Companies committed to thriving increasingly realize that following policies, systems and structures first designed in the 19th and 20th centuries for different economies aren’t going to allow them to adapt to the speed of business in the 21st century.

As companies restructure around a Team-of-Teams approach to provide greater effectiveness in a world where response time is essential, we get asked about how to actually build higher-performing teams, especially when some workers are on-site, remote and/or hybrid. We thought we’d share some insights now on three of the many issues that we will discuss in future blogs.*

The Challenge of Building High-Performing Teams 

High Performing teams are often perceived as having extraordinary talents and capabilities. But when you think of teams like the Yankees, who spent the most money to buy talented individuals – only to fail to become World Champions – we know that the individual composition is NOT the key factor. The key factors are their ability to collaborate effectively and harness the diverse talents within the team. In other words, the team makes the talent. It’s their “collective intelligence” that’s foundational: the shared ability to grasp the team’s expertise, assigned tasks, personality differences, work preferences, strengths and weaknesses. For the leaders this comes down to two key attributes: clarity and empathy.

The Need for Hyper-clarity in Communications. Given the need for accuracy and precisions in actions, while working under demanding time schedules, means each member understands what is expected of her/him and teammates. When they do, they are more engaged, productive and more collaborative. It also allows individuals to operate within their sweet spot of capabilities, avoiding boredom or feeling overwhelmed.  How is this best done? Regular Huddles. These sync-up sessions let members answer questions like: “What did I just complete? What am I focused on next?” What’s blocking my progress? What help do I need?”. This promotes transparency, accountability, relates each’s actions to the overall strategy, identifies challenges that arise, and identifies slackers without micromanagers.

The Importance of Empathy. We need to go beyond our own concerns to also take into account everyone else’s understanding of perspectives, strengths, weaknesses, work preferences and factors that affect each members’ behaviors. It leads to reduced conflicts and enhanced collaboration. Together these attributes develop a sense of unity and shared purpose.  How are the teams in each division/ department doing. What are you doing, as a leader, to help those whose performance is being challenged? 

In sum, don’t react; respond. Step back and gain perspective: how are each of these issues affecting team performance? How is it affecting the collective “team of teams? The time to start addressing these issues is when you’re changing over to the “team-of-teams” structure, since each step becomes a building block for the future.

* What changes are you finding that might affect high-performance in the 21st century? Share them with us, so we can address them in future blogs. We’re working with the Project Thrive team at AgeBrilliantly.org which is helping companies forge thriving businesses going forward. Share your responses with ProjectThrive@AgeBrilliantly.org.