The term ‘high performance’ is something that is thrown around as an aspirational term, but you might be wondering what it actually means. How do you recognise and even more importantly measure, high performance in a team. It goes without saying that you want your team to perform well, but how you measure outcomes as well as outputs are equally important.
I thought it might be helpful to break this concept down. We’ve adapted the model below (Triaxia Partners 2015). We’ve defined 6 key areas of focus to help you reflect on, and fine tune the different elements of work in your team to strengthen performance and ultimately results.
- Shared Purpose – is everyone clear about the ‘why’ behind what you do? Are your values known, agreed and understood?
- Clear roles – does everyone know what their role is and how it contributes to the purpose? Do people understand what they are, and are not, responsible for?
- Active Leadership – do leaders embrace their role and lead by example? How do they actively seek ways to inspire and influence others?
- Effective Processes – what systems do you have in place that enable people to do their work? Are they fit for purpose? Do you have current and easily understood policies?
- Strong relationships – is there trust, respect, and cooperation? Do people feel safe at work? Are staff trained to understand what healthy and respectful relationships look like?
- Clear communication – Are people kept in the loop with the right information at the right time? Are messages shared in ways that are open and accessible?
So what now? Here’s what we suggest you do with this information. Consider the six key areas and ask yourself the following questions for each:
- What do we currently do that supports this?
- What gets in the way of us doing this?
- What 1-2 impactful actions could we take to strengthen this?
- What will it look like when we are demonstrating ‘high performance’ in this area?
Where possible, do this as a team so you can get insights from everyone involved and shared commitment to action. Once you’ve got a plan, assign clear tasks and timeframes, then include action updates in your team meetings so you stay accountable and on track.
By Nicole Weber
We hope you’ve found this to be a useful activity. We love working with teams to lift performance. If you’d like tailored support from one of our skilled facilitators and coaches, get in touch today.