Powerful Partnerships

Our research shows that building a high-performing team culture requires a partnership among the team leader, team members, and management. All three groups play a key role as all three affect the team’s probability of success. The high performing teams we studied were clear about how each partner contributed to their success.

• Team Leaders – managed the boundary between the team and management. If resources were needed, t he team leader spoke up. If information and decisions were required, the team leader sought them out. If requests were disruptive, the team leader negotiated a balance between meeting the needs of stakeholders and the needs of the team. In addition, the leaders of high performing teams coached team members and developed the team as a unit.
• Management – provided top performing teams with timely decisions, clear direction, alignment around priorities, actionable feedback and recognition. All teams badly want and need to sustain their hard work and motivation. In fact research shows that members will withstand greater amounts of stress and sustain their motivation during challenging times if they know that management values them and their work.
• Team Members – Similarly, team members on high performing teams worked hard to understand the needs of their stakeholders and were proactive in seeking out what was required to fulfill those needs.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE TEAM PERFORMANCE

Outcomes are collaboration, trust and high performance