According to Forbes.com, there are five factors which describe the behaviors of leaders who are proficient at building high performance teams:
- Team Leaders Inspire More Than They Drive – Leaders in high-performance teams know how to create energy and enthusiasm in the team. Team members feel inspired, that they are on a mission, and that what they are doing is of great importance.
- Team Leaders Resolve Conflicts And Increase Cooperation – Conflicts can tear teams apart and leaders need to work to help resolve differences quickly and promote cooperation. When people believe that they are trusted and others have their back, disputes can be resolved.
- Team Leaders Set Stretch Goals – Leaders who know how to set stretch goals create an internal drive in the team to accomplish the impossible. When they accomplish something that is extraordinary they recognize that they personally are capable and competent.
- Team Leaders Communicate a Vision And Direction – High-performance team leaders stay on message; they constantly communicate and keep people focused on the vision and mission to accomplish.
- Team Leaders Are Trusted – If a team leader is not trusted, they can’t be inspiring or trusted to resolve conflicts, get the team to embrace stretch goals or believe their communications. The lack of trust slows down everything.
A leader who is fully committed to these five high performance behaviors will generate an equal level of commitment from their team members. Just as indifference or lack of engagement inhibits a leader’s performance, the same will manifest in your team.
Benefits of High Performance Leadership Behaviors
- Leaders who inspire create an environment where team members enjoy coming to work. Their teams are engaged and energetic. Team members feel valued and respected for their efforts, while also being supportive of others. For them, work is fun and productive and they look forward to returning each day.
- Often, team leaders assume that mature people will resolve conflicts on their own yet, personal experience shows this to be fairly unusual. In high-performance teams, differences are addressed quickly and directly. This requires a level of maturity in team members and the ability of the leaders to create a culture where differences and diversity are respected. Team leaders who focus on cooperation over competition achieve outstanding results.
- People don’t really want to come to work and do something that any other team could accomplish; they want to do something remarkable. Doing something out of the ordinary helps people recognize that they are exceptional, leading them to experience satisfaction with work, while engagement and pride in a job well done increase.
- Anyone can lose focus and make a mistake. Distractions are pervasive and sometimes team members get diverted from their mission. Leaders who are dedicated to building high performance teams keep people informed, up-to-date, and on track. They also provide a bigger perspective and context for the work their team is doing.
- There are three basic pillars that build trust in a team:
- The first pillar of trust is secure behaviors in relationships. Alignment of intentions, words and actions, positive regard for others, ability to provide support in difficult moments, emotional authenticity, ability to form a connection with the other person are among the behaviors that contribute to the relationships that form long-term trust.
- The second pillar of trust is knowledge or expertise. We trust people that have the right answer or can provide insight. We trust people when they can help solve problems. Use your knowledge and skills to help others solve a problem and it will increase trust.
- The third pillar of trust is consistency. When you say you will do something and you do it, people trust you. Being consistent and walking your talk makes you a person that can be trusted.
A well-integrated, high performing team will never lose sight of their goals and will be largely self-sustaining. In fact, such a team will seem to take on a life of their own. Building high performance teams all comes down to leadership.
If you would you like to find the help you need to develop your team building skills, through the enhanced use of emotional intelligence in the workplace and development of your EQ, my Free Leadership Webinar may be exactly what you need.
