Team Behaviours for High Performance

More and more organisations require their employees, contractors and suppliers to work in a highly collaborative way to ensure high levels of performance.

This team building guide provides behavioural insights into high performing teams. As a result, it will help team members review their current success in demonstrating these team behaviours. In addition, it will also identify the steps to take to achieve optimum performance.

In some organisations, you will find a competency or set of behaviours that describe what effective team work looks like. If you do not have these, then the following set of core team behaviours for high performance may be of help:

1. Utilises own strengths and values the strengths of other team members:

• Communicates own strengths within team
• Takes on specific team responsibility for tasks that utilise own strengths
• Coaches other team members on tasks requiring a strengthening of this skill
• Ensures own contribution to the team consistently adds value to the team and the business
• Recognises other’s contributions and praises effective performance
• Encourages team members to share their expertise
• Draws upon team member’s strengths and seeks to utilise these to improve team performance

2. Demonstrates implicit trust of each team member and affinity to the team:

• Takes team members’ recommendation on board in their area of specialism or strength
•  Allows team members to achieve their goals and avoids duplication of effort
  
• Honours commitments made to team members

3. Fosters a highly positive approach to achieving team morale:

• Makes positive contributions to team discussions that help the team move forward in achieving their goal
• Supports and encourages team members to maintain a high level of motivation and team morale
• Asks team members about their well-being

4. Communicates with transparency:

• Is open, honest and transparent with both verbal and written communication
  
• Actively listens, respects and is non-judgemental about colleagues’ views, opinions, concerns and contributions.
• Builds on colleagues’ ideas to achieve team goals
• Is sensitive to messages/signals from others and makes personal changes where appropriate

5. Actively seeks to resolve conflict:

• Depersonalises any conflict or different viewpoints within the team
• Uses a “joint problem-solving” approach to resolve any conflict, and where appropriate achieves a win/win outcome
• Constructively challenges the “status quo” to ensure the team achieve the best outcome

6. Supports team members:

• Communicates with colleagues regularly to update, inform and share information
• Recognises where a team member is struggling or not achieving their target
• Seeks out how best to help the colleague who needs help
• Shares knowledge and resources that can help another team member achieve their target
• Takes ownership of a task another colleague may be struggling with
• Gives constructive feedback to team members to help enhance their performance

7. Respects team decisions:

• Raises any questions or present alternative options to the recommendation in a considered and sensitive manner
• Once collective team decision taken, implements agreed actions to achieve team goal
• Endorses team decision when communicating outside of the team to maintain team cohesion

Next Steps…

In summary, what are your options from here?

8. Ask yourself:

• What have I specifically done over the past six to twelve months that demonstrates each of the core team behaviours?:
  • Utilises own strengths and values the strengths of other team members
  • Demonstrates an implicit trust of each team member and affinity to the team
  • Fosters a highly positive approach to achieving team morale
  • Communicates with transparency
  • Actively seeks to resolve conflict
  • Supports team members
  • Respects team decisions
• How would I rate my own performance against these core team behaviours?
• In addition, how would others in the team rate my performance against these core team behaviours?
• What am I doing really well that enhances the team’s performance?
• Also, could I do anything differently that would enhance the team’s performance?
• What tools, support or resources do I need to make this happen in the future?

9. Get some feedback:

• When reviewing your own performance, it can be really enlightening to get some constructive feedback from team members, as long as you clearly communicate your purpose and the importance you attach to receiving this feedback.
• You could use the list of core team behaviours above as a structure for receiving feedback on your team behaviours.

10. Read our high performing team characteristics guide

Read characteristics of a high performing team to consider what could be done to enhance the overall team behaviours and ultimate high performance.

About the Author

Kim Larkins, MCIPD is Company Founder of KSL Training. Kim has 30 years training and HR management experience in the Retail, Hospitality and Pharmaceutical industry.