High Performing Teams (HPT)

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==Information==
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This wiki article is a spin off from an earlier article, as we had the option to revise an old article and make changes. The wiki article on High performing teams is therefor a revised article from the DTU Wiki page. The parts that has not been edited are marked in ''Italics'' (regarding paragraphs, not quots or words) . It is also worth mentioning that some parts could seem similar that is not in ''italic'', but has been rephrased. This is not a big part of the article though.
  
 
==Abstract==
 
==Abstract==
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High-performing teams are critical to the success of organizations in today's fast-paced and competitive business environment. They are characterized by high levels of collaboration, clear and shared goals, effective communication, and a positive and supportive culture (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). Research has shown that high-performing teams lead to improved employee engagement, increased productivity and efficiency, and higher levels of innovation (Hackman, 2002). To build a high-performing team, it is important to focus on creating an environment that supports collaboration and encourages open and honest communication. This can be achieved through a variety of techniques, including regular team-building activities, clear goal setting, and a strong emphasis on feedback and continuous improvement (Tuckman, 1965).
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High performance teams are critical to the success of organizations in today's fast-paced and competitive business environment. They are characterized by high levels of collaboration, clear and shared goals, effective communication, and a positive and supportive culture <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref>. Research has shown that high performance teams contribute to improved employee engagement, increased productivity and efficiency, and higher levels of innovation <ref>Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review, 71(2), 111-120</ref>. To build a high performance team, it is important to focus on creating an environment that supports collaboration and encourages open and honest communication. This can be achieved through a variety of techniques, including regular team-building activities, clear goal setting, and a strong emphasis on feedback and continuous improvement. This articel however, will focus on identifying the characteristics that represents high performance teams.  
  
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One of the key elements of a high-performing team is a shared vision and clear goals. Teams must understand what they are working towards and why it is important, in order to stay motivated and focused. This requires regular communication and collaboration between team members to ensure that everyone is aligned and working towards the same objectives (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). In addition, a positive and supportive team culture is essential for high performance (Lencioni, 2002). This can be achieved through a focus on mutual respect, trust, and collaboration. Teams should strive to create an environment where individuals feel valued and empowered, and where they are encouraged to share their ideas and contributions (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993).
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''Macmillan (2001)'' <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref> identifies six key characteristics that define high performance teams, all of which are essential for achieving high team performance. This article provides an explanation of each characteristic, with supporting sources to validate the claims. Moreover, this article addresses the application of high performance teams within a project management context, with a specific focus on the role of leadership. This discussion emphasize the significance of the leader's role in a high performance team <ref name="HPT">''Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014''</ref>. Additionally, this article explores potential limitations of high performance teams, particularly the hindrances outlined by ''Raman (2014)'' <ref name="HPT">''Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014''</ref>. Finally, it emphasizes that the characteristics of high performance teams cannot be used in isolation, as they only represent observations of features that distinguish high performance teams and not a direct tool for achieving high performance.
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In conclusion, high-performing teams are a crucial component of organizational success, and require a combination of clear goals, effective communication, and a supportive culture (Lencioni, 2002). By focusing on these key elements, organizations can build teams that are capable of delivering outstanding results and driving business success (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). This article will look into the characteristics of high performing teams and try to identify how project managers can incoperate the necessary information to create and produce high performing temas at the workplace.  
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==Big Idea==
 
==Big Idea==
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Nowadays, a well‑organized group plays a key role in the organization’s development process. It can be said that creating a group is an easy process because there is only few employees, who will work together professionally, are needed. However, it is not as easy as it seems to be, because such a group should meet a number of factors that will shape it.  
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[[File:Performance curve.jpg|450px|thumb|text-centre|right|Figure 1: Team performance curve based on Katzenbach and Smith,1993 <ref name="WIS" />]]
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Here i will explain them in more detail, but the factors are sortly identified under. reference for this is https://www.wydawnictwo-siz.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Trendy-w-zarz%C4%85dzaniu-przedsi%C4%99biorstwem.pdf#page=125
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[[File:Life_Cycle.jpg|450px|thumb|text-centre|right|Figure 2: Life Cycle model based on Neel Raman, 2014  <ref name="HPT"/>]]
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High performance teams are critical to the success of organizations in today's fast-paced and competitive business environment. Teamwork in general is a concept that has gained a lot of attention in the workplace in the last couple of years, and organizations are now focusing on enhancing team functionality to create high performance teams. This shift in mindset from the late 1900s, is mainly driven by the new understanding that innovation and creativity are now essential for organizations long term stability <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref> <ref name="HPT">''Building High performance Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014''</ref>. In order to understand how high performance teams work, different characteristics will be presented in the article. High performance teams are characterized by different factors, and research has shown that high performance teams was a result of improved employee engagement, increased productivity, and efficiency <ref>''The discipline of teams.''Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review, 71(2), 111-120</ref>. To build a high-performance team, it is important to focus on creating an environment that supports collaboration and encourages open and honest communication. Although there exists several point of view on how high performance of team work is best practiced, the majority of the characteristics seems similar. The article will take inspiration from the six characteristics presented by Macmillan (2001) <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref>.
  
