Buzzwords regularly come and go in HR; but one term that is never far from the thoughts of HR practitioners is team-building. And the reason is simple: you can have the best people, and give them the best training possible; but if they don’t interact effectively together, that group of individuals will never achieve their full potential.
Why do teams exist?
Sport is a great analogy for the success (or otherwise) of business teams. As the old saying goes, “a champion team will always beat a team of champions”. Something magical happens when you unite individual, disparate parts into a collective whole; if done well, the whole can achieve far greater outcomes than the individuals could on their own. And being social creatures, people are naturally happier and more engaged if they feel a part of a team of like-minded colleagues.
The ultimate team-building aim of a team leader or manager is to get all team members working towards a common objective. Having a clear sense of purpose helps motivate the team to continually strive to improve. It helps the team focus on the most important activities. It helps team members appreciate the importance of their role – and each others’ – in the team achieving that objective. All of which builds team unity.
Throughout my career as a business improvement consultant, entrepreneur and business owner, I’ve explored ways to improve team performance. The recent spate of neuroscience breakthroughs has provided a fascinating insight into how individuals can improve their effectiveness in developing new skills. The two are closely linked – if your team is going to continually improve, individual members need to build skills; this is far easier to achieve (and, importantly, embed into changed behaviour in the workplace) if done within a supportive team environment.
Simple systems work
To help others benefit from my leadership and team-building experience and learnings, I then set about condensing the concepts into a set of practical, repeatable steps that was broad enough to serve the needs of as many people as possible. The result is my new book: ‘Scores on the BoardTM – the 5-Part System for Building Skills, Teams and Businesses.’
There is a close correlation between the steps individuals should follow in order to develop a skill, and the steps a team should take to improve its performance. In fact, these steps can be applied to just about anything. When such a system is used at all levels of the organisation – from front line employees through to the CEO – amazing things can be achieved.
I’ve refined the process into a simple 5-Part system:
1. Vision
2. Goals
3. Feedback
4. Gap analysis
5. Actions
The system can be implemented in different ways depending on whether you are building a skill, a team or a business. (The book goes into greater detail about each step, and provides specific examples to help you implement the system as part of a team-building program.)
Let’s look at each of the five parts when the system is used to increase team performance.
Vision
High-performing teams need a common vision – a compelling picture of the future that the team can work towards. It should be short and emotionally meaningful to the team members. Visions are aspirational; they represent a perfect scenario or ‘team utopia’ that will be difficult to reach. Team members should drive the creation of the team vision to enhance the emotional investment each team member has in striving to reach it.
Using the vision as a focus for developing goals and action plans ensures the team remains focused on the activities that are most relevant and important.
Goals
Smaller, short-term goals help teams stay on track to achieving their overall vision. While teams will always have targets thrust upon them, it is more empowering if the team can also set themselves more attainable milestones along the way that help motivate and provide a sense of achievement. Goals also provide clarity about what the team will focus on in the short term. Goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
Feedback
Feedback is a vital component of the system; it provides external information that enables the team to objectively assess its performance and continue to improve. Get feedback on the team’s performance from both internal and external stakeholders in a regular, systematic fashion. Always ask what could be done to improve the score.
Gap analysis
Periodically, the team should compare where it is now (determined by the feedback received) to where it wants to be (goals). The team then needs to identify the causes of any gap, and determine possible solutions. Separate the causes into two groups: those within the control of the team to fix, and those outside the team’s control. Avoid wasting the team’s energies on things outside your control. Gaps within your control will form the basis of your actions.
Action
Having sought feedback on team performance and identified gaps between current and desired levels of performance, the team can now develop an action plan to tackle the causes of the gaps that are within its control. Typically these action plans are developed, discussed and agreed to as part of a regular team meeting. Action plans should be simple and pragmatic, and designed specifically to bridge the gap between the team’s goals and their current performance.
Clearly denote what the task involves, who is responsible, and by when it is to be completed (be sure to set realistic timeframes). Tasks should be displayed prominently to remind all team members of their obligations.
This simple 5 part system has helped hundreds of teams the world over to achieve great things – such as being named the World’s Best Contact Centre. It works across industries and functions. And it doesn’t incur the expense and lost productivity that team-wide training can. Most importantly, it gives your team a framework on which to develop and reinforce the behaviours that will drive performance to the next level.
Every HR leader wants to instil in the organisation a high-performance and continual learning culture. The first step is to create that culture within your own team. Start by creating a vision of where your team wants to be and what it wants to achieve – and if the team aspires to be world-class, ensure the vision reflects this. Next, set short term goals that keep the team on track; get regular, ongoing feedback on how the team is performing against its goals (and how it can improve); identify the issues preventing the team from achieving its goals; and set action plans to overcome the issues within the team’s control. If these steps are followed regularly and systematically, the team will truly be capable of incredible things.
Article by Bill Lang of Training Edge International
Email: bill@trainingedgeasia.com
Website: www. www.trainingedgeasia.com
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