High Performing Teams - High performance through shared visions

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It is hard to imagine the modern working world without teamwork. Operational projects and work processes can be better managed together. The success of teamwork depends to a large extent on the qualifications and motivation of the individual team members and on team cohesion.

Project failure, delays in operations, or the paralysis of entire organizations can be traced to team dysfunctions. While these dysfunctions prove to be killers for business success, High Performing Teams are quite different.

A high-performance team consists of a group of highly qualified individuals. Shared values and visions determine the teamwork, whose Objective the achievement of the business objective. High performing teams work in cross-functional areas. Collaboration is characterized by efficient communication as well as a high level of self-motivation of each team member.

Innovative ideas are taken into account, as are new approaches to Problem solution. In high performing teams, preference is given to employees who complement each other with specialist knowledge and soft skills. The special approach and handling of challenges means that everyone works at the highest level and achieves corresponding results.

What are high performance teams?

Very high expectations are placed on high-performing teams. A high-performance team must be able to fulfill demanding tasks and, in doing so, meet the set Achieving goals or even exceed them. Any conflicts within the team must be managed independently and problems resolved amicably.

High-performing teams differ from conventional teamwork in that they demand a high level of performance. In addition, success is not measured by the individual performance of team members, but by the results achieved by the entire team.

4 Types of competences

As a rule, high-performing teams do not only consist of people who are referred to as "high performers". Much more important is the cooperation within the team, which makes it possible to achieve top performance. In a high-performing team, the roles and the resulting tasks are clearly defined and distributed accordingly. In terms of competencies, a distinction is made between four types:

  • Expertise
  • Methodological competence
  • Social competence
  • Personality skills

Technical competence is a prerequisite for performing tasks independently and independent to master. If you want to be part of a high-performance team, you should be well versed in your area of expertise and shine with specialist knowledge.

The Methodological competence of a person shows itself when it comes to gathering information, working in a structured and rational manner. In moderation, in internal and external problem solving, these qualities are also in demand.

With the term Social competence is used to describe non-technical qualifications. You are socially competent if you can communicate clearly, defend your points of view, but also respect the views of others.

Flexibility, a willingness to learn, and the desire to develop further are part of the Personality skills. Do you have these skills? Then your chances of being part of a high-performing team are great. In high-performing teams, each team member is expected to take on two to three different roles. The more professional and personal competencies you bring to the table, the more effective and successful your high performance team can work.

high performance team culture

The 10 characteristics of high performance teams

What makes a high-performing team? How can High Performing Teams be recognized and what distinguishes them from conventional teams? These ten characteristics indicate that it is a qualified High Performing Team:

  1. Shared visions
  2. Precise goal setting
  3. Effective operation
  4. Clear, open communication
  5. Cross-functional thinking
  6. High level of Self-organization
  7. Excellent error management
  8. Decision-making authority
  9. Focus on team performance
  10. High Productivity

Shared visions are the basis of cooperation in a high-performance team. Pre-determined, concretely named goals are achieved through an effective way of working. In High Performing Teams there is open communication. Problems are addressed directly in order to find solutions.

Cross-functional thinking helps ensure that you don't overlook or forget a single detail in the team. Each individual team member excels at self-organization. With excellent error management, sources of error can be unmasked and wrong decisions avoided.

In the high-performance team, decision-making authority does not lie exclusively with the Team management. Instead, all members of the team are involved in the decision-making process. The focus is on team performance, while the work result of individual team members plays a rather subordinate role in the overall success. You overcome challenges together. As a highly motivated team, everyone works toward the defined goal with the intention of delivering the best business results.

How to build a high performance team

Building a high-performance team is a challenging task that requires a lot of commitment. A High Performing Team allows new dynamics to emerge in the company. Ambitious projects can be realized more easily with High Performing Teams. However, the question is how to build a High Performing Team.

Before starting to build a high-performance team, the objective must first be defined. What tasks should the high-performance team take on? How many employees should contribute their expertise and experience to the new team?

Once the framework conditions and goals have been established, suitable specialists are selected for the high-performing team. High Performing Team management establishes team goals and priorities and reviews them regularly. Keep the Company goals while assigning tasks and functions to the members of your team.

Shared sense of purpose

A shared sense of purpose helps to work toward success in a focused way and to improve performance. The team composition is crucial for building a high-performance team. In order to work efficiently in the high-performance team, it should not be too large.

High performing teams are manageable because they have only a few members. The team should not be too small, as a lack of diversity is likely to lead to slower decision making and poorer decisions.

