Team building magic, part 2

Drake Editorial Team

This is part 2 of a 5 part article courtesy of Drake International. 

The Secret Behind High Performing Teams

The Rare and Coveted "High Performing Team"

A high performing team is a team that performs at an elite level, achieving extraordinary results, time and again. Team building is not seen as a separate activity but is integrated into every action, interaction and communication.

High Performing Team:

• Has a clear and unifying goal for which each team member has passion
• Each member of the team is doing what they love to do - leveraging their gifts and talents
• Is solution focused—always asking the question, “How can we?”
• Consistently achieves extraordinary results • Positive, exciting, engaging team culture that supports the free flow of ideas and creativity
• Team members regularly acknowledge each other’s contributions and also deliver honest, timely feedback in the spirit of continuous improvement
• Team members make the effort to get to know each other very well
• Demonstrate high levels of trust in each other

Under-Performing Team:

• Team goal is unclear so individual goals become paramount (e.g. getting a promotion)
• Work is not enjoyable; it becomes a boring, necessary evil
• Problem focused; always looking for what will go wrong and all the reasons for “why we can’t”
• Business results are mediocre at best and often go unmeasured
• Negative, blame-based culture that stifles new ideas due to the fear of “looking bad”
• Team members regularly engage in “closed door sessions” and complaining around the water cooler about the work and each other
• Team members stay distant, choosing not to get to know each other outside of roles/functions
• Demonstrate low levels of trust in the motivations and intentions of other team members