How to Build High-Performing Teams

Every executive or small business dreams of building a team of individuals that will match their expectations of not only meeting targets, but exceeding them.

When building out a high-performing team you must always look at the leader first, not the team. This individual in many cases is the difference between success or failure. It is this individual that team members look for to guide them, support them and give them structure which tells them how to operate in a team.

The High-Performance Leader

Most people that enter the ranks of management have never been exposed to leading a team of individuals before, let alone taking them to new heights. Yet they are expected to out perform their peers without any training to give them guidance.

High performing leaders are not just managers of people, they are individuals that go to battle with, not against their teams. In other words their teams will become a unit of people that together and individually set out to climb a hill together.

This can only be done when a manager understands that one style of management will not cut it in all circumstances. For example a style that requires everyone to check in with the manager for everything, stifles creativity, ambition and drive within teams, yet this style is highly effective in a crisis situation, whereby you need one voice directing the actions of a unit.

In our training we discuss all styles to help you identify what style you have adopted and where it will work for you or against you.

Traits of a High-Performing Leader

From our studies and personal experience, we know that there are several traits that high-performing leaders display. We identify about 11 traits that make up top performing leaders.

1.Power of Us: Drive a mentality that everything we do is about “Us”, the team. There will always be individuals that will perform better than others, that is a given, but all individuals become a team when they are thinking about lifting others within the team. They effectively take on a leadership role themselves.

2.Team First: When you are making decisions for your team and the direction of your business, you always consider your team and how it affects them.

3.Mindset: We spend a lot of time understanding who we are competing with but spend virtually no time understanding how our team thinks, both as individuals and as a group. Why do they do what they do?

4.Consult: Everyone likes to be asked their opinion. It makes people feel valued. You feel more valued if your boss asks what you think. It doesn’t mean you have to do it, but at least you have considered it.

5.Open Door: If your team are scared to approach you, then they will talk about you. Create an environment that they know they can hold a meeting with you in confidence. Even if you cannot assist or give the staff member exactly what they want, they need to know they you do take all their concerns on board and are willing to consider their situation.

6.Active Listening: Have you ever spoken to a friend, colleague or significant partner and said to yourself, “They are not really listening to me”. It is frustrating when you are being patronised by someone not really paying attention to something that is important to you. Listen to someone as if they were an important person in your life.

7.Back Them: There will be times that staff will fail or get into trouble. They need to know that if they fall, you will help pick them up and support them in getting back up. This also applies when other parts of your organisation attacks them.

8.Improvement: Improvement should be an attitude that everyone holds within the team. Including the manager

9.Integrity and Honesty: Without these two, you have no credibility with your team.

10.Cut Your Losses: If someone is not aligned with your values and your efforts are having no impact, then remove the poison before it affects the whole.

11.Observation: People give off tell-tale signs, which tell you a lot about how they operate. Be observant.

Motivation

It is one thing to understand what motivates you to go to work each day and try to achieve your goals, but don’t assume that everyone in your team is exactly the same as you.

For many we assume that money is our main motivator and it is usually the reason we are working, but everyone has different motivators that we should consider.

Some of them are:

• Autonomy: People wish to feel empowered in their goals or work environment and autonomy brings that feeling. Having a sense of control over your decisions and actions can create motivation.

• Mastery: The desire to master a skill or subject can be a great motivator. This may a desire to be an expert in a particular field. Mastering a skill set or being at the top of your field brings about satisfaction and motivation.

• Purpose: Having a sense of purpose or meaning in one’s life can create motivation. This may include a desire to make a difference to help others or contribute to a larger goal in life.

  These are just some motivators that your team will require to feel that what they do is worth it. Once you get to really know your team, these motivators will reveal themselves and you will know how to move the needle.

  Mindset

  The area of mindset is rarely if ever discussed in business settings and in my own corporate career, it was never discussed. You are more likely to talk about KPIs as oppose to why you and your team seem to sabotage your own success.

  Most of the time we operate outside of our awareness. Why do we react a certain way when someone else doesn’t? These are all programs that in many cases are imprinted on us from childhood. Organisations that wish to truly get ahead need to take a different approach and build their managers and remove the obstacles they bring with them. By doing so you will elevate your business ahead of your competitors.

  Conclusion

  Leadership is much more than management. There are many managers out there, but much fewer leaders. Leadership is about creating a harmonious unit of individuals who together move as one, yet keep their individuality. When they go to battle, they are a force to be reckoned with, but without true leadership, they are just another group of individuals going through the motions.

  Your teams will look to you to provide leadership. They will look to you to demonstrate what you expect from them.

  Contact us at mannyfiteni.com and find out how we may help you to build a high-performing team.