The 4 Areas that Make or Break Team Performance
When each member of a team is equipped in their role to execute successfully while in alignment with their teammates, the team will meet its overall goal. But before a team can execute on key initiatives, they must first be setup for success. The team structure and organizational systems you establish are so important because they provide a support network for the team to achieve its desired outcomes with both efficiency and effectiveness. In this article, we’ll discuss the power of teamwork and the four key areas of team performance: team strategy, execution, goal setting and results.
4 Key Areas of Team Performance
Team Strategy. Bridges Business Consultancy noted that 48% of organizations fail to achieve half of their strategic goals—which is a major problem. Often leaders are running so hard they don’t take the time needed to assess and adjust their strategy to meet the goal they’re pushing their team to meet. As a leader, if you carve out time in your calendar to review your goals and the progress made toward them, you’ll be better positioned to tweak your strategy and lead your team to success. Don’t forsake strategic-planning and expect your team to hit their goals. Use strategy as a map for your team to follow—and if you get lost or stuck, then readjust the plan.
Execution. Is each member of your team in a role that not only taps into their strengths but also provides them opportunities for growth? The right amount of challenge increases engagement but too much can lead to discouragement and hurt productivity. So check-in with your teammates. If you’re fostering a culture where feedback and authenticity is welcomed, then they’ll likely be honest with you if an aspect of their workload is challenging in a way that is detrimental to the team’s performance. And that’s the gift of collaborative teamwork, work can be shifted and new skills can be developed. Create an environment where respect is established, feedback is viewed as positive and one person’s success is success for the entire team—and you’ll see a team of people who has one another’s back and together delivers results—likely even surpassing their goal.
Goal setting. We have a proven (and free) tool for you to help set goals within your team. Our Focus Plan is a simple, one-page document that will help your team identify their goals, disciplines and projects. When you put goals in writing and give them a due date, it’s hard not to feel accountable to the progress steps needed to reach that overall goal on time. You can use this tool in 30-day, 60-day or 90-day increments—whatever works best for your team. By clarifying your goals and identifying a central theme, you can create what we call a “rallying cry” to cheer your team on collectively toward its goals.
Results & Metrics. Make sure your team knows the key performance indicators (KPIs) that you’ll be using to measure progress and success throughout a team project. As the leader, it’s hugely important for you to communicate these expectations up front—especially since research reveals that 97% of both employees and employers believe lack of team alignment affects the overall success of a team project. Your team not only needs to be aligned around a goal but also how to recognize when they’ve hit it. Provide your individual team members with updates during their one-on-ones and then keep the team informed as to overall progress during team meetings. This sort of communication will foster ownership, increase collaboration and encourage teamwork.
If you establish the needed systems and structure to support your team’s ability to consistently achieve its desired outcomes both effectively and efficiently, your team will exceed expectations and grow in the process. To learn more about how to align and equip your team to best position them to deliver results, check out our coaching journeys. Our Elevate Your Team Leadership coaching program will dive deep into the area of team performance along with the three other equally important and key areas of team leadership.
