Four Questions for Developing a High-Performing Team

Many teams and organizations believe that the key to improving performance and the root of team dysfunction is the relationship between team members; over twenty years of experience and research, we have discovered that this is not the case.

While they are crucial to success, in the workplace, they are rarely the cause of team member conflicts, or do they, alone, offer satisfactory and long-lasting solutions for creating highly creative and highly cohesive teams.

Team Building is an Organization Development method for improving the work of a team and their attitude by defining the goals of each group member and by establishing the expectations of members towards one another.

Four Questions

There are four essential questions that teams must consider and continuously examine, repeatedly and in order to enhance their team’s ability to work effectively in order to build accountability, be more innovative, increase performance and achieve predetermined outcomes. These questions reveal the root of the problem and provide efficient solutions.

Goals

Are your team working towards the same goals? What can we do to determine this? (and Are team members on their own? Do they have their own objectives? Are they in line with the team’s goal, or are they competing?)

Roles

What responsibilities does the team have to fulfill in order to succeed? Do team members have the ability to reach their own goals while to fulfill the corporate goals? (Also, how and who do each of the roles be fulfilled? Our team members in agreement on responsibility and an understanding of each other’s roles?)

Rules

Does everyone play with the same set of rules? That includes the written rulebook (policy procedures, procedure, legal issues, as well as written fundamental values) as well as operating values and norms for the group.

Relations

How do they become productive and collaborative? Teams with an explicit, shared goal that each member of the team knows their role and has the benefit of “playing by the same set of rules” can still encounter conflicts. But, the conflict will be more collaborative and creative in both form and outcome and will not be founded upon “right versus right” arguments. This is different from the “right versus wrong” conflict that can lead to problems with relationships and hinder the performance of teams.
This simple model offers an outline for creating an environment for team members that fosters individuality and creativity. The resulting emotions of team members can lead to the group’s consensus, creativity, and respect for each other. Strategic planning, thinking, and execution are an integral part of the management routine of team members.

Team members do not are able to find the time or the desire to “pick on each other’s personalities” They are focused on the tasks that need to be accomplished to meet there and the business’s objectives.

But, the relationships between team members are not to be neglected, and there are specific activities and actions that can bring about positive changes to relationships, thereby enhancing trust as well as leadership, communication, respect, and cooperation. They also help in making use of the collective strength of team members. These tasks need to be considered and practiced along with the strategic planning process, goal setting, and execution.

Mark A. Sturgell, CBC, is a certified Business Coach and President of Performance Development Network. Mark assists managers and their teams from small and mid-sized companies as well as non-profit organizations to improve their results in business and overcome the challenging strategic issues they face.