Reflecting back on 2024 and looking at what we are engaged in going into 2025, this idea of working on bringing about ‘High Performing Teams’ is something that has continued to be a feature of what we are doing at Get Knowledge these days.
And so, my thoughts on a page this month are around this concept as I believe it’s a key one when considering how we get to that Xmas party both intact and with something substantial to celebrate.
Best to start with what it means….
Having heard a vast number of people use this term, I was reminded pre Xmas that not everyone understands this in the same way. Very true and also part of the challenge.
If we can’t align on what we mean when using the term ‘High Performing Team’ how can we know if we have one?
Maybe it’s one of those ideas that you continue to chase to drive action but you never actually get there, a bit like a holy grail of team ideas.
I thought it may be worth trying to tackle a definition here so here goes….
The Oxford dictionary says that:
High = Measuring a great distance from top to bottom; extending far upward
Performing = To carry out in action, execute or fulfil
Team = A group of people, nations etc., who are associated in a particular action or endeavour
So stringing that together could sound like….A group of people, who are associated in fulfilling, executing and taking action, measuring a great distance above the norm?
Bit wordy. What does ChatGPT say…
I quite like that. Interesting that it spat out the words Collaboration, Trust, Accountability and Continuous Improvement given we’ve spent years champion these as core principles of any improvement activity.
I do think it’s important to align on a definition with the team so that everyone can understand what is meant when we use the team. The above seems as good as any but people will have their own words. Question for you…
How aligned is everyone in the team to the definition of what a ‘High Performing Team’ is?
Why does it matter?
What do you perceive the risk of not having alignment on this as a team?
If a HPT (abbreviated to save my fingertips) is one that collaborates and continuously improves it stands to reason that it needs a direction to improve in. As such without clarity for everyone that this is what we are aiming to become as an initial agreement then there has been no collaboration and there can be no directed improvement in this context specific context.
Of course this isn’t to say that the team won’t get on, won’t deliver and won’t be seen as high performing when judged. in whatever way is deemed necessary, but it introduces a risk by taking the assumption that everyone is on the same page and wants to create the same thing.
Why would you take a risk when all that is required is to create the conditions for the right kind of conversation and exploration?
How can you measure it?
The typical way I have seen teams measure against this idea of high performance is the output that they exhibit, or otherwise termed the results they get.
I saw a post on LinkedIn the other week that described someone in a sales team performing significantly above others but having such a negative impact that they were moved on and the overall performance increased.
This talks to a similar narrative that, high performance isn’t just what you see in the numbers, that is one dimensional and we need to think multi-dimensional when considering how to measure the idea of a HPT.
If we take the definition and break this down you would need to have a gauge of…
How well people collaborate
How exceptional the results are
How consistently they deliver high-quality outcomes
How often they exceed expectations
How well they maintain a culture of trust
How well they drive accountability
How well they continuously improve against all of the above
I actually don’t think that is a bad starting list, on review. Well done ChatGPT.
A couple of questions to help your thinking…
When thinking about your team and considering that list, how would you answer those questions?
When considering your answers, how much is based on assumption/perception, essentially how do you know?
As my brain triggers off into a hundred different direction after thinking around that list, I’m going to leave it there for this month. The idea of HPT opens up a huge amount of subject matter around how this works at different levels, typical blockers, onward impacts of not working on this agenda etc etc, and so I’ll bring some thoughts on those in coming months, assuming its deemed helpful.
All the best for 2025