Three Steps to G.R.O.W. High-Performance Teams
Dr. David Rafeedie
If you want to grow a plant, there are a couple of things you have to do. First, do you have the right environment? For example, you wouldn't want to try growing a magnolia tree in the artic or a banyan tree in the Arizona desert. After determining the environment is correct, you must prepare the soil. Then you plant the tree, water it, weed around it, feed it, and watch it grow and flourish.
Wanting to grow your team into a high-performance team is also a matter of process. High-performance, high-value teams are not born; they are made. Experts have said most teams operate at 70% capacity. Those are the good teams. Getting your team up to 100% capacity takes intentional work. The acronym G.R.O.W. expresses some critical truths on the pathway to growing your team.
Gauge the team. Where the team is at this point in its life by using an assessment to determine a team's readiness for team development. For example, you may have a team member who does not think or behave like a team member. They may not fit into the culture of the team. Or in common vernacular, they are not a team player. They may need some individual work to align them to the team before you start any team development. A good pre-development assessment of the team will reveal any necessary work required to get the team ready for the journey to becoming a high-value, high-performing team.
Ready the team. After the initial assessment, there will be some work to do to begin the team development. As we saw above, teams are not necessarily ready for team development. In addition, each team is unique. Even if there are multiple teams in your organization, each one has its own culture within the larger culture of the organization.
Because teams are unique, team development should be tailored to how teams learn and grow and what the team leader wants to accomplish.
Ontogenesis: I love this word! Say it with me—ontogenesis. Ok, enough. It is a term I borrowed from biology which means, "the development of an individual organism (the team) or anatomical or behavioral feature from the earliest stage to maturity." I picked this weird word not just because it describes what we want to accomplish, but it gave me the "O" in the acronym G.R.O.W. Functional and educational. Maturity, of course, is a high-performing team. Each team has stages it goes through to reach high performance. Know which stage your team is in, the kind of leadership required to move your team to the next stage, and finally to maturity requires the proper knowledge and skill set.
Win: the win at the end of the journey is a high-performing, high-value producing, thriving team whose work is characterized by synergy. Getting there requires focus from the leader and alignment on the team.
I have shared general information with G.R.O.W. Involved in each of those steps are details and work. Each of you reading this may have a picture in your mind of what it takes to be a high-performance team. And your vision may be perfectly correct. Some of you might think of a particular team when you think high-performance, such as your favorite NFL. team. And if you happen to be from Wisconsin, you would be justified in that thinking. Just some football humor—not.
But there are specific characteristics of high-performing teams that must be present. In other words, high-performing teams look like something. Different experts will list a variety of features, but most agree on the following eight:
Alignment around mission.
Alignment around core values that are lived out.
Each team member is committed to the team's productivity and excellence.
Synergy defines the nexus for the work the team does. The definition of synergy is "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects."
There is individual commitment to the growth and well-being of the other team members.
Individual team members are willing to go the extra mile.
There is a willingness to give away the glory to other team members honestly.
High-performing teams have more fun than other teams because of the work and personal relationships developed on the team.
More could be said, but our space is short, and the above characteristics are non-negotiable, in my opinion. Without them, it is difficult to envision a high-performing team.
Never take your team or teams for granted. Teams are the movers of an organization. They will move you in the right direction or stall your progress. When teams improve, production and morale improve, and relationships are enhanced.
You are aware of television shows that show dangerous stunts and warn kids, "Don't try this at home without adult supervision." Well, team development is one of those things you should do with expert help. A good coach will partner with you to co-create a plan to achieve what you are looking for in your team's development.
I am passionate about partnering with leaders and teams to help them grow into high-performing teams. Email me at info@davidthecoach.com, text me, or feel free to call me on 520-709-1860. If you like, text me your name and phone number, and I will contact you to start a conversation to explore a coaching relationship.
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