BUS603: Managing People

An effective way to achieve high-performing culture is to create high-performing teams. A high-performing team is best defined as a group of interdependent employees whose skills and personalities complement one another and lead to above-average operational results. High-performance teams are a central building block of high-performance culture, and they thrive in innovative and empowering environments.

Leadership in any team environment is critical to success, but leadership within a high-performance culture is often complex. While leadership is normally static in a hierarchical environment, high-performance teams benefit from shared leadership by utilizing the different talents and perspectives of each team member in the decision-making process. This creates a strong culture of shared leadership which in turn can generate above-average results and highly motivated employees who trust one another.

Culture is defined by creating its own consciousness in an organization, indicating shared norms and values. These shared values are central elements of the organization, as they generate buy-in and dedication from employees. These shared values create an expectation of success, both professional and personal, that can create high levels of trust and shared accountability. In short, shared values are key to creating strong team dynamics.

There are ten elements in particular that are important to successfully integrating high-performance teams within an organizational culture:

1. Participative leadership – Involve the entire team when making decisions, and rely on specialists only when applicable.
2. Effective decision making – Ensure that decision-making is both strategic and efficient. Group decision-making is often slowed when team dynamics are weak, which requires team-building to fix.
3. Open and clear communication – As always with group dynamics, communication is key to success. Ensure everyone is speaking and listening.
4. Valued diversity – Team synergy is lost when groupthink dominates the discussion. Instill open-mindedness and dispel social fears of disagreeing.
5. Mutual trust – Reliance upon one another, and trust in each other’s skills and capabilities, allows for less duplication of work and more overall synergy.
6. Managing conflict – Conflict is inevitable and not necessarily a bad thing. Deal with it calmly and without personal biases or emotions. Let the best ideas win.
7. Clear goals – SMART objectives are essential to high performance, just as understanding where one is going is essential to finding the best route.
8. Defined roles and responsibilities – Everyone should have a clear understanding of why they are on the team and what they are responsible for.
9. Coordinated relationships – Building strong team dynamics requires team members to understand each other and build strong relationships. Utilize ice-breaking activities and promote casual discussion to get this started.
10. Positive atmosphere – Wherever possible, make sure the general perspective is one of constructive commentary. Maintaining a positive outlook empowers communication and improves team spirit.