Developing High-performance Teams

A FULL 75 percent of the United States work force is not fully engaged on the job(1). Many work teams struggle and perform at a mediocre level—or worse. In contrast, some teams stand above the norm. These high-performing teams (HPTs) are known for their positive morale, high motivation, productivity and commitment to excellence. How are HPTs developed and maintained?

An extensive research project involving more than 2.5 million people in 237 companies sought to find out the common characteristics of HPTs(2). It was discovered that HPTs share three characteristics that directly speak to the meeting of three important needs of team members. Lets take a look at these three keys to developing HPTs:

Key #1: Sense of Fairness

People have a need to be treated equitably, and that sense of fairness has three components. There is a physical component, which includes a safe working environment, realistic workload and reasonably comfortable working conditions.

Another component is economic fairness: people need to feel they are paid a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work with satisfactory benefits. They also need to feel a reasonable degree of job security.

The third component is equity—being treated respectfully. Included is a reasonable accommodation for personal and family needs and being treated like an adult, not a child.

One way to monitor the perception of fairness on your team is to conduct an annual team survey and include some questions related to fairness.

Key #2: Sense of Achievement

Achievement includes taking pride in one’s accomplishments by doing things that matter and doing them well; receiving recognition for one’s accomplishments; and taking pride in the organization’s accomplishments.

There are six primary sources for a sense of achievement:

1. Challenge of the work itself.

2. Acquiring new skills.

3. Ability to perform.

4. Perceived importance of employee’s job.

5. Recognition received for performance.

6.Working for a company of which the employee can be proud.

One tool we can use to help build a sense of achievement is to set and work together to achieve SMART goals. SMART goals are team goals that have these characteristics:

Specific

Measurable

Ambitious, yet achievable

Results oriented

Time specific

Communicating progress and celebrating progress on goals will help develop a strong sense of achievement within your team.

Key #3: Sense of Camaraderie

Benjamin Franklin said “we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

HPTs are characterized by a sense of camaraderie—having warm, positive and cooperative relations with others in the workplace (“one for all and all for one”). Setting and working together to achieve SMART goals helps build camaraderie.

A tremendous, though often overlooked, tool that leaders can use to help build camaraderie is recognition. A recent Gallup Poll(3) found that 65 percent of employees claimed to have received NO praise or recognition the past year. How sad.

To help your employee recognition efforts, consider these five recognition principles:

1. Be specific about what is being recognized.

2. Do it in person.

3. Be timely.

4. Be sincere.

5. Recognition should be given for both individual and group performance.

Putting it All Together

Lets look at the six things managers can do to maintain engagement with their employees on an ongoing basis:

1 Don’t let the newbies sink. Get your new employees off to a great start by clearly explaining the goals and expectations of the team, regularly checking in with them, and assigning a teammate as a “buddy” mentor.

2 Create a physically comfortable work environment. Ideas can come from peers, conferences or the employees themselves.

3 Eliminate perks that favor one level of employee over another. The goal is to avoid sending the message that some employees are “second class,” when in reality everybody contributes to the success of the team.

4 Avoid micromanaging. Give employees as much flexibility and as many choices as you can. Avoid “dirty delegation,” and think about how you would like to be treated.

5 Spill the beans. Our CEO, Peggy Fowler, once said there are three keys to being a great manager: communication, communication and communication. If we don’t communicate, a vacuum is created. The vacuum is filled with the rumor mill, which is notoriously negative and will sink morale faster than the iceberg sunk the Titanic.

6 Observe basic courtesies. Never underestimate the value of simple greetings, a smile or saying thank you. These courtesies send a positive message to employees, letting them know they are appreciated and you care.

Let me leave you with a quote from Fred Smith, CEO of Federal Express: “The way I see it, leadership does not begin with power but rather with a compelling vision and a goal of excellence.”

Good luck to you as you intentionally pursue the development of even higher levels of team performance.

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Wes Friesen is the manager of Revenue Collection & Community Offices for Portland General Electric, a utility in Portland, Ore., that serves more than 800,000 customers. He teaches university classes and has been a featured speaker at national conferences like IPMA, NGPA, Xplor, Mailcom and the National Postal Forum. He manages the bill production and payment processing HPTs with the able assistance of supervisors Eric Houger, Barbara Byers, Gil Rodriguez and Elyssia Carlblom. Wes can be contacted at: Wes.Friesen@pgn.com