Building High Performance Teams

1. Building High-Performing Teams: STRATEGIES FOR IDENTIFYING AND DEVELOPING TOP TALENT

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3. INTRODUCTION Teamwork v/s Individual Work - Which is better? Much though history has always glorified lone-wolf entrepreneurs, it is great teams which contribute significantly in the success stories of modern conglomerates. Consider pioneers like Apple, Etsy, Google - they all thrive on teamwork. New age technologies are transforming the modern workplace making the work environment more connected, digital, and flexible. Anyone who assumed hybrid work systems would have caused the downfall of teamwork must have changed their views by now. 3

4. Each individual brings their own unique gifts, talents, and skills to the table. When these people work in collaboration towards a common goal, they become invincible and gain a real competitive advantage. Though high performing teams are valued by leaders and investors alike, it is quite a task to build them. ‘No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy is, if you are playing a solo game you will surely lose out to a team’ - Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn 4

5. WHAT IS THE HYPE SURROUNDING HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS? Before we delve into how we build better teams, it is important to understand why some teams perform better than others. If all it took was a group of talented people with right skills to build better team, many more organizations across the world would have been in the Fortune 500 group. Why are high-performing teams well-regarded? • They offer varied skill-sets and diverse range of talents • They are a bunch of innovative thinkers who enhance each work day with their ideas and suggestions • They require minimum input from the management’s end • They encourage positive employee morale • Lastly, owing to all of the above, they have enhanced productivity 5

6. Fortunately, characteristics that go into making high-performing teams have been researched upon for ages and it’s interesting, the methodologies used during the study varied from one another but the conclusions turned out to be quite similar. They all had one thing in common - social capital. Though all teams are different, some values of high-performing teams are common. They all have - • Collaborative culture • Effective work practices • Open communication • Mutual respect among team members • Committed towards the team, their mission, and the organization 6

7. WHAT MAKES SOME TEAMS HIGH-PERFORMING? Effective Work Practices A good plan of action is a must. Without proper planning and resource allocation, high-performance teams cannot be successful. This is the very foundation of high-performance teams. Ineffective work rules will cause problems in the long run leading to decline in risk-taking attitudes, creativity, and Innovation. 7

8. Mutual Respect Among Leaders and Team Members All team members respect and recognize each other’s strengths and working methods. This helps to create strong bonds among team members, they function as a single entity and produce exceptional results. Committed to their team, mission and the organization With shared values and vision, high performing team members work together towards a common objective without losing sight of results. 8

9. Open Communicators Open channels of communication are always present between team members which leads to creating an environment of constructive criticism and feedback. Collaboration is Key They are experts in their work who thrive on collaboration and encourage participation from all team members including introverts. ‘If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself’ - Henry Ford 9

10. BUILD BETTER TEAMS But there are certain rules to building them. Amid the myriad sources that hint upon how to build a top team, below are some ideas which have long proved their worth. Team Composition Team composition is the starting point. How should you choose your employees? And how many members should there be in your dream team? For starters, you can opt for assessment softwares like the ones from Talent Titan which assess candidates on multiple criteria, helping you choose the ones that fit the bill. 10

11. As far as the team size is concerned, here’s what the e-commerce pioneer, Jeff Bezos of Amazon states - ‘No matter how large your organization is, if you can’t feed your team with two pizzas, it’s too large. The reason is simple. There is no strength in numbers.’ More People = More Chaos Researchers state that the team’s effectiveness begins to drop if there are more than 10 people on it. People form sub-teams. Although a congenial, ‘here for the team’ face is forever present in the meetings, however things change drastically outside the meeting room. 11

12. Another research conducted by Professor Ina Toegel, IMD Business School concludes that high-performing teams shouldn’t contain more than 8 people. She insists too many people translate to having - • Reduced Productivity • Increased Challenges in Coordination • More Tension Furthermore, she concluded existing team members should have a say on the selection of their future peers. 12

13. Conclusion Real-Time Recognition Another important factor to build and scale a high performing team is to celebrate their wins, regularly. By highlighting their achievements, you foster a culture of recognition and appreciation. It not only boosts employee morale but motivates them to pursue excellence, at all times. Always remember a golden rule while giving feedback, ‘be generous with praise and sparing with criticism.’ 13

14. Continuous Learning The only constant in life is change. So, it is important to address skill gaps to stay relevant in these ever- evolving times. So, organizations are stressing on the team’s ability to regularly skill up. Though quite a lot of learning happens on the job, it is important to upgrade the team via regular training sessions. You can simplify your L&D with Talent Titan's LMS solution which transforms your training materials into personalized micro- learning modules and inspire employees with automated badges and certificates upon completion. 14

15. Embrace Feedback It is important to create a culture of continuous feedback for the growth and development of your team. A feedback-driven approach helps the team to continuously learn, adapt, and excel but can backfire if not done correctly. Feedback giving is indeed an art. Succession Planning Sustaining a high performing team is as critical as developing it. Top performers need reasons to stay and that can happen only if you facilitate their growth and development. Build a leadership pipeline by identifying the skills and competencies of your top talent who eventually would assume key positions. 15

16. These changes will help you lay the foundation of a happy and high-performing team and technology can help you achieve it. Put together a team that will work and grow together with solutions from Talent Titan Learn how! Shoot an email to us at sales@talenttitan.com 15