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*Team member competencies
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There is a fundamental difference between groups and teams, and it is essential for a company to recognize the difference between them to comprehend the causes behind the success or failure. On one hand, a group is composed of individuals who work for the same company but may not work with a common agenda or collaboration. In a group, it can seem like each member is only held accountable for their own performance, and not the total output of the group. In contrast to this, a team is a gathering of individuals that has a common purpose and focuses on the output of the team. In a team, the individuals often put aside their differences to work together, and everyone is held equally accountable for the output <ref name="HPT">''Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014''</ref>. For a more detailed explanation of the differences between them the author refers the reader to external resources. 
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*Skill, process, tools and techniques
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*communication
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*value system
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*shared vision, purpose, goal direction
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*organizational value
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The literature provides numerous methods for defining the essential features of High-Performance Teams. It is important to highlight some of these approaches and acknowledge that there are many more available. Research should not be confined to a single approach when creating such teams because there is no universal formula or perspective that is uniquely appropriate and efficient. High-performance teams exhibit varying characteristics depending on the people and the environments in which they function, so it is crucial to consider multiple approaches.
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“A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable" <ref name="WIS"> ''The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization'', Katzenbach, Jon R.; Smith, Douglas K., Harvard Business School Press, 1993</ref>. To illustrate where high performance teams difference from other types of teams, Katzenbach & Smith developed the “Team performance curve” which illustrates different stages of teams. The figure 1 illustrates how a working group can evolve into one of the four distinctive types of teams, with the ultimate objective of achieving high performance teams. The graph presents the performance between the ''team effectiveness'' and the ''performance impact''. For further explenaiton of the curve, the author again refers the reader to external resources. <ref name="WIS"> ''The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization'', Katzenbach, Jon R.; Smith, Douglas K., Harvard Business School Press, 1993</ref>
  
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Every team goes through a team life-cycle, and poorly design team may not reach the potential of high performance teams. The four stages of the team life cycle are the ''formatio, dissension, collaboration, and execution'' <ref name="HPT">''Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014''</ref>. An illustration of the lifecycle process is shown in figure 2.
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*''Formation''. At this stage the knowledge about the problem is limited and the expectations are low. The stage is mainly about introducing the team to each other to get a feel of the individuals and the group dynamic.
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*''Dissension'' is the next stage of the life cycle and is maybe the hardest stage to defeat as it normally consist of conflict. In this stage, low- vs high performance teams are already being distinguished as low performance teams will collapse at this stage, while high performance teams will learn and adapt moving forward. A typical reaction to this stage is that individuals often will find their specific roles based on their personalities and skillset for the high performance team.
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*The third stage is ''collaboration'' which emphasizes how the high performance teams now start to work more effectively. This stage is characterized by role definition, rediscovered optimism, “we” instead of “me”, etc.
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*The last stage, which is ''execution'', is where a team becomes a full on high performance team where individuals understand their role, communication is optimized, and the team functions freely.
  
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==Characteristics of high performance teams==
  
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[[File:Characteristics.png|450px|thumb|text-centre|right|Figure 1: The six characteristics based on Pat Macmillan, 2001 <ref name="PF" />]]
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The first characteristic that Macmillan (2001)  <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref> covers is the '''Common purpose''' . ''“The single most important ingredient in team success is a clear, common, compelling task”''. This is how the first characteristic is described, and refers to the importance of team members common agreement of the purpose. Common purpose can also be referred to as the goals of the team, which is presented as one of the guidelines from Johnson and Johnson (2013) <ref name="JJ">''Joining Together. Group Theory and Group Skills.'' Johnson, D. & Johnson, F. (2013). Pearson, twelfth edition.</ref>. It is important for a team to have a common purposse so that every individual are working towards the same goal.
  
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[[File:Graf 1.PNG|thumb|500px|Figure 1: Joint responsibility and mutual dependency in groups and teams (Hjertø,2013, p.34).]]
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The second characteristic being highlighted is the importance of '''Crystal Clear Roles''' in a team. ''“Every team member is clear about his or her particular role, as well as those of the other team members”'' <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref>. Making clear roles is about how tasks are distributed within the given team to optimize the work. Belbin emphasized on the importance of team roles to build high performance teams. His research showed that the most successful teams were made up of a diverse mix of roles within a team with each of the roles with different strengths and weaknesses. <ref>''What is a Team Role?'', Meredith belbin, https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles </ref>.  
  
