According to Denning (2011) high-performance teams are comprised of the following elements:
- High-performance teams actively shape the expectations of those who use their output - and then exceed the resulting expectations.
- High-performance teams rapidly adjust their performance to the shifting needs of the situation. They innovate on the fly, seizing opportunities and turning setbacks into good fortune.
- High-performance teams grow steadily stronger. Over time, members come to know one another's strengths and weaknesses and become highly skilled in coordinating their activities, anticipating each other's next move, and initiating appropriate responses as those moves are occurring.
- The members of a high-performance team grow individually. Mutual concern for each other's personal growth enables high-performance teams to develop interchangeable skills and hence greater flexibility.
- Fueled by interpersonal commitments, the purposes of high-performance team become nobler, team performance goals more urgent, and team approach more powerful.
- High-performance teams carry out their work with shared passion. The notion that “if one of us fails, we will fail” pervades the team.
I have been part of a handful of teams throughout my career. However, I would only consider one of those teams a high-performing team. I say this because I can identify with the aforementioned elements through my experiences with this team. It is possible we may have been considered a large team by average team standards, but compared to other US Air Force squadrons we were very small. The uniqueness of our mission brought us together and created a shared passion of working together to accomplish this mission. The team relied heavily on one another because each of us had our own skillset which helped team members feel a sense of purpose. A sense that each team member was vital to the operation just as a machine needs every part to work perfectly.
Shared values can make a good team great or elevate a great team to a high-performing team. Teams who lack shared values can work together and complete their tasks, but they will just not reap the rewards of full-fledged collaboration. Nobody loves to work with others who do not share the same values. It makes working together uncomfortable, unnatural, and possibly difficult. However, a high-performance team is created through shared values of collaboration and operational values. For example, our team lived our organization’s values of integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. Knowing and living these values put everyone on the same page and avoided any confusion concerning our team identity. Despite a high-pressure environment, we enjoyed working together and continued to perform at a high level for an extended time. On numerous occasions we had to rapidly adjust our performance to the shifting needs of the situation and innovate on the fly, seizing opportunities and turning setbacks into good fortune.
The four patterns of working together are within a work group, a team, a community and a network. These patterns are similar in a way they are all comprised of people working together, yet they are different in how they work together. For example, a work group may receive a team label, yet there are members working independently of each other. This is not a true team since tasks can be completed successfully without collaboration. Conversely, a genuine team requires a high degree of collaboration and interaction among members. A community according to Denning (2011) is “groupings of people who don’t live or work in the same place but who share common interests, practices, and values” (p. 152). A network is a “collection of people who maintain contact with each other because of a mutually perceived benefit of staying in touch for purposes that may or may not be explicit” (Denning, 2011, p. 152).
I currently perform in a work group environment. I initially considered it a team environment until I read the distinctions Denning provided. Regardless of the correct label, my experience in this work group has been incredible. I am able to work independently and yet still communicate with the rest of the group. This communication is essential because we work with each other to come to a consensus on complex and unique problems. On the other hand, I was part of a work group in my previous organization and it was a completely opposite experience. Everyone only cared about themselves and were reluctant to help each other out. These attitudes made working together extremely difficult and counterproductive. The only thing I think I could have done differently was confront these individuals about not being a team player and how it essentially affected the organization. Maybe I should not have assumed communicating my perception of their performance would have fallen on deaf ears. Even better, maybe they would have listened and worked to change for the better of a more collaborative team effort.
Denning, S. (2011). The leader’s guide to storytelling: Mastering the art and discipline of business narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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