What is a High-Performing Team?
A high-performing team refers to a notion when a team has a common universal goal which they attain with loftier, better, and higher-level results that commemorate the team’s high level of performance through the attributes discussed below in this article. High-performing teams are essential to effective teamwork and leaving competition behind in the dust. In contrast, the true definition of a high-performing team is rare to come by with a small number of groups exhibiting some attributes but with very little truly exhibiting all the attributes of high-performing teams.
Top 10 attributes that all high-performing teams share
1. Team performance outcomes
High-performing teams are masters of teamwork and do things. They produce something; they don’t just discuss it. Without accomplishment, teams dissolve and become ineffective over time.
2. Specific, shared purpose and vision
The more specific the aim, the more commitment, trust, and coordination can occur. Individuals don’t work for themselves; they work for one another in pursuit of a common purpose. The common purpose can also be the same as a motivating vision of what the team should achieve.
The more specific the aim, the more commitment, trust, and coordination can occur.
3. Mutual accountability
A high-performing team has mutual accountability far greater than any accountability imposed by a boss or employer.
4. The blurring of task assignment
Team members in a high-performing team understand exactly what they need to do and they are willing to do whatever necessary to get the job done. The positions or titles are not important. Effective teamwork is achieved by focusing on being a team player.
5. Coordinated and shared work roles
Team members always collaborate with others on the team. The outcome is a single group product, not a set of individual achievements. They thrive on collaborative teamwork.
Collaborative teamwork help gain higher outcome.
6. Inefficiency leading to efficiency
Initially, the team seems to be inefficient due to the blurring of roles, task assignment, participation. Nevertheless, as the team evolves and group dynamics develop, as each member knows each other so well and can understand each other’s moves, it becomes far more efficient than any single individual working alone.
7. Extraordinarily high quality
The team’s outcomes are beyond the expected performance. Through effective teamwork they share a common vision of high-quality, they surprise and delight their constituencies by exceeding expectations and previous benchmarks. A high-performing team does not tolerate the mediocrity of outcome.
Effective teamwork they share a common vision of high quality.
8. Creative and never-ending improvement
Large-scale innovations, as well as continuous small progress, define the team’s workflow and activities. High-performing teams are always striving for improving their status quo by constantly working on new ideas, experiments and chase progress.
9. High credibility and trust
Team members trust each other wholeheartedly, cover members’ backs, and create deep interdependent relationships inside the team. Teamwork and collaborative activities characterise personal integrity and honesty.
10. Clarity of core competence
The strengths and weaknesses of each member are clear. How these competencies can be utilized to further the team’s objectives are well understood. They prioritize activities that focus on the team’s core mission.
Building a high-performing team takes time, commitment, and investment.
The first and most crucial step is the careful selection of team members that ensure common interests, diversity, and balance of skills and personality.
If you are part of a large community that is working in teams on projects and you are struggling with the performance of your teams, we recommend trying our AI driven tools to form better teams.
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Citation: Developing Management Skills (Eighth Edition) by David A.Whetten and Kim S. Cameron
