By Declan Noone
How do we recognise the indicators of an underperforming team? We can always refer to the metrics we have in place regarding KPIs and team targets. However, for a true indication, we need to dig deeper, to examine such things as talent turnover, the results of engagement surveys, and key perceptions of the team from those on the outside who deal with them.
There can be numerous factors that are impacting the performance of a team, such as:
- Poor internal communication
- A lack of trust
- Increased risk aversion in decision making
- A lack of initiative
- Underuse of individual strengths
- Non-alignment around the leader and a shared purpose
- Poor sense of belonging
- Micro-management
- Inadequate skills level
- Individuals not challenged
The underlying blame for these factors tends to be placed on the team lead. After all, they are assessed on how the team performs as a unit. Consequently, we need to consider whether or not the leader is experienced or not, have they received adequate training to a leader, or have we provided mentoring or ongoing support to them in their leadership role?
Through our consultancy work in Serrano 99, we have witnessed the powerful impact of positive team-building tools in constructing an inclusive, collaborative and engaging team culture: A culture that enables all team members to achieve their maximum potential and actively engage in achieving the collective team vision.
A positive-team building exercise focuses on providing the individual team members with an opportunity to:
- Have a voice: Share their knowledge and experiences, including expectations for now and in the future.
- Connect with others: Build strong, positive relationships through sharing experiences and co-authoring a desired future for the team. Connecting on both a personal and professional level. This generates a greater sense of belonging and connectedness.
- Be positive: Recognise the challenges and trends team members face individually and collectively yet identify the ‘can do’ mindset required to collectively achieve the desired targets for future success.
- Plan decisive action: Create an aligned sense of purpose with a specific set of targets which all team members are invested in, and recognise the decisive actions required to achieve them.
Any Positive Team Building exercise necessitates that we empower each individual to:
- connect with what they need to perform to their best,
- draw on their knowledge and experience to identify the challenges and trends in the workplace and marketplace,
- understand their expectations and hopes for the future.
Through a deliberate and facilitated workshop we utilise the skills of storytelling, visualisation, brainstorming, envisioning and planning to build a shared alignment around whatit is they want to be as a team, wherethey want to be as a team and howthey intend to get there. We purposefully focus on identifying the ‘I’ before we can build the ‘we’.
The tools and tasks set for the team during the workshop are focused on specific issues built on inherent team pillars. To generate the engagement, commitment and energy necessary to turn a team around, leaders must understand:
- What it is that team members need to perform?
- What challenges they will face?
- What do individuals and the group want to achieve?
- What solutions are required to get to the desired end state?
- What actions are necessary to achieve the desired end state?
This is not an exercise in giving the leader all the answers and expecting them to go off and execute. Rather it is a process of ensuring a collective team buy-in to what is needed, when it is needed and how it will be achieved. The end result is a collective commitment towards an agreed purpose connected to action points with specific levels of responsibility and accountability for all.
We in Serrano 99 have been very fortunate to have used a number of positive team building tools with our clients and most recently in designing a Positive Team-Building module for Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian youth with UNICEF Lebanon. It is a honour to be involved in empowering youth in the region to build positive leadership skills.
