What makes a great team?

Two weeks ago I was sharing my thoughts on what makes a great manager. Today I would like to write a bit on what I came to believe makes a great team. Over the years, exhaustive research has been done on top teams. After having worked in many different teams I think there are given characteristics or qualities of peak-performance teams and maybe you would like to incorporate a few of them into your own business. Here is the list which actually is more of a circle than a list:

Common goals and objectives

In a great team, everyone is clear about what the team is expected to accomplish. The goals of the team are shared and discussed by everyone. As discussed last week velar goal-setting is one of the most important tasks of a manager. Each team member gives his or her ideas and input into how the goals and objectives can be best achieved. Each person feels like a part of a larger organization. And again, it is the manager’s task to make everybody feel part of this. The extraverts and the introverts.

Common values and principles

In excellent teams, there is regular discussion about the values, principles, and behaviors that guide the decisions of the team. The leader encourages values such as honesty, openness, punctuality, responsibility for completing assignments, quality work, and so on. Everyone discusses and agrees on what they are. The leader also is a living example of this.

Common plans of action

In this phase of team building, you go around the table and have each member of the team explain exactly what part of the work he or she is going to accept responsibility for completing. At the end of this discussion, each member knows what every other member is going to be doing and how his or her own work fits in with the work of the team. An exercise which should be done at least once per year. Here you can make sure that your plans are in line with the overall strategy, and you may draw synergies from this.

Lead the action

There must always be a clear chef or leader in any organization. Democracy is a fine concept, but it goes only so far in business. Someone must be in command and take charge. On a good team, everyone knows who is in charge. The leader sets an example for the others. The leader becomes the role model.

Ongoing review and evaluation

In this final phase, the team regularly evaluates its progress from two perspectives. First, is the team getting the results that are expected by its customers or others in the company? In dealing with customers, does the team set up mechanisms to continually ask customers, "how are we doing?"

Get the team together

One of the most important things you do in building a peak performance organization is to hold regular staff meetings. These days these meetings might be virtual but it is of course better to bring everybody together physically. Bring your people together weekly, at a fixed time, to talk, discuss, catch up on progress, learn how the company is doing, and generally share ideas, opinions, and insights.

What you can do right away

Conduct a values clarification exercise with your entire team. Then mutually agree to live and work by the common values. What makes a great team