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There are many articles about leadership in effective groups and high performing
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The third characteristic is the '''Accepted leadership''' and how it affects the performance on teams. ''“High performance teams need clear, competent leadership. When such leadership is lacking, groups lose their way.”'' <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref>. Macmillan argues that inadequate leadership could be the main reason for team ineffectiveness. He goes on explaining that team members need to accept the given leader of the team that can motivate through initiative and creativity to extract individual and team performance. Johnson and Johnson (2013) <ref name="JJ">'' Joining Together. Group Theory and Group Skills.''Johnson, D. & Johnson, F. (2013). Pearson, twelfth edition.</ref> also emphasize on the importance on leadership, whereas they argue that equal participation and responsibility leads members to feel ownership for decisions. Resulting in more satisfied fellowship and bringing all skills available to the table. Together, this emphasize the importance of having a clear leader but also allowing individuals to have ownership of their work.  
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teams, but not so many from the members perspective. Although there are several
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point of views about good teamwork many of the criteria seem similar. This article
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presents the seven guidelines for effective groups from Johnson & Johnson (2013)
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and join them in a context of high performing teams and project management. A
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characteristic for this article is that the focus is on how the members together behave
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for contributing to a high performing team. From this point of view it is easy to argue
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that effective teamwork is at least as important for project, program and portfolio
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management (”PPPM”) as the focus on good leadership. Effective groups and
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high performing teams are fundamentals of successful PPPM and suits well in the
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peoples aspect of this profession. Wilemon & Thamhain (1983) describe it as vital
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to prioritize team building to increase the chance of success in projects. It is useless
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to talk about advanced implementations of Gantt Charts and risk management in
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PPPM if the teamwork is bad and the project is already doomed to fail.
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This article talk about both groups and teams. For a detailed explanation of differences and similarities the author refer the reader to external resources, as this article
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The fourth characteristic described by Macmillan (2001) <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref> is the '''Effective processes'''. ''“Teams and processes goes together. […] processes might include making decisions, managing a meeting, processing insurance claims, or any other activities we undertake in pursuit of our mission.”''. The characteristic refers to how teams working with different factors like identifying, mapping, and mastering how their team handle unique processes. Effective processing is not something that is done over night, but an iterative process that asks the team the questions on how to get better each time to optimize their performances.  
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is meant for other purposes. Descriptions and reflections about groups are relevant for teams, but not vice versa. The article is based on seven guidelines for effective groups. High performing groups follow all these guidelines (Johnson & Johnson,
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2013, p.24). The link between effective groups and high performing teams is the
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extension shown in Figure 1 about teams. Hjertø (2013) argues that a characteristic
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of teams is that they, in addition to be a group, have high mutual dependence and
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high joint responsibility for the owner of the group.
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Johnson & Johnson (2013) present different types of groups. An overview of different
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The fifth characteristics is '''Solid relationships'''. ''“[…] teams and teamwork is the belief that to work and communicate effectively, team members must be close comrads. Not true. In fact, the diversity of skill experience, and knowledge needed for effectively and creativity […], which is most often based on common interest”'' <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref>. This characteristic is mainly referring to the importance of diversity in a team and how that contribute to becoming a high-performance team. Research has shown that having a diverse team can enhance both the productivity of the team and the quality of the final outcomes <ref>''Creating and maintaining high-performingcollaborative research teams: the importance of diversity and interpersonal skills'', Kendra S Cheruvelil1,2, Patricia A Soranno, Kathleen C Weathers, Paul C Hanson, Simon. J Goring, Christopher T Filstrup, and Emily K Read, 2014, https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1890/130001 </ref>. By having a team that visualizes tasks from different point of view, the team will be able to handle problems, decisions, and other issues with a higher standard of IQ <ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref>. The diversity of a team can vary between gender, function, experience, personality, ethnicity, etc.  
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groups and their expected performance can be seen in Figure 2. A pseudo group
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consists of members who are assigned to work with each other, but with no interest of
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doing it. A traditional work group accept that they are to work together, but they do
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most of the work individually. Their performance is on the same level as if they would
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have worked individually. An effective group combine forces and work together
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to achieve a higher performance than they would be able to achieve individually.
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They do this by following the guidelines for effective teamwork presented below.
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At last, a high performing group excel the effective group by by the high level
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of commitment to the project, each other and joint success. This, together with
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Hjertø’s characteristics for teams, form the basis for high performing teams in this
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article.
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[[File:Graf 2.PNG|thumb|500px|Figure  2:  Different  groups  and their  expected  performance (Johnson & Johnson,2013, p.19).]]
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The last and sixth characteristic Macmillan (2001)<ref name="PF">''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork'', Pat Macmillan, 2001</ref> presents is '''Excellent communication'''. ''“Communication is the very means of cooperations.[…] A team, or the organization in which it resides, cannot move faster than is communicates”''. Communication is therefore key to team and organizations success. High performance teams understands that effective communication is essential for successful teamwork because it facilitates coordination, conflict resolution, and collaboration. Increased efficiency and productivity, avoid duplications of work, and aligning the work towards common goal are just some of the benefits a team will face when having excellent communication. Furthermore, communication allows the team members to share ideas, opinions, and feedback, which can result in better decision making and improved outcome <ref name="JJ">'' Joining Together. Group Theory and Group Skills.''Johnson, D. & Johnson, F. (2013). Pearson, twelfth edition.</ref>.
  
