My People Are Great But My Team Doesn’t Gel

“I have great people in my business, but when working as a team they just don’t gel.”

 

Does this ring a bell with you?

Humans are complex individuals, but put humans together in a team, and complexity goes through the roof! So how do you ensure your teams deliver high performance and foster workplace collaboration?

A Champion Team Beats a Team of Champions

This adage, often used in sports, holds true in the business world as well. Professor David Clutterbuck, a renowned expert in team dynamics, defines a team as a “special form of group, where shared purpose and interdependencies replace common purpose and individual activity.” In essence, a team is more than just a collection of individuals; it’s a cohesive unit with a shared goal and a commitment to collective success.

By understanding these key characteristics, we can better appreciate the power of high-performing teams and the importance of fostering a collaborative and supportive environment.

 

The Three-Pronged Approach to Developing Top Teams

We live in an innovation-driven world, where building high-performing teams is more crucial than ever. To foster innovation and drive success, consider this tried-and-tested team-building strategy:

1. Hire the Right People

Recruiting the right talent is the foundation of a high-performing team. To ensure a successful hire for your team, it’s critical to:

• Benchmark Success: The first step is truly understanding what drives top performance in your business. Leverage the science of psychometric assessments to identify these attributes. This not only highlights development areas for existing team members but also creates a benchmark against which you can measure new team members.
• Clarify Roles: Develop detailed job descriptions that outline the key responsibilities, skills, and experience required for each position.
• Screen Effectively: Use a combination of screening techniques, such as resume screening, phone interviews, and video interviews, to identify qualified candidates.
• Assess Fit: Consider a candidate’s fit with the manager, the team, and organizational values through tailored assessments.

2. Onboard & Develop

The journey doesn’t end once the successful candidate signs the employment contract. To foster growth and employee engagement:

• Onboard Effectively: Provide tools to help your manager onboard new employees and set them up for their first development plan.
• Mentor and Support: Assign experienced mentors to guide new employees and foster workplace collaboration.
• Invest in Training: Offer employee development programs to help staff acquire new skills.
• Career Pathing: Create clear career paths to help employees see their long-term potential within the organization

3. Create a Coaching Culture

Tony Robbins once said, “The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of coaching.”

To give this gift:

• Lead by Example: Model coaching behaviors, such as active listening, empathy, and constructive feedback.
• Provide Coaching Training: Equip managers with the skills to act as effective coaches.
• Foster Open Communication: Build a culture of honest dialogue where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.
• Recognize and Reward: Celebrate employee successes and provide regular recognition to boost employee engagement.

Invest in Your People

By focusing on these three key areas, you can build high-performance teams that drive results. Your people are your most valuable asset. Invest in them, and they will reward you with outstanding performance.

At GPI, we help organizations attract, develop, and retain top talent. Our programs increase team engagement and collaboration by more than 75%. See our testimonials here and book a call with me here to get started.

 

#TeamBuilding #HighPerformanceTeams #EmployeeEngagement #CoachingCulture