The Mindset for High Performance

High performing teams are characterized by their special dynamics. In order for high performance to be achieved in the long term, a high level of Motivation as well as a pronounced cohesion within the team are necessary.

Our beliefs and behavior patterns determine our inner attitude. The basic attitude affects our willingness to perform and the way we work. Do you have the mindset for high performance? In the High Performing Team, the focus is not on you, but on the teamwork. A high-performing team focuses on the defined objective.

Self-improvement is the motto that characterizes a dynamic mindset. Are you ready to change your way of thinking, to go innovative ways and to look at things from a different perspective? Rule-based thinking and principles are of secondary importance in a high-performance team.

The Mindset for High Performance has the following characteristics:

  • You love challenges
  • Openness to new experiences
  • Learning from mistakes
  • Perseverance and persistence are your strengths
  • You can motivate yourself
  • You are a team player

Our mindset subconsciously influences our actions. Do you want to be a member of a high-performing team and contribute to the success of your company? With a positive, success-oriented mindset, it will be easier for you to support your team.

High-performance Mindset

People with a high-performance mindset think in terms of growth. They don't give up when problems get in the way. Perseverance, consistency and self-discipline are qualities that members of a high-performance team possess. Criticism is not taken personally, but rather as Inspiration considered for learning.

Acquiring the right mindset is a longer process. Beliefs cannot be reprogrammed overnight. In the beginning, there is the knowledge of one's strengths and weaknesses and the desire for change as well as the willingness to self-reflect.

You can control your success by changing your mindset. Think goal and performance oriented and trust your abilities. With a positive mindset, you can achieve amazingly high performance.

What makes a high performance team?

High performing teams are more successful and productive than other teams. Why is that and what does the High Performing Team culture have to do with it? High-performing teams are characterized by competence, autonomy and Connectedness off.

High standards apply when working in a High Performing Team. However, expertise and professional experience are not the only criteria that define High Performing Teams.

Clear objectives as well as the clear assignment of tasks within the team are necessary to successfully complete challenging projects. The goals are team and individual goals. In their work, the team members support each other so that it is guaranteed that the work leads to success.

Defined roles and responsibilities facilitate team collaboration. Each member of a high-performance team knows exactly what he or she has to do. Ambiguities about responsibility and Misunderstandings are thus ruled out. Regulated workflows enable projects to be completed on time.

High performing teams only work when everyone has a common goal and is committed to it. Common problems that can jeopardize cohesion in the high-performing team and thus the achievement of the goal are:

  • Lack of commitment
  • Conflict avoidance
  • Lack of focus on results
  • Shying away from responsibility

A lack of commitment on the part of individual team members has a negative impact on the work result. High work engagement means devoting oneself to a task with care and dedication. High performing teams are known for their high level of commitment.

Are you leading a high-performance team? Encourage work engagement through recognition and praise. Pay attention to employee competencies when assigning assignments. Give your team members a voice and the freedom to make decisions. Motivation and accountability improve when you involve your team members in key decisions.

Essential feature: team collaboration

Avoiding conflict means less trouble in the short term, but in the long term, simmering conflicts can jeopardize team cohesion. Excellent team collaboration is a key characteristic of high-performing teams. Be prepared to talk when you, as the manager of a high-performing team, are told about tensions, disagreements, or difficulties within the team. In individual or group discussions, differences can be uncovered and new ways of working together productively can be developed.

Results orientation is one of the strengths of a high-performing team. If this is missing, efficient, goal-oriented work is hardly possible. Determining concrete goals is an important Management task. Define the objective clearly and unambiguously when leading a high performance team. Results-oriented performance has a lot to do with good organization.

High performing teams work more motivated when it is clear in which time frame which goals are to be achieved. The will, Assume responsibility, distinguishes leaders. In the high-performance team, each member of the team bears a share of the responsibility. Excessive demands and Fear of failure can lead to a reluctance to accept responsibility for one's own actions.

Restructuring or redistribution of competencies and tasks within the team is often enough to solve these problems. The challenges in team performance management include intrinsic motivation of all people working in the team. In a high performing team, all team members have a common goal in mind. Shared visions and the will to achieve these goals are what make high performing teams.

Conclusion

High Performing Teams use their expertise and competence to achieve goals and increase business success. High performing teams consistently meet or exceed the expectations placed on them. Want to make the most of your professional and human strengths in your high-performing team?

Then we recommend the coaching program for managing directors, executives, companies and self-employed people, with which you can improve your Business Coaching Skills train and improve your skills in a targeted manner.

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Reviewed by Dr. med. Stefan Frädrich

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