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==The Seven Guidelines Of Effective Groups==
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==Application of high performance teams: leadership==  
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The '''first guideline''' is to ''”Establish clear, operational, and relevant group goals that create positive interdependence and evoke a high level of commitment from every member”''
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Providing a step-by-step guide for project managers on how to incorporate knowledge about high performance teams directly into their projects is challenging, because each project is unique, and adjustments must be made to suit the companies’ conditions and specific teams. For that reason, leadership becomes essential for teams to be able to perform at a high level. The section will therfor take a closer look at the importance of leadership of high performing teams. In additiion, the section will touch upon how high performance teamwork relates to PPPM (Project, Program, and Portfolio Management) and what is done to create high performance teams. While it is important for all of them, the focus will be on project management
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(Johnson & Johnson, 2013, p.24-25). Groups exist to achieve goals that individual members are not able to reach themselves. Groups need clear goals
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to derive synergy. Goals should be operational and relevant for the members, so the
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members can find out ways to achieve them and are motivated to reach them. Johnson & Johnson (2013) argue that the goal must create a positive interdependence
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among members.
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The '''second guideline''' is to ''”Establish effective two-way communication by which group members communicate their ideas and feelings accurately and clearly”''
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'''Leadership'''
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(Johnson & Johnson, 2013, p.25). Communication is key for interaction between members in groups working toward the same goal. Effective communication removes misunderstandings and promote an effective transfer and the meaning of relevant information. A basis for this is to minimize competition between members and ensure
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that everybody is included.
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The '''third guideline''' is to ”''Ensure that leadership and participation are distributed among all group members''”
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Leadership is a major part of creating high performance teams and even though the ''accepted leadership'' is one of the characteristics of high performance teams, Macmillan (2001) emphasize on the importance of leadership to create a high performance team in relation to every characteristic. There is an overall importance of having a leader through the process, that can manage how the group is facilitating the characteristics and, in the end, working together towards a common goal. Even though it is the characteristics of a high performance team that is making the team perform at that level, it is the leaders responsibility to guide the team through the process and acknowledge all the characteristics in the team.
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(Johnson & Johnson, 2013, p.25). Equal participation, equal feeling and responsibility of leadership ensures that all participants invests in
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To become an effective leader, it is important to demonstrate effective leadership behaviors to your team members. If leaders fail to lead the team effectively, he or she is unlikely to achieve high levels of performance for the entire team. High performance of teams occur when thoughtful and mindful leadership is taken place <ref>''Leadership in high‐performance teams: a model for superior team performance'', Linda S. Wing, 2005, https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/13527590510584285/full/pdf?title=leadership-in-highperformance-teams-a-model-for-superior-team-performance</ref>.
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the group. Johnson & Johnson (2013) argue that the feeling of commitment give
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The leadership is a crucial factor in any project across alle the stages of the project lice cycle <ref name="HPT">''Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014''</ref>. After years of change in market and strategies, different theories and practices have developed to define different leadership styles. It is therefore important to use the appropriate style of leadership for each situation and more specifically each team in order to achieve project success <ref name ="PMI">''A Guide To the Project Management Body of Knowledge (pmbok® Guide)'', Project Management Institute,  Inc. (PMI), seventh edition., 2021</ref>. A situational leadership approach is motivated by the development and effectiveness of the team, rather than self-serving interest. <ref>''Role of transformational and transactional leadership on job satisfaction and career satisfaction.'', Riaz, A., & Haider, M. H., 2010, Business and Economic Horizons. (1), 29-38.</ref> Therefore, situational leadership style is considered most suitable for project management as it enables the leader to select the best course of action based on the circumstances and create high performance teams.
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a positive ripple effects so that the members feel ownership for the decisions of the
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group and are more satisfied with their fellowship. This equal participation bring all
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the skills available in the group to the table. This will also increase the cohesiveness
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of the group.
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The '''fourth guideline''' is to ”''Ensure power is distributed among group members and patterns of influence vary according to the needs of the group''”
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''Team performance is also a focus in the standards of Project Management Institute (2017)<ref name="PMI2">''Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Project Management Institute'', Inc. (PMI), sixth edition, 2017</ref>. In section 9.4 and 9.5 the focus is on how management facilitate the team to improve results through improved teamwork. Project managers use knowledge about effective teams to select the best strategies for obtaining their goals. This project manager-approach is a nice add-on to the six characteristics. More or less, project managers try to push their team into a suitable environmental and cultural frame. This is to give the team a climate of trust. To obtain this ''Project Management Institute (2017)'' <ref name="PMI2">''Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Project Management Institute'', Inc. (PMI), sixth edition, 2017</ref> introduce tools and techniques that help facilitate this environment. When the environment is good, the team is more likely to be able to focus on developing and applying the six characteristics in their project.''
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(Johnson & Johnson, 2013, p.25-26). Effective groups have the members’ power based on expertise, ability
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and access to information rather than authority or personal characteristics. Power
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from wrong sources distract the group from reaching their goals and purposes. A
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way to avoid this is to make sure every team member have some influence on the
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work. The power in a group should be dynamic.
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The '''fifth guideline''' is to ”''Match decision-making procedures with the needs of the situation''”
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(Johnson & Johnson, 2013, p.26-27).  Making decisions are hard. Having
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a suitable procedure when doing so is important. A decision procedure needs to
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have a balance between time consumed and the abilities or knowledge available in
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the group. Different procedures may, according to Solem & Hermundsgård (2013),
