” “my,” and “me.” A simple indicator? Yes. A strong message? Yes. Should you observe group members saying things like, “I did . . .” versus “We did . . .,” or “My commitment is . . .” versus “Our commitment is . . .,” you are watching a group, not a team.

However, when you witness a group on the same page, comfortable with each other, and seeming to enjoy the project and the camaraderie, you are observing a real team. If you look deeper, you’ll also see how the team elevates the performance of its weaker members, inspiring them to higher achievements.

Help Your Group Become a Team

Teams need coaches (managers). More importantly, teams need leaders. Become a superior team member and leader to help your team achieve consistently high performance. As a team member, leadership by example is much more effective than being a constant vocal motivator. Here are some simple suggestions that can help you make your team higher performers.

• Stay focused on your tasks and your team goals. Make it clear that you’re leading by example. Remain totally focused on completing your tasks and fully targeted to your team objectives.
• Identify any “performance gaps” on your team, offering ideas on how to bridge them. Understand your team goals and try to identify any low performance issues. When you find any gaps, think about offering polite suggestions on ways these gaps might be closed. Your manager is probably aware of these issues and should appreciate your thoughtful ideas. One of them may offer a wonderful solution that hadn’t occurred to management.
• Determine if your team lacks any skills needed for your project. Sometimes, even a strong team is missing one or more skills needed to achieve a power performance. If you can identify a skill that no team member possesses, try to convince management that either a new teammate (with this skill) or a temporary “loan” of a skilled employee might further improve team performance.
• Decide to become a source of support for your team members. Become knowledgeable of other team members’ tasks and build your knowledge base. When you do, advise your teammates that you’re available as a resource if they have questions or facing challenges. This action is another example of leadership by example.
• Track the team’s performance and share your information with team members. Informally track your team’s progress toward its objectives. You can then share your information, further establishing you as a team leader and increasing the performance of your group. If your measurement indicates excellent performance and progress, your team should be pleased and continue performing. Should your notes display areas needing improvement, your team should understand that a better focus and commitment should increase performance.

These straightforward suggestions, delivered in a positive framework (even those items that need improvement), establish you as a dedicated team member. As a committed teammate—not a manager—your comments will help your team’s sense of participation, involvement, and desire to achieve.

Source:
http://www.jimclemmer.com/harnessing-the-power-of-teams.php