Boosting Team Alignment And Performance

Aligning a team for high performance requires going beyond holding social events and setting roles and expectations. While these can assist, they are insufficient. An appropriate team structure, a dedication to exploring team strengths and limitations and a commitment to objective analysis set the stage for outstanding accomplishment.

The following steps ensure a comprehensive exploration of opportunities and risk and decrease potential confrontations. While this may sound like a daunting task, it flows smoothly and usually takes just two hours. To kick-off this process the team leader reminds members that there is always room for improvement and if all team members commit to new practices, processes and actions team satisfaction and results improve.

Building commitment using four steps

The first step is to ask individual team members to evaluate 12 team practices on a seven point scale. A rating of one is defined as reflecting no evidence of the factor at all, a two or three score denoting modest or some evidence of the factor, a four reflecting an average or typical level, a five to six signifying a good score and a seven as an outstanding level of accomplishment.   

Make sure to provide short definitions of the factors to ensure that the same frame of reference is applied.  Explain the factors and definitions are objective rather than personal. Team dysfunction often stems from personal assumptions such as one member is operating from a personal agenda or a member discomfort based on another's heritage, age, gender or other demographic factor. To overcome potential problems target observable and measureable aspects.

• Step 1 - Evaluate team performance
  
  Ask individual to evaluate current team performance using the following factors:
  
  
  • Clear purpose illustrated by everyone understanding the goals, resources and timetables
  • Role clarity demonstrated by all members knowing how they and others are expected to contribute and the level of autonomy granted to meet those expectations
  • Communication defined by timeliness, completeness, clarity and flow
  • Trust and respect demonstrated by openness, esteem and collaboration
  • Results orientation illustrated by goal accomplishment and organisational impact
  • Decision-making and problem-solving defined by appropriate exploration of alternatives and risks, plus a clear process for data collection and evaluation
  • Leadership practices evidenced by clear planning, inclusion, direction and motivation
  • Use of resources and expertise demonstrated by tapping member talents and knowledge plus the appropriate use of non-member expertise
  • Interest and commitment measured by sustained commitment to team goals and continuing cooperation
  • Creativity and innovation evidenced by assumption testing, support for out-of-the-box thinking and time allocated to generating alternatives
  • Skill development illustrated by an interest in member growth, constructive analysis of missteps and feedback, and;
  • Evaluation and measurement verified by milestone monitoring, clear metrics, mid-course plan adjustments to achieve and team performance reviews at key junctures
• Step 2 - Identify highest and lowest scores
  
  The second step asks each member to identify the three highest and lowest scores with the understanding that a score of four might be the lowest of all the rankings given, or the highest. This process balances those with consistently high or low rankings. Next, each member personally records an example or evidence of what they considered in deciding their score. These examples are used in Step 4 as the team examines new practices and processes.
• Step 3 - Identify highest and lowest overall factors
  
  After individuals have completed the first two steps, the third step identifies which factors overall were highest and lowest. Each member is asked to record the three highest and lowest factors on two separate sheets titled highest factors and lowest factors. Once the lists have been complied, the team discusses examples of the highest ratings, creating a sense of goodwill. If the team is open and cohesive, members can elect to share examples of the lowest factors. Of course, the findings vary substantially. However, overall the three lowest factors tend to be: decision-making and problem-solving, use of resources and expertise, and evaluation and measurement. The highest factors typically are clear purpose, role clarity and results orientation. 
• Step 4 - Develop an action plan
  
  After the scores are shared and discussed, team members are asked to identify:
  
  
  • What actions the team can take to improve team effectiveness
  • What actions the leader can take to improve team performance and;
  • What are the key next action steps to move the team forward
  
  One caution - the action steps must be agreed upon by all members. It is particularly important for those assigned with implementing the action get on board. Any plan or agreement is doomed if the team assigns an action and timetable to a member who cannot, or will not, fulfill it.   

While most teams are able to identify actions to improve factors such as the use of resources and expertise, they are also able to implement evaluation and measurement once it has been brought to their attention that it is a critical success factor. 

Often the most challenging area for change centres on ways to improve decision-making and problem-solving. The first problem appears when the team does not distinguish between routine issues and complex or system wide issues. Fast responses are fine for everyday situations. However, when confronting new challenges or novel circumstances an in-depth analysis is essential. Faced with unprecedented situations, we must recognise that our filters screen out critical new information. There is tendency to target either external realities or internal circumstances, since we want to keep things simple and manageable. Rarely is a truly comprehensive analysis undertaken. Weak analysis can also stem from team members talking past each other or just repeating their position over and over again.

The use of a six mindset decision checklist is encouraged to avoid overlooking key aspects and getting stuck with limited options. The checklist avoids blind-spots and improves decision quality. An hour invested in identifying the decision-making process improves cohesiveness and concretes outcomes.

Teams promise outstanding results. Yet, we all know that teams frequently fail. Group-think, risk aversion and slow decision-making side-track many teams. To avoid potential team dysfunction, create common goals, practices and plans through engagement and analytical investigation. Aligned teams achieve, meet and exceed expectations.