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be a leaders decision with or without discussion, a majority decision in the group,
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consensus, a delegated decision or a meta-decision. Johnson & Johnson (2013) argues that consensus is the most suitable form of decision for a group as it encourages
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participation, equalization of power, cohesion and commitment. In addition to this
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will consensus promote a constructive way of dealing with disagreements and controversies.
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The '''sixth guideline''' is to ”''Engage in constructive controversy by disagreeing and challenging one another on conclusions and reasoning, thus promoting creative decision making and problem solving''”
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(Johnson & Johnson, 2013, p.27). Conflicts and topic-related controversies after presenting ideas or conclusions are beneficial
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for the group if the group is able to manage it. Encouragement of this kind of
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open-mindedness promote effective problem solving, decision making and high performance. Wheelan (2016) say that teams should embrace work related conflicts
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and avoid interpersonal conflicts at all cost. This distinction is important. Groups
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and teams that know each other well know more about where the borders between
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work and interpersonality for each individual member is.
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The '''seventh and last guideline''' is to ”''Face your conflicts and resolve them in constructive ways''”
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(Johnson & Johnson, 2013, p.27). This guideline is about conflicts of interest in a group. Conflicts of interests may come from incompatible needs
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or goals, lack of resources or competitiveness. Participants in effective groups face
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the conflicts and use energy on solving them in a suitable manner. Constructively
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solved conflicts is a basis of increasing group effectiveness.
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==Application==
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In this part the article focuses on how theory about efficient teamwork fit the PPPM
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scene. Although high performing teams are relevant for PPPs, we will from now on
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focus on their relevance for project and project management. It is hard to provide a
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step-by-step guide to project managers on how to implement knowledge about high
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performing teams directly in your project. This is because no project is similar and
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everything need to be adjusted to local conditions and the specific team. However,
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this section give suggestions on useful situations where the tool is appropriate, and
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it will be up to the reader to do a implementation of the guideline in their local
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project.
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Groups and teams form a basis for working with projects, and therefore also programs and portfolios. Everybody love great teamwork. If the teamwork is bad,
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everything collapse with it. Teams can be found in all parts of the project organisation. All the way from the board of directors, throughout the organisation and to
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the workers at the bottom of the organisational structure. They come in different
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shapes and sizes and need to be adjusted to their environment. Knowledge about
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high performing teams are therefore important in the terms of PPPM.
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Furthermore, groups and teams are a natural part of the work breakdown structure
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of a project. Most projects, due to their complexity, are divided into smaller portions
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of work where it is natural to create a group or a team to do the work. In this
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relation it is clear that individual teams that do not accomplish their task will
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give a negative impact or delay to the whole project. We can thereby emphasize
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the importance of high performing teams in projects, which is a reason for project
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managers to facilitate the creation of effective groups and high performing teams in
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their organisation.
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Knowledge about high performing teams is important when managers form teams.
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Project managers benefit from having an understanding on how individuals behave
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in teams (Maylor, 2010, p.255). In this way they can put together teams with
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abilities to adapt to these seven guidelines. This includes having a nice balance of
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diversity and a nice distribution among skills and characteristics among the members, adjusted for the tasks they are assigned to.
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An example of a management issue of balancing several high performing teams is
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matrix management and distribution of resources in an project. The reader should
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seek knowledge of this topic from other sources. The seven guidelines for effective
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groups require a lot of time, dedicated- and motivated members. These are scarce
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resources in a project. It is reasonable to say that the benefits of high performing
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teams in a project must be balanced against other concerns in the iron triangle
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of time, cost and quality. Project managers need knowledge about groups and
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teams when deciding how much time and energy each employee should be allowed
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to spend on different teams in projects. This is important when managers design
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and manage the organisational matrix and an aggregated plan of resources. This
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means that sometimes it is reasonable for managers to limit teams and groups to be
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other types of lower performing groups. Knowledge about performance in teams is
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therefore a nice tool to include in these kind of evaluations.
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Team performance is also a focus in the standards of Project Management Institute
+
−
(2017). In section 9.4 and 9.5 the focus is on how management facilitate the team to
+
−
improve results through improved teamwork. Project managers use knowledge about
+
−
effective teams to select the best strategies for obtaining their goals. This project
+
−
manager-approach is a nice add-on to the seven guidelines. More or less, project
+
−
managers try to push their team into a suitable environmental and cultural frame.
+
−
This is to give the team a climate of trust. To obtain this Project Management
+
−
Institute (2017) introduce tools and techniques that help facilitate this environment
+
−
described in the guidelines. When the environment is good, the team is more likely
+
−
to be able to focus on developing and applying the seven guidelines in their project.
+
  
