MANAGEMENT PIPELINE
ROCKY MOUNTAIN WATER MARCH-APRIL 2022 | 31
teams. Like winning a Super Bowl, developing a team that
performs to its highest potential requires commitment,
intentional effort, coaching, strong individual contributions,
and skilled leadership. Thankfully, whether you’re in a formal
leadership position or not, the skills required to build a high-performing
team are obtainable for everyone.
Developing team norms
Let’s assume everyone on a team knows the mission, individual
roles are clear, and each team member is competent and
helpful. Establishing team norms, or working agreements, is
crucial for success. Often, team-developed norms complement
human resources or organization-developed policies. Some
organizations have human resources professionals that help
with this effort, but it is acceptable for leaders to facilitate this
directly with their teams as well.
Gather your team and have everyone reflect on their best
team experience. Ask team members to write on a sticky note
behaviors or traits that made the team high performing. Ideally,
team members write one trait per sticky note, which is then
posted on a common whiteboard for everyone to see. You’ll
likely end up with a loose conglomeration of sticky notes that
require grouping by similarities.
Common team norms might include trust, openness, punctual-ity,
being diverse and inclusive with people and perspectives,
being present, assuming positive intent, treating others with
dignity and respect, avoiding hidden agendas, listening first
to understand, being tactful, being helpful, maintaining physi-ological
safety, having a civilized disagreement, having fun,
and staying flexible. Whatever your team develops, make the
outcome visible so everyone sees their contributions. Typically, a
sticky note exercise is summarized in a one-page document and
revisited as needed.
Commitment
Once team norms are established and the team is committed,
leaders and team members should regularly check in with each
other to ensure everyone remains on track. High-performing
teams prioritize one-on-one conversations, coaching and
mentoring, and continuous improvement. To that end, regular
one-on-one meetings between the team leader and individual
members must occur weekly or bi-weekly. High-performing
team members set egos aside and lean into uncomfortable
conversations for the good of the team.
Here are some questions to help you and your team stay on
track:
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