Building High Performance Teams: PTP

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.

- Andrew Carnegie

Teams can be powerful and productive when they function well. When they aren't functioning well they can be a disaster to the individuals, the team and the organization itself. Bad teams cause far-reaching cultural issues.

Before a group of people can function well together, they have to pass through a series of stages. The challenge of every good leader is to help their team members move through the various phases of team formation until they reach the final stage.

Points-to-Ponder on Building High Performance Teams

Forming Stage - the team is nothing more than a collection of individuals, each with his/her own agenda and expertise and little or no shared experience.

Storming Stage - the group of individuals become more familiar with one another they will go through a phase where personal values and principles are challenged, roles and responsibilities are taken on and/or rejected, and the team/group's objectives and way of working together are defined.

Norming Stage - the team has settled down and has developed a clear identity. Everyone has begun to understand their roles in relation to one another and established a clear vision or goals.

Performing Stage - other norms get established in evaluation and correction process of working together. It is at this stage everyone will work most effectively and get the most results. The confidence level of the team will have reached the point where they are willing to take significant risks and try out new ideas on their own.

Not all teams ever reach a good Performing Stage but instead get bogged down in personalities, bad conflict, blame and inefficient tendencies.

But the teams that have common goals, are able to put temperaments and personal feelings aside, the teams that insist on getting the job done and being professionals....those teams are what makes a company stand above the rest.


To that end......

Danny

The source for this material is from our management/leadership training program; MuRF Systems' Building High Performance Teams.

To learn more about how this program can help you get better results as a manager, leader and follower, contact Danny L. Smith at 512-773-6528 or danny@RP2Development.com