7 Keys to Building High-Performing Teams
by Tony Colangelo
January 4, 2024
The Importance of Reinvigorating Your Teams in Our New Working World:
Over the past year, while coaching leaders, I have heard a familiar refrain: "How do I revitalize my teams and inspire them post-pandemic?" We all recognize the fatigue our Teams have experienced over the past couple of years in adapting to the dramatic changes in the working environment. We must now focus on reinvigorating our Teams to support them to succeed in today's working world. Team members seek a "revitalized" approach to inspire and connect with their colleagues in new ways that balance their newfound autonomy and their need to belong, support, and motivate each other.
Forbes Magazine reported on June 16, 2023, a Matrix Global Study on the benefits the surveyed organizations gained after managers completed Team-building executive coaching programs. The results were very impressive:
? These programs, on average, provided a 788% ROI?
? Increased team performance by 50%?
? Increased organizational performance by 48%?
This study on organizational ROI clearly emphasizes that now is the time to invest in a Team-building program that revitalizes and inspires your Team members. A vital outcome of this process is finding the right balance of "high value in person time" to enhance relationships with Team members to ensure we are all rowing together to meet our individual and team goals. Team building in our new world is not about holding more meetings; it is about implementing a new and fresh approach to inspire Team members to enhance relationships and collaboration using the most effective methods. As leaders, we must position our Teams for success by investing in these new approaches to Team-building, inspiring and enabling them to navigate and succeed in today's competitive market. In this article, I will outline seven ways to do so.
7 Keys To Reinvigorating Your Team:
1. Plan a Team Building Session -?While the hybrid work environment has advantages, it has been difficult to build connections with colleagues due to the dramatic decrease in personal face time. Now is the time to schedule a Team-building workshop to reinvigorate relationships and collaboration. Depending on your time and budget, these sessions can range from a half-day to a multi-day retreat.?A best practice is to engage an outside professional executive coach to help organize and facilitate the Team-building session. The session's key objectives are increasing collaboration and agreeing on the Team's going forward purpose and vision. The session should also focus on developing new behaviors and practical skills that increase Team performance in the new working environment. The Team-building session outcome aims to uncover an achievable "short list" of high-impact new collaboration approaches that all Team members agree to support. This approach focuses on incremental and realistic improvements in collaboration over time. It is crucial to schedule regular Team forums beyond this initial session to maintain momentum and reward the Team's successes.?To help you design your Team-building session to be highly collaborative and positioned to encourage maximum buy-in from all team members, incorporate the following key points into your agenda.
2. Update the Team Purpose and Vision -Co-develop and update the direction and purpose of your Team in the session. Developing a refreshed purpose and working style blueprint that aligns the Team on individual and shared goals. Encourage open and honest communication during the session. Ask everyone to share their thoughts and feedback on the Team's current and future direction. Use this feedback to guide the discussion and co-create a vision that everyone can get behind. As this session is workshop style, your objective is to gather and record input for post-session review. After your post-session review, the aim is to finalize the plan and communicate it to the Team, ensuring everyone is on the same page and energized with a clear go-forward strategy.
3. Lead by Example and Tell Your Story of How You Adapted to New Ways of Working-?In the Team-building session, talk openly to your teams about how you have overcome challenges to adapt effectively to the new working environment. Co-develop how the Team will work differently to collaborate to meet its goals, foster open communication, and empower team members to make decisions. As a leader, embodying the values and behaviors you expect from your Team is essential. Show enthusiasm, be open to feedback, and demonstrate a positive attitude. Your support of collaboration, diversity, and inclusion creates a sense of belonging among diverse team members, inspiring them to reach their goals by making them feel valued and included.?
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4. Review How You Are Striking a New Balance between Autonomy and Belonging -?Success for your Team members in the new working world is effectively balancing autonomy and collaboration, optimizing personal contribution with a strong sense of belonging. Unfortunately, some employees are still suffering from the pandemic's negative impacts, including feelings of isolation, loneliness, and exhaustion. Analyze available data on what is working well and what needs adaptation to ensure you provide the proper support for individuals to work independently and in collaboration. Developing a plan that strikes the right balance of expectations on work styles is essential to support the Team moving forward.
"Leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others." John Maxwell
5. Outline Together How You Can Build on a Culture of Trust -?Foster trust by collaboratively developing an updated communication plan that outlines how and when the Team will meet, both in person and virtually. Work with the Team to eliminate meetings and communications that are no longer valuable and develop new ways of collaborating that deliver higher value. Review and discuss available data on where remote work has benefited the Team, i.e., more time for strategically important projects, and identify where it can be modified to be more conducive to success. Discuss ways Team members can have more autonomy and empowerment on specific decisions to increase efficiency and effectiveness. This approach will give them the ownership and inspiration to perform at a higher level.?
6. Discuss New Ways To Increase Creativity and Innovation -?Ask the Team for innovative ideas to develop further opportunities for cross-team collaboration to leverage diverse skill sets and perspectives more effectively. This diversity allows for varied approaches to problem-solving, encouraging creativity and innovation. To promote teamwork, consider refreshing collaborative projects or assigning cross-functional tasks. Another effective method is developing a regular forum to brainstorm breakthrough ideas to keep team members invigorated and inspired.
7. Offer Unique Career Development Opportunities -?In the current environment, team members need help mapping out and developing their career plans. In the session, you hold the power to inspire and motivate your Team by offering new opportunities for their professional growth. Encourage everyone to incorporate a growth mindset regarding skills development in business acumen and leadership behavior development. Consider offering mentorship programs or the opportunity for Team members to engage an external executive coach. Also, encourage them to attend in-person industry events rapidly opening up post-pandemic. Providing these opportunities will inspire your Team members to maintain momentum post-session by helping them on their journey to reach their full potential.
Summary:
Remember, revitalizing teams is an ongoing process that demands time, focus, and commitment. However, the ROI is proven to be significant. Incorporating these seven strategies into your Team-building program will inspire and motivate your Team, creating a positive and flourishing work environment that retains talent. This highly collaborative approach will significantly help you and your Team reach new heights of career success and personal satisfaction.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments on this topic.
Tony Colangelo?is a Certified Executive Coach and Founder of eXecutive Factor Coaching. Tony is also a Speaker and Author of the Blog Series "Leadership Lessons I Wish I Learned When I Was Younger." Tony has over 30 years of experience in Leadership roles in the management consulting and information technology industries.
Contact Tony Colangelo at?[email protected] ?for a free consultation on helping you achieve your full leadership potential.
This article is Leadership Lesson #18?from Tony's Blog Series "Leadership Lessons I Wish I Learned When I Was Younger,"
Copyright ? 2024 eXecutive Factor Coaching Inc.
Tony, great article! Recognizing the need to team building at the start of the year (and throughout the year) is vital to inspire, revitalize & invigorate your team is key to success. ??
Real Estate Finance | Portfolio Management
10 个月Impressive insights, Tony! Team building sessions are crucial for enhancing communication, fostering collaboration, and combating feelings of isolation in the team. How would you effectively pitch this to your leader to ensure they recognize the importance and invest in these sessions?
Helping companies build great customer relationships
10 个月Tony - never a “meetings for the sake of meetings” person, but rather someone focused on purpose. You’ve fine-tuned the team building approach to address the lingering effects of the pandemic - another insightful read.
President at Crossoverdistribution.com
10 个月Great insight on Team management. Love some of the ideas and will put some into my day to day management. Thanks