I always take "high performing" to mean "ahead of deadline, under budget, beyond spec", and that requires a team with individuals capable of completing their tasks as efficiently as possible with time to meld individual results into a greater whole. This includes a high sense of personal accountability and strong sense of "when to say when" and admit if one is over their head against a requirement.

If the right tasks are assigned to the right people on a team, that is a great start; this speaks to the need for adequate resource management and leadership. But being able to identify learning opportunities amid such projects is where leadership is most important - that's the mark of really good resource development when it can happen in the context of a successful outcome.

Can your scenario happen for ANY team? In a word, No. It reminds me of a metaphor involving monkey and typewriters - in that, it's nice to have motivated monkeys with typing skills. Unlike the fabled monkey team, our teams do not have an infinite amount of time to develop out-performing attributes, but may always improve nonetheless.

posted April 29, 2008

Sean,

All teams have the same makeup: A team leader and team members. What allows one team to out-perform another is how each performs their roles. The team leader sets the goals, picks the team members and fosters communications between team members. Team members perform their assigned roles, focus on reaching the goals and work with other team members. The better they are, the better the performance.

posted April 30, 2008

Nop, you still may have some dumpty folks in a team and if so, it will drain the rest until the leader sorts.

posted April 25, 2008

I would'nt say any team, their has to be a certain harmony involved with the team that is synergistic. Some teams perform much better than others the difference between the two is the harmonious alliance of the minds that are within the group. Refer to Laws of Success by Napolean Hill a book worth it weight in gold. Anyhow good luck.

posted April 25, 2008

You team is only as bright as its dumbest person, is only as fast as its slowest person, and is only as strong as its weakest person. It all comes down to the lowest common denominator, always. Surround yourself with smart, great people and you will get amazing results. Surround yourself with mediocrity and you will get just that.

posted April 25, 2008

all u need is autonomy to make decisions on the fly, cross functional representation, an energizer and broker, and a champion - and you have a pretty good team mix...

posted April 25, 2008

The problem is getting the non-performers to perform. Every team has its high-performers to its non-performers. The mid-performers MAY be developed into high-performers, but without the right leadership neither the non-performers or mid-performers will assist the Team in achieving high performance. The leaders need to step in and "enforce the rules".

For a team to perform and meat the goals set for it, it is the high-performers that make it happen and end up making the whole team look good in the end. If the leaders do not acknowledge this to the whole team, they all believe they "won".

posted April 25, 2008

You asked two completely different questions:

Can any team achieve higher levels of performance?

Yes (given the caveats you mentioned and possibly others).

Do *all* teams have the potential to develop into real high performance teams providing they have the right leadership, development and resources provided?

No. Some teams have the wrong players (and that could be a matter of skills, aptitudes, attitudes, or agendas).

posted April 25, 2008

Apparently not the Dallas Mavericks.

posted April 25, 2008

In general, no. You need to have the right people on the bus (from Good to Great) along with a leader who can emphasis the strengths of each individual.

Your question stress "all". I would say that "many" can be improved drastically with solid leadership (and support for that leader).

Quick steps to create high performing team? Empower team members to make decisions, encourage team members to work together to solve problems, and listen first/speak last as the team leader.

posted April 25, 2008

We need to focus more on being better than ourselves than on being better than anybody else.

I recomend the book by Carol Dweck. Mindset: the new psychology of success.

It is fantastic

Links:

• http://www.wealthing.com/drops.htm#Mindset

posted April 25, 2008

Hi Sean.

In my opinion, the quality of any performance is driven by the quality of the performers (including human resources and any necessary non-human tools). However, it isn't sufficient for quality to merely exist. It only becomes meaningful when it is understood and appreciated. Therefore, there is one other necessary ingredient to achieving a high level/quality of performance - an appropriately educated audience, particularly, when clear and objective measures of success are not at play.

Yes, given all of the factors you listed, which in my reading translates into having a clear vision of the goal, establishing a path to success, clearly articulated performance benchmarks, a broad set of tools, expertise - indeed all the things that good leadership, training and resources yields, a higher level of performace is inevitable.

