Five Factors Of High Performing Teams.
Don’t rely on one star performer.
Instead, get everyone performing.
What does a ‘high performing’ team need?
Contrary to popular belief, a high performing team doesn’t rely on one star performer.
What’s more influential is how the team works together.
Google studied 180 high and low performing teams.
The study, ‘Project Aristotle’, looked to identify what made some teams higher performing than others.
Their research concluded high performing teams, had five elements, in this order:
Psychological safety (absence of interpersonal fear).
Dependability (could rely on top performing team mates).
Structure and clarity (job clarity + clear scope of work).
Meaning (the job gave personal satisfaction).
Impact (the job made a tangible impact).
Factor 1: psychological safety.
Safety = an absence of interpersonal fear.
A team that is safe, as voted by team members, is when people say they can:
Fail without career consequence
Ask for help
Show vulnerability
Be wrong
Challenge a superior
Safety is a personal perception. Meaning, a boss doesn’t get to decide that a team is ‘safe’.
But, a boss can positively influence safety by following these six evidence-based strategies to increase psychological safety.
Factor 2: dependability.
High performers want to work with high performers. After all, there is nothing more de-energising than putting your effort into a piece of work, to then have a teammate tap out.
Someone who takes their job seriously wants to work with others that do the same.
As a boss, you can encourage that by having clear consequences for low performance.
Consequences aren't about being cruel. It’s about highlighting your standards and making a plan to help people achieve those standards. And, if and when it doesn’t happen, making it clear what that means for them. To do this, leaders need to get comfy with giving real time feedback.
As a leader, you too need to be dependable. That means being consistent, sincerely interested in your team members, and getting everyone - including low performers - to deliver to a high standard.
Factor 3: structure and clarity.
The highest performing teams in Google’s study knew what they were responsible for, and there was a clear way of getting work done.
Why is structure so important?
As there’s no way to meet invisible expectations.
When you know what’s expected of you, you focus all your time, attention, and energy on meeting those expectations.
You know when to celebrate a job well done and you can self-manage if it’s not quite right.
Being clear as a boss on what you expect of your team is one way you can immediately improve your team's performance.
Factor 4: meaning.
You’re more motivated to work on something that gives you personal satisfaction.
Making sure your team knows what their job gives them, and how that plays a larger role in their career, can help them assign relevant meaning to their day-to-day.
It’s normal to lose enthusiasm for a job when you lose sight of why you’re doing it.
As a boss, you aren’t someone’s career coach, but encouraging them to reflect on what their job gives them can be a useful way to support them to get as much as they can out of their existing opportunity, enroute to what they might see as the bigger plan.
Getting them to create a development plan is a useful first step. If they’re having trouble seeing what’s in it for them, you might even consider getting them, or you, private coaching to work through it.
Factor 5: impact.
Knowing that what you do every day adds up to a greater whole, gives your job meaning.
As a boss, being explicit about the impact each person's contribution makes can contextualise some of the menial tasks and give the team perspective.
For example, in one study, 67% of people said praise or commendation by their manager was a bigger motivator than any other financial or non-financial recognition. In another, companies that scored in the top 20% for a “recognition rich culture” had a 31% lower voluntary turnover rate.
Impactful recognition is G.R.E.A.T: genuine, regular, empowering, authentic and timely.
Here are examples to recognise your team:
Sending a quick email thanking a team member for their contribution.
Thanking someone in a meeting for the impact they’re making.
Showing the results of a big piece of work so people can see their role in context.
Sharing the losses or failures so people can see how it fits into a bigger picture.
Sharing client feedback.
Saying ‘I appreciate you’.
What would be useful in your context?
Did you know we teach personalised workshops on creating a high performing culture?
We take established leaders through the research on high performing teams, case studies of high performing cultures, and co-create a game plan for your organisation.
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