Team building magic, part 2

Drake Editorial Team

This is part 2 of a 5 part article courtesy of Drake International.

The Secret Behind High Performing Teams

The Rare and Coveted "High Performing Team"

A high performing team is a team that performs at an elite level, achieving extraordinary results, time and again. Team building is not seen as a separate activity but is integrated into every action, interaction and communication.

High Performing Team:

Has a clear and unifying goal for which each team member has passion
Each member of the team is doing what they love to do - leveraging their gifts and talents
Is solution focused—always asking the question, “How can we?”
Consistently achieves extraordinary results • Positive, exciting, engaging team culture that supports the free flow of ideas and creativity
Team members regularly acknowledge each other’s contributions and also deliver honest, timely feedback in the spirit of continuous improvement
Team members make the effort to get to know each other very well
Demonstrate high levels of trust in each other

Under-Performing Team:

Team goal is unclear so individual goals become paramount (e.g. getting a promotion)
Work is not enjoyable; it becomes a boring, necessary evil
Problem focused; always looking for what will go wrong and all the reasons for “why we can’t”
Business results are mediocre at best and often go unmeasured
Negative, blame-based culture that stifles new ideas due to the fear of “looking bad”
Team members regularly engage in “closed door sessions” and complaining around the water cooler about the work and each other
Team members stay distant, choosing not to get to know each other outside of roles/functions
Demonstrate low levels of trust in the motivations and intentions of other team members

2020-03-16

Try feedforward instead of feedback

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

Providing feedback has long been considered a necessary activity of leaders. As they strive to achieve the goals of the organization, their employees need to know how they are doing...

2015-12-08

Are your employees engaged? Are you?

Gregg Gregory

If your team members are not engaged on a regular basis, there is a reason: the culture is not congruent with engagement. Ultimately, to get employees more engaged, the culture must be transformed.

2012-07-18

Managers’ alert - the cost of not delegating

Drake Editorial Team

If you are a manager, you are probably trying to keep a whole host of tasks and projects moving forward at the same time. You probably know that you could achieve more if you were to delegate more.