 
==Discussion and limitation==
 
==Discussion and limitation==
−
The seven guidelines for high performing teams are useful in many ways, but they are
+
The six characteristics presented in the article are useful in many ways, but as they are only characteristics describing what a high performance team often perform well on, it is not enough to be used alone. The characteristics do not guide the reader on how a team should fulfill the characteristics through activities or phases in a project. As they are presented in the article, they are only intended as guiding towards how a high performance team should operate. So to actually make use of them, additional tools is necessary. Understanding how to create a team, implement activities and phases, and in general learn about how to manage a team through leadership are examples of knowledge needed to take use of the characteristics. This article should therefor be seen as a step towards increasing knowlede about creating high performance teams.
−
not a tool that can be used alone. This is because it only guide parts of the problem
+
−
regarding team performance. For instance, it does not describe derivation of culture
+
−
or motivation, only that it is important. The guidelines do not guide the reader on
+
−
how the group should fulfill the guidelines through activities or phases in a project.
+
−
The guidelines are intended as a guiding tool for team activity and assignments to
+
−
teams, but in many situations they need additional tools to fill the missing aspects.
+
−
Phases and activities have been mentioned. Learning and managing knowledge can
+
−
also be included in the list of aspects missing out.
+
  
−
A challenge in terms of project management is the relationship between a project
+
Raman (2014) <ref name="HPT">''Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014''</ref> presents some hindrances to high performance teams. These bullet points are presented as hinders that companies needs to overcome to create high performance teams and represents limitations of high performance teams.
−
manager and the members. The guidelines state that power in the group should be
+
*The ''hierarchy'' of a company refers to the structure of a company and how it affects the performance of teams. A hierarchy with many levels of management can hinder team autonomy and slow down the decision making process, especially if employees needs to be involved with co-workers on different levels of the company. Simultaneously, hierarchies that are flat and can often result in smaller teams with less diversity leading to the risk of group thinking resulting in lack of new ideas and problem solve efficiency.
−
distributed equally and come from a natural distribution within the group, and not
+
*''Communication'' is key, and Raman (2014) argues that it is crucial for high performance teams. As communication is mentioned as a characteristic of high performance teams, this emphasizes the importance on communications to create a high performance team.
−
from a hierarchy. This does not mean that managers are useless, but that managers
+
*Lack of ''accountability'' within a team can lead to the team falling apart due to distrust. Without accountability, the team members may lose sight of their goals and the necessary steps to achieve them.
−
and leaders should be aware about their position in the team and what benefits or
+
*Lastly it is also important to acknowledge that in today’s fast-paced markets, companies does not afford to slack off and argue that ''“now is not the time”''. If a company truly wants to change and be competitive, excuses like not having the time is no longer an option to stay competitive.  
−
boundaries this can put on the team.
+
  
