How to create high-performing teams

Although individual work has its place and can certainly provide many benefits to an organisation, high-performing teams are also necessary to the successful running of your business.

High-performing teams are made up of individuals who work particularly well together. They excel in accomplishing work-related tasks, they can set and reach goals and they’re free from the conflicts and arguments which can dampen productivity.

Creating high-performing teams within your business can take some time. Nobody can truly anticipate how well employees are going to work together so it’s often a case of trial and error. There are many benefits of taking the time to do this however.

• Employees can share responsibilities, form relationships with colleagues and strengthen bonds that are already there
• Customers can receive products or services much quicker and benefit from the fact that all members of the project are on the same page rather than working separately
• Managers don’t have to spend as much time governing employees
• High-performing teams tend to be fully engaged and committed because all members share a common vision and values
• They can successfully deliver clearly defined business results

How exactly do you create high-performing teams?

Model your team on an existing successful team 

If you already have a team that works well together, dedicate some time to figuring out why this is. Do certain personality types work well together? Is the team made up of a mix of abilities? Is there a clear leader in the group who is driving everyone?

Bear in mind that you probably won’t be able to re-create this scenario perfectly but it will give you some great ideas and a good place to start.

Promote risk-taking

One of the biggest challenges businesses face is staying competitive in their marketplace. A surefire way to overcome this is through innovation but this can only be accomplished if you allow your team to take risks.

High-performing teams tend to enjoy taking risks and they don’t want to be limited by an organisation that won’t grow because they’re too afraid to try something new. You’ll win some and you’ll lose some but promoting risk-taking will create a company culture where big things can happen.

Offer rewards

It’s important to reward your team as a group as well as for those extra-special individual efforts. A team lunch, outing or party is a great way to reward everyone when a big project has finished or when they have achieved great results. It’s also important to recognise individual efforts so that others can aspire to be like them and work just as hard.

Recognise your team’s strengths and weaknesses

When you assign tasks to each member of your team, it’s vital to ensure you’re playing to each of their individual strengths. By doing this, your employees will be more productive, you know that tasks will be carried out to a high standard and each individual will feel valued for their input.

Help with the workload

Assisting your team with their workload is beneficial for a number of reasons. Firstly, it shows your employees that you’re not afraid to get stuck in and contribute when needed – this will undoubtedly earn you their respect. Secondly, the last thing you want or need is a situation where one person in the team is doing much more work than everyone else because this will lead to stress and possibly even health issues.

Set expectations

It’s very important that each and every member of your team knows exactly what’s expected of them before you even hire them. This way they know what they’re supposed to be doing on a daily basis and what they should be working towards. There’s nothing worse than an employee who doesn’t understand protocol because they’ll feel lost and confused which will lead to them becoming unproductive and unfocused.