Leading High Performance Teams Tactics You Should Practice

By Stephanie Miller


The ability to bring a group of people together and have them exist cohesively while allowing each to bring their unique personality and outlook to the table takes special skills. Too often things will get heated and words will be exchanged. As the head of the team, one will experience moments of doubt. They will wonder if their ways are right for the good of the group. There are many moving parts. An arsenal of leading high performance teams tactics should be developed.

The first thing to remember is to be a coach and not the expert. It is possible that one is the leader due to their extensive experience and wealth of knowledge but they should not be a know it all and ban input of others. On should allow themselves to be challenged. This is not to say that they should play down their abilities. They should ensure their credentials right and record of accomplishment straight. This will inspire confidence in the stewardship.

Imagine waking up every morning with enthusiasm for work. Energy and excitement to get to work with your team again. Now imagine the alternative where the group head literally has to call multiple times before one gets out of bed. The office is dull and the group does not get along very well off work. It is the responsibility of the leader to have the first scenario and not the second. Inspire self-motivation and excitement to work on the common vision.

A group of people where everyone is being honest about their true self will not always be in complete agreement about things. The key to keeping disagreements from turning sour and remaining constructive is to ban personal attacks. To be hard on the problem but respectful of the person. Ensure the members trust each other and value each opinion regardless of who has it.

Large groups can be very difficult to handle. Here are just too many minds and opinions to consider. Keep the group small. Do not make the experts a part of this but only keep them on a consultative basis. Make the group as diverse as possible to ensure a full dimensional approach to problems.

The first meeting should be dedicated to developing a roadmap for operation. What are the ground rules? What are the responsibilities of the members? What will be expected of each of them including the leader? What is the goal and mission of your team? These should be defined in detail. The charter should be developed by the team as a whole with full participation from everyone.

Meeting management is an essential skill. In many cases, some people will dominate the meetings. They do not mean to, their personalities just lead them to talk over others. Ensure full participation of everyone. For example, introduce speed storming. This is a situation where members pair up and try to develop an idea for a problem together. After a few minutes, the partners change up and do the same. Once everyone has interacted with everyone, the ideas can then be presented to the whole group and the floor is left open for discussion.

Sharing the high points and achievements is well and good. However, studies have shown that sharing failures and embarrassments is better for idea development. Laying out vulnerabilities is better for group dynamics.




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