Your team is underperforming. How can you help them reach their full potential?

You can also get your team’s skill by asking their approach to see the problem and also steps to solve it. After talking the feedback with respect to the problem of your team you can get the ability of your team in such scenarios.

Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) are straightforward to explain theoretically, but their practical implementation can be as tricky as walking on a tightrope. A mentor must not only teach but also ignite a spark of curiosity, especially when the project demands a deep dive into algorithms. Consider a scenario where the team is entangled in graph-related problems, and some of my team members are struggling. It's my job to make graph algorithms intriguing for them. Once this curiosity is sparked, everything else becomes a piece of cake, leading to independent research, comprehension, and implementation by themselves.

This depends on the size of your team: if you are leading a small group of people it should be possible to build relationships with the members and having worked with them identify where they excel and where they need help. I find it effective in small groups to work with them to develop ideas and concepts rather than assign modules and simply tell them to complete it by a deadline.

Find the weak spots and lean into them. Ask the hard questions and listen to the answers. If the problem is process, work together to fix the process. If it’s resource, ask for help. If it’s personnel, then deal with it calmly and fairly.

As a leader, it is important to clearly communicate your vision to the team so everyone understands what we are working towards. One way to keep the team motivated is to measure success by working on systems rather than goals. The goal is the end goal that we want to achieve, and for each end goal, we can set up a process and measure success so that we emphasize that even if one way fails we have learned valuable lessons that we carry forward as we make progress towards the goal.

For a leader, understanding the team's limitations is crucial. If addressing these limitations involves upskilling team members, the leader should provide training opportunities. However, when faced with unrealistic expectations from management, the leader should clearly communicate the team's constraints and work towards aligning expectations accordingly.

One thing I think would be helpful is - To enhance team performance, it's beneficial to align tasks with individual strengths, allocating about 80% of the workload accordingly. However, fostering growth requires allocating the remaining 20% to explore new areas, enabling team members to develop additional skills. This approach ensures continuous improvement and empowers the team to reach its full potential.

There are a lot of easy ways to create a fun and positive environment. The first is to be generally supportive and uplifting of other people. The team could have a puzzle area or some place to do boardgames. They have things like a video game day or video game night. It is usually easy to implement these things after a long meeting day for like sprint retro for example. Morning coffee runs as a team are good. It’s also good to invite people outside of your usual teams that you can meet people from other departments or other sub teams. Things like escape rooms or other activities watching a movie together and then have a single thread conversation about the movie afterwards. Things that allow the team to find common backgrounds and relate.

It is important to build trust and collaboration within the team. As a team leader, you must be able to articulate why something is done the way it is being done. Provide clarity in times of uncertainty so as to guide the team towards a clear vision. Building an environment where the team feels welcome and cared for enables people to excel. You are to take care of the people in your charge: give credit for successes and when something goes wrong take responsibility and make the changes needed for improvement

Reviews and reflections form the foundation of innovative processes, which encompass multiple iterations. It is paramount to systematically assess and learn from shortcomings or blockers during these processes. This ensures the adjustment of expectations for management, the establishment of realistic goals for teams, and the resolution of shortcomings through targeted training initiatives.

Since this question is categorised under Algorithms for some reason, here is my perspective. Underperforming teams are the norm. Overperforming teams are the exception. Since you don't do enough for your overperforming teams, you deserve an underperforming one. It is all on you. If your salary exceeds your team's cumulative salary, you are the one not pulling your weight and doing enough, and your team sees that. Upskill yourself. Contribute more. Your team won't magically start performing, but it will do wonders to your sense of entitlement as a team lead.

First, you need to assess the reasons behind the underperformance, whether it's due to lack of skills, unclear expectations, inadequate resources, or other factors. Understanding the root causes will help you approach and addressing the issue effectively. Once the reasons are idenfied, you can work on providing team members with the necessary support, training, and resources to help them improve their skills and overcome challenges. Don't forget to conduct regular feedback sessions and performance reviews to assess progress, identify areas for improvement, and provide constructive guidance.