Are you Creating a High Performing Team?

Even if you have the right people on your team, how do you know that the team is headed in the right direction? Will the team that you are building become an excellent team?

Gallup has been studying leadership teams for over 40 years and has seen clear indicators of what is required to create a strong, high performing team. There are five of them and they are listed below.

1. Strong teams invite conflict to lead to results.

Some may think that if team members agree with each other, that is a good sign. However, the most successful teams are the ones that have healthy debates and even intense arguments. The difference with these teams is that the debate does not cause serious arguments but instead causes them to gain resilience and build solidarity.

You can’t have harmony on a team without inviting and addressing the disharmony first.

2. Strong teams prioritize what is best for the organization and then move forward.

Gallup has found that high performing teams are able to keep the larger goal in mind even though there may be issues around resources or varying points of view on the team. The goal is paramount. What is best for the organization is of utmost importance, not the egos of one or two individuals. Once the decision is made, all members of the team rally around the goal.

If a decision is made, a member who did not ‘win’ the argument does not mope once the decision is made. Instead, just like all other team members, this team member moves forward, asking what is required, what resources are needed, and when the project will begin.?

3. Members of strong teams have work/life balance.

Commitment shows up in many forms and in many areas of our life. People on strong teams are just as committed to their personal lives as they are to their professional lives. You might see people who work on high performing teams logging 12 hour days, 60 hours of work per week, but they still have a balance in their life. They are just as committed to their families and their communities.

The most successful teams have members who are engaged not only with their work, but also have highly satisfying personal lives. When other people join these teams, they are influenced by the way other team members balance their lives. This balance also trickles down to others in the organization outside their team.

4. Strong teams embrace diversity.

Have you ever seen teams who all seem to share a common background, whether educational or work experience? If you think about some of the teams that you have been a part of or that you have observed in other areas of your organization, is there diversity?

Gallup has found that a lack of diversity is not the best formula for success. Instead, not only do we want team members who have a variety of strengths, the most engaged teams need people of different ages, gender, and race. It seems that disengaged teams have the opposite makeup.

Gallup research shows that if a person is actively disengaged, they are 33% more likely to leave their job if their manager is from a different race. (Actively disengaged means that the person does not like their job, their manager, and their organization. They may walk the halls of the organization disparaging others.) But Gallup also found that when people are engaged with their team, they are actually a bit more likely to stay with the company if the manager is of a different race. The reason for this is that engaged people note the strengths of others, not their race, age, or creed. This is turn means that the team focuses on the potential of each person, regardless of race, age, or creed.

5. Strong teams attract talent.

Would you want to be on a high performing team??I’m sure that the answer is ‘yes.’ People on those teams work long and hard, have high expectations, are intensely competitive, and expect to be held accountable for results.

Let’s face it. People want to be on highly successful teams because it is a motivating and encouraging place to be. The ‘stars’ want to be on these teams so that they can show what they can do and make an impact. The experience is stimulating.

You also want to create a high performing team. You can spend time trying to get the right people with the right strengths on your team – and you should - but there is more work to be done. If you are leading a high performing team, you will be investing in each person’s natural talents but also making sure that each member invites healthy conflict, prioritizes what is best for the organization, has work/life balance, is diverse, and attracts talent. All this work takes time, but it is worth it!

Susan Surtel is a certified coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. She works with leaders who want to lead great teams. You can contact Susan through her LinkedIn?profile ?or through her web site,?www.strengthscanada.com .