Will all teams perform equally? Clearly not because there is variability in each of the components - not all good leaders are equally good, not all good tools are equally good and not all good doers equally good. When combined, the result is rarely the same.

In business, high performance, particularly when measured in terms of sales/clients/revenue is not guaranteed an organization, even when the organization has the capacity to deliver an excellent product/service. Not all products/services mesh neatly with an existing demand; sometimes demand must be generated by educating potential clients about its value (level of performance).

Satindra.

posted April 25, 2008

Hi Sean

You're busy today! Not all teams... but you don't need a team of superstars to develop high performance. You have identified three essential components but I think there are more. I would be looking for a shared and worthwhile goal and a clear set of values.

A high performance team really need to be fully engaged in both of these so that their desire to succeed and perform as a team over-rides individual considerations. Suitably empowered (and accountable for the outcome) with effective team processes and the other factors you mention any team can sustain high performance. I believe that leadership is the differentiator as it is usually a role of leaders to facilitate the goals, values, align resources and motivate people (or create the conditions within which they will motivate themselves).

Best Regards

Mark

posted April 26, 2008

No :

Team or Group is often motivated by objectives and leader who is passionate about these objectives .

A social service champaion leader may not neccessary be able to drive corporate profits as he may not have same passion as he experiences when he is into non profits activties

so for any activity to succeed it is critical for CEO to pick right team and team leader who will like to marry the team goals and will go to any length to achieve them .

posted April 26, 2008

Yes, all "teams" have the potential.

1. You may not have all the right people on the team (as mentioned before, see J Collins Good to Great)

2. It is the job of the leader do do all the things necessary to develop a performing team.
So: The leader is the key.

Of interest, we conduct a particular exercise near the beginning of our Performance Coach training for leaders. It is about enabling them to analyse and discover what are good and not good leadership behaviours.

From seven years observations of this exercise we have noticed that under a certain style of leadership, natural "good team behaviours" emerge, without being mentioned or taught.

From this we have moved away from focusing on "Team development" to Leadership development. I believe what are taught as good team behaviours are natural behaviours in a group of people working together to a common objective, that is clearly understood; that each group member understands and that each knows how they benefit from achieving it.

Links:

• http://asiacoachinstitute.com

posted April 26, 2008

You have asked a mixture of questions:

1. Can *any* team achieve higher levels of performance?

- Yes, depending on what you mean by "any" team. Performance can always be improved. But the recipe will vary from situation to situation.

2. Do you believe that *all* teams have the potential to develop into real high performance teams ...?

- Yes, again depending on the situation and recipe. Human history and evolution is one of continually higher performance, sometimes from unexpected places.

3. .... providing they have the right leadership, development and resources provided?

- Not necessarily a matter of leadership, development, or resources. The success of "skunk" works points to this.

4. Or is that some teams will out-perform and others just won't?

- Sure, some teams will over/under-perform, depending on their attitude and the circumstances they find themselves in, and how they deal with those circumstances.

posted April 27, 2008

Depends what you mean by "team".

If you mean an exisitng group of people the there will be some that will not be capable of high levels (although I think any such team can improve, at least a little, with the right guidance).

If however you allow the team to change in membership (i.e. eject those who are the insurmountable barriers, and bring in the right new members to balance and enhance the team, then yes.

I do think this only applies to teams with exceptional difficulties, of which the most common is one or two members who are, for whatever reason, deliberately sabotaging attempts at improvement. The vast majority of teams, even those that initially look beyond hope, can be made into high-performing ones with the right development.

posted April 28, 2008

Yes, all teams have the potential but high performing teams are hard to come by. Solid leadership is important but the right mix of the right people can have profound effect on realizing the potential. One telling sign is if the team has overcome significant challenges together - the "bond" formed by experiencing triumph over challenges together - has a good chance becoming a high performing team. Executive management sometimes separate them apart before they can really do great things together. With all that said, making of a high performing team requires time.

posted April 29, 2008