High-performance teams need to be nurtured and developed.
Earlier in this module, we described what high-performing teams are like, and a high-performance environment fosters this. Business leaders need to consider what they can do to build and maintain a high-performance environment for their employees.
There are three simple ways to create a high-performance environment:
1. Create a culture where company goals and values are clearly understood and continuously communicated.
Employees want to know: What are the goals of the business? What does my business expect of me as an employee? How does my job contribute to the success of the company? Does the management team lead by example? Does my business “walk the talk?” Communication is the key; up, down and across the business.
In earlier exercises, we have defined these, so you simply need to communicate these to your team.
2. Employees understand their performance expectations and are supported by the business to enable them to become successful.
Employees want to know for what they will be held accountable for, how they will be measured, and that they have the tools, resources and information available to get the job done.
Managers who recognise the strengths of each employee and allows employees to maximize their strengths by the types of activities or projects they are encouraged to do, create an environment that will keep employees engaged and satisfied.
In earlier sections, we looked at defining team roles and responsibilities. So consider how these are communicated and how you will support your team to be successful, for example, by providing training.
3. Management provides feedback on a regular basis. No employee is going to do everything perfectly all the time.
A good manager will monitor and coach employees regularly to not only address and correct issues that arise, but also to give positive, specific, and relevant feedback on how they are doing the job.
