The Design, Development, and Support of High Performance Teams

from The Hunter and the Hunted, James B. Swartz

When you study companies that have bee very successful in the development of teams and compare them to companies that have floundered, you will find that the successful companies share four characteristics:

• Missioning and Contracting
• Structure
• Leadership
• Team Development

Missioning and Contracting

First and foremost the team must have measurable goals that are relevant to the strategy of the business. For example, in Motorola's case the teams were assigned goals such as reducing cycle times, reducing defects, and reducing costs – goals that are a subset of Motorola's overall mission.

There should be a clear understanding of the responsibilities and authority (what the team will do and what they won't do) on the part of management and the team.

Structure

The elements of structure are process, organization, and technology.

• Organization: team members should be located as close together as possible, considering the situation. They should have a clear reporting relationship with the business.
• Process: The team would be provided with training in decision making and problem solving.
• Technology: they should have the best tools available for the job.

Task Leadership

Good team leadership requires a broad range of leadership capabilities, including the ability to both direct and facilitate activities. The most effective leaders focus the team on the mission, while at the same time developing the team's ability to manage itself.

Team Development

Teams do not start as the self-managed level regardless of the experience of the members. Their development can be compared to the processes of parenting. In the early stages both teams and children need structure and direction. As they mature (Hersey and Blanchard define maturity as a combination of willingness and ability, or “will” and “skill”), teams can manage first to be able to assess maturity level. Depending on the maturity of the team, the flexible leader us able to provide direction and coaching in early stages of team development and provide participative and facilitative leadership in the later stages. The effective leader empowers a team in proportion to its maturity.

Motorola has defined development levels that establish the level of empowerment a team should heave as iot graduates through tje stages of development

- Julie Thrope

Source: Herding Cats