How effective are your teams?(PART I)
Multiple studies show that people work more effectively in organizations which have between 8-12 people in them. There are many different types of teams: senior management teams, profit center teams, project teams, cross functional teams, and virtual teams across countries. Very often, when companies get bigger, they should 'become smaller' in terms of building focus, employee/customer loyalty, faster decision making and greater accountability for results.
While teams are certainly not appropriate in every situation (such as when the organization is in crisis and needs centralized quick decision making for turnaround), the use of high performance teams can provide tremendous leverage of people and create a more rewarding work environment in which every employee contributes.
Many companies still have a lot of work ahead to create a truly team-based organization structure. Many small to medium size organizations still rely on one leader for almost all of their decision making. Organizations choke at a certain growth point because a decentralized system has not been put into place. Organizations which rely too much on one person for decisions are also at much greater risk of underperformance or outright failure. Many organizations, which believe they have a truly team-based organization have not 'dug down deep' into the root habits of excellent team leadership to be used daily to take full advantage of the structure they have already created. There is much opportunity to be had by improving specific team management habits for better results.
Prerequisites for a Team Organization
A prerequisite to having a team-based structure requires a senior management that is competent and focused on real results rather than posturing to the home office or to the press; high degrees of trust in the corporate culture; a strong belief that people on all levels of the organization can contribute to the results; that the information is shared and openly interpretated with intellectual honesty; an open tolerance for diverse views which are focused on solutions (rather than only complaining about the problem); and an organization whose employees understand sharing.
The following is a basic, but by no means exhaustive, list of key actions to focus on when building a high performance team:
Excellent Teams Know their Purpose and Their Goals
The team's purpose is in written form and distributed to all team members. The future state of where the team will be is communicated with clarity on a regular basis so that the direction is clear to every member. Every member knows their role in the team and is shown how they directly impact on the team's success through regular feedback. People need to see their contribution to the big picture. Goals should be objective with clear deadlines, prioritized, and have sub goals. Open acknowledgement of the key obstacles to goal attainment (and potential solutions) may be stated in the employee's goals.
It is critical that each team member knows each other's goals. Team members are held mutually accountable to each other. One way to do this is to have team goal update meetings on a monthly basis to check the progress on each major goal so that each team member can see where they stand in relation to each other. One document with everyone's goals given to each team member helps in accountability and transparency.
The measurement systems are clear. The team knows what their key result areas are which have the most impact on helping with the overall organization's results. If the ratios are hard to understand then time is taken to help team members understand exactly how to interpret results, such as cash flow value drivers, customer loyalty repurchase rates and internal process improvements, and these key indicators are focused upon continually.
Team Leadership Issues
Different types of team situations require different levels of leadership. The best role is when the team itself can come together and make the decisions needed to drive the results which have been clearly articulated to them. Leaders in teams are facilitators who streamline decision making and the meeting process which is results oriented. The leader makes sure the team has the relevant information needed to make the decision.
Another key is that the leader should be able to build competencies so that the group can take on new value-adding tasks.
Team Decision Making Process
Different types of decisions may require different levels of engagement from team members. A high performance team has a structure that allows members to have a high degree of decision making power. That means real power, with the risk of mistakes that will inevitably occur. Of course, there are always situations where the team leader will need to make the decision.
It should be made very clear to team members during the meeting in which decision making is taking place exactly what their role is in the decision making. Do they have responsibility for the decision (majority vote)? Is their role to give their ideas and the leader will make the final decision? Is it only the team leader's decision? The ground rules need to be clear so there is no ambiguity. If the team does have power to decide then they need to have the available information and discussion before the meeting takes place to help make the best possible decision.
Let Go of Underperformers
Employees deserve the highest respect and care. People should be treated very well when they are coming into an organization and when they leave an organization. Some 'toxic' managers consider it OK to berate and humiliate employees. These types of managers should be counseled and, if no changes are evident, then shown the door. There are way too many of them in the world.
However, the employee competencies must fit the work required and very often managers hesitate far too often before letting go of underperforming employees. This is unacceptable to a high performance team. An underperformer should be told exactly where his/her competency and attitude gaps are and quantitative goals should be reached during a probation period. Coaching may also be considered depending upon management resources and time required.
However, if no improvement occours within a set time period then underperformers need to be fired. Allowing a chronic underperformer to stay in a team is a big advertisement which states daily that 'this is acceptable to our standards'. Normally, other team members are shouldering additional work which is also causing very poor morale. When an underperformer is let go, the rest of the team gives a sigh of relief that the management 'gets it' and is concerned with the welfare of the team as a whole.
