Team Transitions

Abstract

One of the benchmarks of a leader’s performance is the effective functioning and outputs of their teams. And yet, the knowledge, skills and practices required for developing high performing teams can be frequently underestimated and often overlooked.

Developing and sustaining the performance of teams is not as simple as recruiting individual members and calling them a team. A common belief held in today’s organisations is that time will be the facilitator of effective team performance. The underpinning principle is that the longer people are together the more they will learn to evolve into becoming a high performing team. Unfortunately, this principle is not that straightforward in practice, one of the best worse-case scenarios from this principle is creating teams consisting of individual contributors with their own personal agendas and goals. Alternatively, in the worst-case scenarios, the unintended outcomes can be the formation of dysfunctional low performing teams. The effective functioning of teams can have significant impacts on operational performance and bottom-line outcomes in commercial organisations.

This chapter reveals the core leadership practices that contribute to creating, facilitating and supporting the development of productive high performing teams. Practical approaches that are derived from 15 years of research into the practices of high and low performing teams, across a range of different industries.