HOW TO BUILD TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

Ranjit Iyer, CEO and founder of a Fin-tech startup, based out of Bangalore in India was perplexed as to what to do. This eight years old start-up which had crossed 600 cr. of assets under management (AUM) milestone, having a current manpower strength of 600+ , headquartered at Bangalore with footprints in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Ahmadabad, was facing challenges with one of its very critical function. The issue wasn’t just confined to how to meet the North Star metrics but how to make members go an extra mile, build commitment, carry passion to do something inspirational and cross the mountain .

Ranjit and I met through a common friend. He was comfortable sharing the problem when he came to know that out of academics and passion, I deliver programs to build team effectiveness.

I asked “What did you observe that tells you that employees or teams aren’t performing at 100% of the potential?”

Ranjit thought for a second and then said “The critical timelines of deliveries to the client are not met. Members keep cutting each other and put the blame for delayed deliveries to other teams or functions”.

“Meetings are held, gaps are tabled, minutes are recorded but the end result is we would be seen discussing the same gaps even after 4-5 months.? The cycles of improvements and discussions aren’t moving ahead. “

I asked “So, do you think that a culture of ownership is missing “

Ranjit- “At an individual level, perhaps not. I notice high engagement levels and exceptional performances. “

“At an organisational level, I can’t say except for that we have some best practices implemented like Town halls which happen once every quarter, Rewards and Recognition to reward and motivate performers and Monday meetings with all function heads to discuss progress reports of projects undertaken.”

“We have our yearly and quarterly goals set along with regular reviews yet we are slow in growth as compared to the market rate and not innovating.”

?“So, where do you think lies the problem statement- If neither at an individual level nor at systems level “- I asked.

?Ranjit- “I can’t say except that we would like to see employees working with the mindset of high Customer centricity, Innovation and Cost Efficiency. Our clientele should be talking high of us.”

Many a times the concept of team effectiveness does not fit into our understanding of human resources operating in our organisation.

Employees, as individuals may do a great job, at systems level everything could seem to be in place but as a team, employees may face hurdles when going an extra mile or bringing their potential and creativity to their jobs.

MODELS FOR BUILDING “TEAM EFFECTIVENESS”

There are many models and definitions on “Team Effectiveness” by some of the well-known organisational theorists like “Hackman”, “Dick Beckhard”, “Patrick Lencioni” and the likes.

E.g. GRPI Model of Team Effectiveness (1977) by Dick Beckhard? helps diagnose the causes of team dysfunction and states how interpersonal relationships is the lubricant that helps the other three –Goals, Roles and Processes to function well.

Focusing on Team Basics by Katzenbach and Smith (1993) states that Commitment, Skills and Accountability are required as elements in a team to deliver collective work products, personal growth and performance results.

Five Dynamics of Teamwork and collaboration –LeFasto and Larson (2001) states four necessary behaviours for members in a team setting: a) Openness, b) Supportiveness, c) Action Orientation, and d) Positive Personal Style to enhance team effectiveness. The first element which is key to team success is the right people.

T7 model by Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger identifies 7 factors ( all starting with “T”) that influences the performance of teams work .Five factors operate inside the teams and two outside impacting team effectiveness- Task, Thrust, Trust, Talent , Teaming , Team Leader fitment and team support from the organisation .

But the one closest to my way of thinking and feeling is - A highly effective team is the one which continuously exceeds its customer’s expectation by building on to its capabilities. To exceed customer’s expectations the team needs to build on to its capabilities by having certain mechanisms in place, internal and external, related to structure, processes and it’s functioning.

As leaders we all have believed in this but what goes ignored is how leaders may help teams build on to its capabilities and become effective. We face a choice:? either continue with the same approach of strict performance expectations, measurements, reviews etc. or align teams to become effective, intersecting with business goals by inducing mechanisms.

HOW TO EXECUTE

Today’s teams are different from?the teams?of the past. They’re far more diverse, dispersed, digital and dynamic. Whilst teams face new hurdles, their success still hinges on a core set of fundamentals of group collaboration operating as project teams, virtual task forces, quality circles, committees, self-directed work teams etc.

The fundamentals revolve around that groups have to be built and maintained. Some of these deal with the management of emotions inside the group, others deal with external relations and how the group maintains its identity and integrity.

Stable and recurring processes are required by the group to manage its internal affairs and enable members to feel secure as a group.

The program helps team to identify the areas of improvement. As a facilitator, you only deepen their understanding by asking provocative questions around the way the team is operating by adding observations. The idea is to do collective thinking so that we may examine assumptions, preconceptions, and biases etc. The methodology is standard but the flow is "Proprioception"- Living in present moment-Here and Now.

Let the team get insight into the way it’s operating

By posing a series of questions divided into various quadrants like Cohesion, Decision Making, Conflict Management, Capacity to learn, Communication , Relationships etc. the team begins to understand how it could have operated better with higher levels of commitment, togetherness and bonding.

Many a times it’s the same job, work, targets etc. but the perception together as a team matters a lot to bring in the best both as an individual and together as a team.

?“How does each one of us organise to fulfil the responsibilities?”

“What does the team do to ensure that members have high trust on each other?”

“How do the members of the group leverage each other’s skills, knowledge and experience for achievement of set goals?”

“For most part of your team, what has been the climate of interactions?”

When such questions are shot at the team members, they tend to reflect and bring to limelight the gaps in their current way of functioning and what could have been better.

We may be so busy to chase desired results and in the journey we fail to understand the emotions prevailing within teams and how we may support each other, leverage each other’s skills to build internal capacities.

Many a times when goals and roles of employees is requested from an organisation, what we get are the sets of job description, monthly or quarterly key result areas, organisational values, vision, mission etc.

What we fail to understand is this documentation has no relevance unless we address what processes and structure prevail within teams to manage boundaries, task accomplishment, interpersonal relationships, authority and member’s feelings for each other.

When collective thinking is facilitated, the teams become open not only about tangible deliverables but other aspects as well like interpersonal relationships, processes, structure, emotions etc. to manage internal and external affairs.?

“Is there a basic agreement in the team about common goals and how does each one of you??????? contribute in achieving the group objectives?”

?“How does the team ensure that there’s an understanding of the main tasks of the team, priorities, deadlines, standards and expectations.”

?The provocative questioning, listening and reflecting helps the team reach the next level of??“Consciousness and Creativity” through common thinking process and shared set of meaning.

?Every member communicates his/her need from others and offerings to fulfil other’s need.? The members decide the action points to bring in the desired change in interpersonal relationships, processes and structure.?

??“Giving and Receiving” deliberate feedback as a process is counter cultural because of our need to maintain face. It elicits high level of emotions and anxiety. Through collective thinking, teams learn to give and receive feedback without hurting the feelings of team members and aim improvisation in processes, structure and task accomplishments.

THE RETURNS

?Effective teams carry a positive impact at an organisational level in the form of innovation, continuous thinking and roll out of cost effective measures, building internal capabilities, ensuring business continuity during crisis and above all maintaining customer centricity, internal and external, both.