When we think about high-performance teams we often synchronize this phrase with agile, scrum, SAFe, and/or business agility. The truth is; these are frameworks to form a pathway to get sh*t done, implementing them alone won’t make your team high performant. Leadership has a HUGE impact for a team wanting to show up every day and get things done for the better of them the individual, the team, the organisation and its customers.
What do we measure when we consider a teams
performance?
Often, we think about high performance as consistently delivering above-average KPI’s most likely in comparison to likened teams across an organisation. An example, what often see being measured are:
- Stories completed in a sprint vs. planned work
- Overcommitment
- Context switching
- Unplanned work entering a sprint
Quantitative data is one aspect to consider & measure, it’s the easy part and often it’s what senior leadership will care about. However, these KPI’s are difficult (if not impossible) to maintain if the team & it’s leadership do not master their soft skills.
The qualitative measures are therefore what builds support, trust, and morale in the team. Great Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Program/Project Managers, Managers, Heads of will know this and is what team leadership should place a focus on to build sustainable high performance over time.
The challenge with qualitative measurement is that it is generally objective, so senior leadership is unlikely to lean on it as they will with system-generated data. However, it is useful in that it can offer useful insights that is connected to the quantitative data. As an example, at The Agility Concept, we will measure business agility behavioural traits that are aligned to individual & team (inc. Leadership):
- Empowerment
- Accountability
- Team support/One team
- Collaboration
- Pragmatic governance
What about individual high performance?
For us, individual high performance starts with understanding an individual’s why.
What gets them out of bed every day and keeps them hungry to deliver? What are their goals? and Is it for themselves? Their family? Their team? Maybe it’s a mix of all and more.
The point is, everyone has their why and Leaders need to understand these aspects behind individuals in their teams so they can enable them to be their best & keep showing up every day. Do not underestimate the impact a regular, meaningful conversation can have on individuals in your team/s. Understanding their strengths & weaknesses, goals, collaboration limitations, and giving recognition are extremely powerful conversations that will strengthen your relationship and have individuals working tighter, more supportive & collaborative unit.
When the team supports itself, it is accountable to itself ie. No individual wants to let the team down. That behaviour and mindset is extremely powerful and is the foundation for driving high-performance teams, anywhere.
Final thoughts…
High performance in teams is not just about how much work teams get through. It’s actually not about that at all. The focus for leaders should be on:
- How well the team supports each other in solving the problems they face together
- How fast the team responds to change; and
- The quality of the work that is produced
Enabling the core business agility behaviours and mindset will set the team on the right path.
Leaders need to be willing to accept there will be bumps along the way but if the team loves working together & are aligned on their goals, they will get there. As the old saying goes “Look after the cents, and the dollars will look after themselves”. The same can be said for high performance – enable the team and the performance will look after itself.
Nick Wallis
Nick is a Co-Founder, Director, & Principal Consultant with The Agility Concept and has 15+ years experience in project delivery and transformation & change across a variety of industries including Banking, Mining, & Government. Nick is also a certified SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) and has advised & coached leaders from some of Australia’s most well known organisations in value stream management, operating models, lean portfolio management. agile ways of working, scrum, offering game changing program & project delivery insights.
