Building high-performance teams: The role of trust and collaboration

Every business leader wants their company to be successful. And a winning idea or stellar products and services can really set an organisation apart from the rest. But if you're not also looking at the quality of the teams within your company, you're ignoring a key ingredient to business success.

In this article, I want to talk about high-performance teams. A high-performance team not only excels in achieving its goals but also contributes significantly to the overall success of an organisation. Want to learn how? Then read on.

The foundations of high-performance teams

Maybe you've heard of high-performance cars, but what makes a team "high-performance"? Well, it's all about how team members work together and the types of results they achieve. In a high-performance team, each member has a clear understanding of the role they play, as well as the goals they're working toward. Results drive these teams, as do key traits such as flexibility, positivity and a desire to collaborate.

Cultivating trust

For high-performance teams' collaboration to be effective, there must be trust — the cornerstone of any successful team. Consider the following as you help your teams achieve "high-performance" status:

• Transparency: As your team's leader, you play an essential role in setting the tone. Regularly share information about company goals, how each team member helps to achieve these goals, necessary adjustments and status updates. When you're open with your team, you avoid any potential confusion and strengthen your team's unity.
• Reliability: If collaboration is key, so too is the understanding that every team member will carry their weight. Ensure team members can depend on each other to perform tasks effectively and on time.
• Vulnerability: Good collaboration makes room for workers who have questions and concerns. Yes, you're ideally working with high-performers, but making room in schedules for regular team meetings or one-to-ones will ensure you're creating a psychologically safe environment for all.

Fostering effective collaboration

You know what another benefit of meeting with your team or individual members regularly is? You get to know each team member's strengths, from strong organisational skills to the ability to communicate clearly. Consider the following approaches within your teams:

• Understand and leverage diverse strengths: When you know who's good at what, you can better assign important tasks to the right workers. This not only boosts your teams' capabilities but also increases individual engagement and satisfaction.
• Promote shared goals: Remember to keep your goals top of mind. From weekly team meetings and one-on-ones to daily emails or a rolling team newsletter, there are many opportunities for reminders.
• Encourage mutual support: Lending a hand to a worker in need shouldn't just be something the boss does. Make sure your teams know it's OK for them to help one another with everyday tasks. And encourage them to shout each other out when they do so and maybe others will join in.

Measuring team performance

Finally, to make sure your teams continue to operate at a high level, you need to keep an eye on any areas for improvement. You can achieve this through the following approaches:

• Create a team culture of continuous feedback: Nobody likes to have a stern talk with their manager. So don't save up all the bad stuff for a major meeting — provide continuous feedback so minor issues don't balloon into significant problems. You can achieve this via quick emails featuring feedback or 15-minute touch bases during the workday.
• Performance measurement reviews: You decide whether these are on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, but the goal is sitting down with a team member and running through their strengths, weaknesses and strategies for improvement.

Build high-performance teams with help from ICML

Building a high-performance team is an ongoing process that requires dedicated effort in fostering trust and collaboration. But for even more helpful insight, turn to ICML. Explore our Developing High Performance Teams course for more comprehensive strategies and tools.