When we talk about high performance, teams often ask us what we mean – how do we define it? Many teams assume, at first, that performance is all about the numbers, the key performance indicators (KPIs) or the objectives that the team needs to achieve. And that seems quite intuitive, doesn’t it? Surely the organization measures a team’s success in this way? Our challenge to those teams is to ask the question: ‘And if your team is meeting your objectives, but it feels awful to be a part of this team, is that okay? Is that still high-performing?’ And the answer is always ‘no’. In our view, high performance – getting your team to the edge of their potential and beyond – must include not just achieving some objectives but also great dynamics in the team – why they exist, clarity on what they need to deliver, and how they work together to get things done. When these two aspects – achievement of objectives and great dynamics – are present in a team, they can not only achieve or exceed their objectives, but they can also sustain that level of achievement over a long period and through challenging times.
High performance – getting your team to edge of their potential and beyond – must include not just achieving your objectives, but also having great dynamics within the team.
Most teams find it hard to articulate what high performance would look like for them. They also may worry that higher performance means more work. This is just not the case. In fact, higher performance should mean working smarter, not harder. Many teams aren’t far removed from this and could therefore be described as a good team. It won’t take much to get them to high performance, but this doesn’t happen by chance. When a team unlocks their potential, their motivation becomes self-sustaining and the results of high performance are quickly felt in both the objectives being exceeded and how the team feels.
Find out what the dynamics within your team are like now by trying a lite version of our Advantycs® Team Diagnostic.
If you have some questions, or want to discuss further how you can maximise the performance of your team, get in touch with us here.
