A521.6.3RB_LeeDarrell - High Performance Teams

My definition of a team is a group of people that use their individual efforts to work together toward a common goal. Within an organization, you can also have a high performance team. Denning defines a high-performance teams as ones that “have the characteristics of effective communities: a web of affect-laden relationships; a commitment to shared values, norms, and meanings; a shared history and identity; and a relatively high level of responsiveness to members and to the world” (2011, p. 157). Denning identifies six elements of a high-performance team. High-performance teams:

1. Continue to shape the expectations of those who use their output and strive to exceed expectations.

2. Rapidly adjust their performance to the shifting needs of the situation.

3. Grow steadily stronger over time.

4. Have members that grow individually due to mutual concern for their team mates.

5. Are fueled/inspired by their commitments to the team and its goals.

6. Work with passion.

Larissa Joy, a professional services advisor and Senior Independent Director of the East Thames Group based in the UK, has some striking ideas for creating a high-performance team (2005). She actually has a lot of experience with failed teams and she (and her organization) have applied the lessons learned and mastered the art of a high-performance team. First, there is a very specific time frame for the teams. She recommends six to nine months because that is a timeframe that most people can buy into. The next idea is to also only have a set number of meetings. Her next suggestion is to limit the size of the team. Many teams fail because they are simply too large. She says that seven is usually the maximum size. I am considering some of the problems that I am having within my own team at work. When a team is too large (we have 10), it can lead to cliques and melancholy attitudes from some of the members. By limiting the size of the team, you encourage efficiency. The next suggestion is set a very specific goal. High-performance teams have a clearly defined purpose. She uses a great example of a team that wouldn’t work – a general objective of improving customer service. That team could operate perpetually and never achieve the goal.

Denning (2011) also identifies four patterns of working together. The first is a work group. Work groups are often mislabeled as teams because all of the people involved have similar work tasks and may report to the same overseer. A team is the second pattern which was previously discussed above. The third stage of working together is a community which is a self-organizing entity with loosely related purposes but non-shared goals. Finally, there are networks which are groups that are groups that simply keep each other informed of actions. Consider social networking as an example. It is just the exchange of information.

So let’s look at an analogy here. Consider your favorite sports team. For me, that is the NY Rangers. Some of the people in the Rangers community – even employees of the team – are not on the team. (Even we fans are part of the community.) Consider the press representatives or the group ticket sales agent. Though they work with the team, their goal isn’t for the team to win. They have their own goals. If you look at the Rangers organization as a whole, then, it is more of a work group. So then you have the hockey team itself. All of the players work together for the common goal of winning. Within the team, you have high performance teams. In this case, there are penalty-kill teams that work together for a brief period of time then go back to being regular team players.

We recently tinkered with a high performance team at work. It unfortunately failed but I believe it is because we inappropriately applied the principles of a high performance team. In Army recruiting, we have an overall mission but we also have specific missions. For example, this year we need to recruit at least two band members, two Special Forces contracts, three officers, and seven high school seniors. Here in NYC, the senior market is our hardest to capture. Our company put together a HSET – High School Engagement Team. This team was comprised of one recruiter from each center. Their only purpose was to go to the high schools and capture the senior market. The team was only to exist for one semester. However, I believe that we put the wrong people on the team. The team didn’t actively shape their expectations. They never had a specific goal. Also, their commitment to the cause may have been minimal as the team was not consulted before they were selected. They were just told that they were going to be on the team. Therefore, there was little passion and innovation. Based on the six elements of a high-performance team as noted by Denning, how could this team have ever have hoped to be successful? I would be willing to wager, though, that is we put together the right team, it would be a highly successful team.

Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of         Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Joy, L. (© 2005). Creating a high-performance team. [Video File]. Available from Books24x7             http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=38349.