The words “team work” and “team building” are two of the most popular phrases in modern management today. They are often announced as though they are great discoveries that have only become evident as a result of the speed of change in the last decade of the 20th century.
Virtually every progressive company in the world today is committed to building and maintaining high-quality teams. Because of the flattening of corporate hierarchies, opportunities for rapid promotion have diminished dramatically and been replaced by the rewards and satisfactions possible from working together in harmony with other people toward the achievement of important goals and objectives.
Team Building through Shared Goals
In the beginning phase of team building, you must ensure that everyone is clear about what the team is expected to accomplish. The goals of the team are shared and discussed by everyone. Each team member gives his or her ideas and input into how the goals and objectives can be best achieved. Each person feels like a part of a larger organization and strives to reach peak performance.
Top Teams Share Values and Principles
In peak performance teams, there is regular discussion about the values, principles, and behaviors that guide the decisions of the team. The leader encourages values such as honesty, openness, punctuality, responsibility for completing assignments, quality work, and so on. Everyone discusses and agrees on what they are.
Peak Performance Teams Share Plans of Action
In this phase of team building, you go around the table and have each member of the team explain exactly what part of the work he or she is going to accept responsibility for completing. At the end of this discussion, each member knows what every other member is going to be doing and how his or her own work fits in with the work of the team.
Always Lead the Action
There must always be a clear boss or leader in any organization. Democracy is a fine concept, but it goes only so far in business. Someone must be in command and take charge. And that someone is probably you. On a good team, everyone knows who is in charge. The leader sets an example for the others. The leader becomes the role model and can lead the team to peak performance.
Continuous Review and Evaluation
In this final phase of team building, the team regularly evaluates its progress from two perspectives. First, is the team getting the results that are expected by its customers or other in the company? In dealing with customers, does the team set up mechanisms to continually ask customers, “how are we doing?”
Bringing the Team Together
One of the most important things you do in building a peak performance organization is to hold regular staff meetings. Bring your people together weekly, at a fixed time, to talk, discuss, catch up on progress, learn how the company is doing, and generally share ideas, opinions, and insights.
Thank you for reading this article on how to build peak performance teams to achieve your business goals. If you have any team building tips that you would like to share, please feel free to comment below! 4.5
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