−
Another issue with the guidelines is the applicability in an organisational context.
+
''Another issue with the characteristics is the applicability in an organizational context. Previously, the balance of the guidelines have been put against other tools like matrix management and time, cost and quality. Projects have a constant pressure on their resources. High performance teamwork takes a lot of time and may not always be the best solution for the organisation as a whole. The high performance must be weighted up against effectiveness and allocation of resources and can therefore not be seen as complete.''
−
Previously, the balance of the guidelines have been put against other tools like matrix
+
−
management and time, cost and quality. Projects have a constant pressure on their
+
−
resources. High performance teamwork takes a lot of time and may not always be
+
−
the best solution for the organisation as a whole. The high performance must be
+
−
weighted up against effectiveness and allocation of resources and can therefore not
+
−
be seen as complete.
+
  
−
To summarise the concerns of the guidelines in a project management context they
+
''To summarise the concerns of the characterisics in a project management context they are now compared to project management standards. "Managing the project team requires a variety of management and leadership skills [...] to create high-performance teams. Team management involves a combination of skills with special emphasis on communication, conflict management, negotiation, and leadership" <ref name="PMI2">''Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Project Management Institute'', Inc. (PMI), sixth edition, 2017</ref>. And "Managing is a term that implies capability to direct and administer the work of others" <ref>''Project Management.'' Maylor, H. (2010), Prentice Hall, fourth edition</ref>. In project management we need both good managers and well functioning teams. Project managers need to recognize their role in the team according to local adaptions and find a nice balance between applying their duties as project managers according to the standards from ''Project Management Institute (2017)'' <ref name="PMI2">''Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Project Management Institute'', Inc. (PMI), sixth edition, 2017</ref> and the characteristics of high performance teams from Macmillan (2001)''
−
are now compared to project management standards. "''Managing the project team requires a variety of management and leadership skills [...] to create high-performance teams. Team management involves a combination of skills with special emphasis on
+
−
communication, conflict management, negotiation, and leadership''"
+
−
(Project Management Institute, 2017, p.346). And  
+
−
"''Managing is a term that implies capability to direct and administer the work of others''"
+
−
(Maylor, 2010, p.268). In project management we need both good managers and well functioning teams. Project managers
+
−
need to recognize their role in the team according to local adaptions and find a
+
−
nice balance between applying their duties as project managers according to the
+
−
standards from Project Management Institute (2017) and the guidelines for self
+
−
management of high performing teams from Johnson & Johnson (2013).
+
  
 
==Annotated bibliography==
 
==Annotated bibliography==
−
In Johnson & Johnson (2013) the reader can have broader explanation of the seven
+
'''The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork, Pat Macmillan, 2001'''
−
guidelines for effective teams through research and explanations. Each of the seven
+
−
guidelines have their own chapter where the focus is on the basis of the guideline
+
−
and skills for applying them in practical situations. This is a brilliant way to get
+
−
a better understanding for the seven guidelines as the presentation of them in this
+
−
article is basic.
+
−
 
+
−
Maylor (2010) describes the role of groups, teams, leadership and management in
+
−
projects. Chapter 11 is about designing, selecting and monitoring effective teams
+
−
in appropriate situations. Maylor balances the principles of effective teams in organisations and reflects on how persons and teams should be managed in different
+
−
situations to give the best result in an organisational context, not only in teams
+
−
alone. This reference gives a nice edge to this article about high performing teams
+
−
as it puts it in a practical context that is relevant to PPPM in a bigger picture.
+
−
 
+
−
Wheelan (2016) is about effective teamwork from the members perspective. It already exists a big amount of research and literature about effective leadership and
+
−
management, but not so much about membership. Wheelan battles this and focuses more on how behavior of members support a high performing team. This does
+
−
not exclude leaders and managers from being a part of the team, as they also can
+
−
be seen as one of the team members. This source is therefore a nice extension to
+
−
the guidelines presented in this article, as it has a members perspective on team
+
−
performance and not only team behaviour.
+
−
 
+
−
Project Management Institute (2017) focus more on how management can facilitate the team to improve results through better teamwork. You can read more about PMIs standards for developing and managing teams in chapter 9.4 and
+
−
9.5. They, more or less, agree on the guidelines mentioned in this article. These
+
−
standards for project managers focuses on creating environments that facilitate good
+
−
teamwork. They do this by continually motivating the team by providing challenges,
+
−
opportunities, timely feedback, support as needed, recognition and rewarding of
+
−
good performance. This point of view gives the article on high performing teams a
+
−
nice edge with the perspective from the project manager.
+
−
 