Peter Strupp is Chief Executive Officer of Intersource Holding, a human capital services group based in Warsaw
While teams are certainly not appropriate in every situation (such as when the organization is in crisis and needs centralized quick decision making for turnaround), the use of high performance teams can provide tremendous leverage of people and create a more rewarding work environment in which every employee contributes.
Many companies still have a lot of work ahead to create a truly team-based organization structure. Many small to medium size organizations still rely on one leader for almost all of their decision making. Organizations choke at a certain growth point because a decentralized system has not been put into place. Organizations which rely too much on one person for decisions are also at much greater risk of underperformance or outright failure. Many organizations, which believe they have a truly team-based organization have not 'dug down deep' into the root habits of excellent team leadership to be used daily to take full advantage of the structure they have already created. There is much opportunity to be had by improving specific team management habits for better results.
Prerequisites for a Team Organization
A prerequisite to having a team-based structure requires a senior management that is competent and focused on real results rather than posturing to the home office or to the press; high degrees of trust in the corporate culture; a strong belief that people on all levels of the organization can contribute to the results; that the information is shared and openly interpretated with intellectual honesty; an open tolerance for diverse views which are focused on solutions (rather than only complaining about the problem); and an organization whose employees understand sharing.
The following is a basic, but by no means exhaustive, list of key actions to focus on when building a high performance team:
Excellent Teams Know their Purpose and Their Goals
The team's purpose is in written form and distributed to all team members. The future state of where the team will be is communicated with clarity on a regular basis so that the direction is clear to every member. Every member knows their role in the team and is shown how they directly impact on the team's success through regular feedback. People need to see their contribution to the big picture. Goals should be objective with clear deadlines, prioritized, and have sub goals. Open acknowledgement of the key obstacles to goal attainment (and potential solutions) may be stated in the employee's goals.
It is critical that each team member knows each other's goals. Team members are held mutually accountable to each other. One way to do this is to have team goal update meetings on a monthly basis to check the progress on each major goal so that each team member can see where they stand in relation to each other. One document with everyone's goals given to each team member helps in accountability and transparency.
The measurement systems are clear. The team knows what their key result areas are which have the most impact on helping with the overall organization's results. If the ratios are hard to understand then time is taken to help team members understand exactly how to interpret results, such as cash flow value drivers, customer loyalty repurchase rates and internal process improvements, and these key indicators are focused upon continually.
Team Leadership Issues
Different types of team situations require different levels of leadership. The best role is when the team itself can come together and make the decisions needed to drive the results which have been clearly articulated to them. Leaders in teams are facilitators who streamline decision making and the meeting process which is results oriented. The leader makes sure the team has the relevant information needed to make the decision.
Another key is that the leader should be able to build competencies so that the group can take on new value-adding tasks.
Team Decision Making Process
Different types of decisions may require different levels of engagement from team members. A high performance team has a structure that allows members to have a high degree of decision making power. That means real power, with the risk of mistakes that will inevitably occur. Of course, there are always situations where the team leader will need to make the decision.
It should be made very clear to team members during the meeting in which decision making is taking place exactly what their role is in the decision making. Do they have responsibility for the decision (majority vote)? Is their role to give their ideas and the leader will make the final decision? Is it only the team leader's decision? The ground rules need to be clear so there is no ambiguity. If the team does have power to decide then they need to have the available information and discussion before the meeting takes place to help make the best possible decision.
Let Go of Underperformers
Employees deserve the highest respect and care. People should be treated very well when they are coming into an organization and when they leave an organization. Some 'toxic' managers consider it OK to berate and humiliate employees. These types of managers should be counseled and, if no changes are evident, then shown the door. There are way too many of them in the world.
However, the employee competencies must fit the work required and very often managers hesitate far too often before letting go of underperforming employees. This is unacceptable to a high performance team. An underperformer should be told exactly where his/her competency and attitude gaps are and quantitative goals should be reached during a probation period. Coaching may also be considered depending upon management resources and time required.
However, if no improvement occours within a set time period then underperformers need to be fired. Allowing a chronic underperformer to stay in a team is a big advertisement which states daily that 'this is acceptable to our standards'. Normally, other team members are shouldering additional work which is also causing very poor morale. When an underperformer is let go, the rest of the team gives a sigh of relief that the management 'gets it' and is concerned with the welfare of the team as a whole.
Peter Strupp is Chief Executive Officer of Intersource Holding, a human capital services group based in Warsaw