+
−
Beauchene & Cunningham (2020) take a look into the future of traditional management in organisations. They predict fewer middle managers and a focus centered around agile teams. Traditional management has reached a breaking point and this
+
−
source look into agile management structures for organisations as a solution to these
+
−
problems. This source and its further readings substantiates the growing importance
+
−
of teams, and high performing teams, in a PPPM setting.
+
−
 
+
−
==Bibliography==
+
−
Beauchene, V. & Cunningham, M. (2020). ''The End of Management as We Know It''. Boston Consulting Group. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/end-management-as-we-know-it.
+
  
−
Hjertø, K. B. (2013). ''TEAM''. Fagbokforlaget, first edition.
+
The performance factor is a book that for big parts focuses on six different characteristics of high performance teams. The book also explains the urgent need for high performance teams and how the last 70 years has changed towards a team based organization structure. Furthermore, the book presents how the characteristics can be turned into practice to build a high performance team.  
  
−
Johnson, D. & Johnson, F. (2013). ''Joining Together. Group Theory and Group Skills''. Pearson, twelfth edition.
+
'''Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014'''
  
−
Maylor, H. (2010). ''Project Management''. Prentice Hall, fourth edition.
+
This book presents the reader, and especially the leader, with a guide on how to create high performance teams. More specifically, 7 principles to increase productivity and results. The book emphasizes on the importance of leadership through all principles to show how important the leadership is for high performance teams.  
  
−
Project Management Institute (2017). ''Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)''. Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI), sixth edition.
+
'''The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization, Katzenbach, Jon R.; Smith, Douglas K., Harvard Business School Press, 1993'''
  
−
Solem, A. & Hermundsgård, M. (2013). ''Fasilitering''. Gyldendal Akademisk, first edition.
+
This book provides information and a guide on how to create high performance teams within organizations. The book present the reader with successful and unsuccessful examples of teamwork, giving the reader the aspects from both sides. I also places importance on the various of team performance and how to learn about team effectiveness. Furthermore, the book looks into the dynamics of effective teams, again through the examples.  
  
−
Wheelan, S. A. (2016). ''Creating Effective Teams. A Guide for Members and Leaders''. SAGE, fifth edition.
+
'''Joining Together. Group Theory and Group Skills. Johnson, D. & Johnson, F. (2013). Pearson, twelfth edition.'''
  
−
Wilemon, D. L. & Thamhain, H. J. (1983). ''Team building in project management''. Project Management Quarterly.
+
''In Johnson & Johnson (2013) the reader can have broader explanation of the seven guidelines for effective teams through research and explanations. Each of the seven guidelines have their own chapter where the focus is on the basis of the guideline and skills for applying them in practical situations. This is a brilliant way to get a better understanding for the seven guidelines as the presentation of them in this article is basic.''
−
https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/team-building-development-project-management-5707.
+
  
−
[[Category:People]] [[Category:Project Management]]  [[Category:Team]]
+
==References==
 +
<references />

Latest revision as of 23:32, 9 May 2023

Contents

[edit] Information

This wiki article is a spin off from an earlier article, as we had the option to revise an old article and make changes. The wiki article on High performing teams is therefor a revised article from the DTU Wiki page. The parts that has not been edited are marked in Italics (regarding paragraphs, not quots or words) . It is also worth mentioning that some parts could seem similar that is not in italic, but has been rephrased. This is not a big part of the article though.

[edit] Abstract

High performance teams are critical to the success of organizations in today's fast-paced and competitive business environment. They are characterized by high levels of collaboration, clear and shared goals, effective communication, and a positive and supportive culture [1]. Research has shown that high performance teams contribute to improved employee engagement, increased productivity and efficiency, and higher levels of innovation [2]. To build a high performance team, it is important to focus on creating an environment that supports collaboration and encourages open and honest communication. This can be achieved through a variety of techniques, including regular team-building activities, clear goal setting, and a strong emphasis on feedback and continuous improvement. This articel however, will focus on identifying the characteristics that represents high performance teams.

Macmillan (2001) [1] identifies six key characteristics that define high performance teams, all of which are essential for achieving high team performance. This article provides an explanation of each characteristic, with supporting sources to validate the claims. Moreover, this article addresses the application of high performance teams within a project management context, with a specific focus on the role of leadership. This discussion emphasize the significance of the leader's role in a high performance team [3]. Additionally, this article explores potential limitations of high performance teams, particularly the hindrances outlined by Raman (2014) [3]. Finally, it emphasizes that the characteristics of high performance teams cannot be used in isolation, as they only represent observations of features that distinguish high performance teams and not a direct tool for achieving high performance.

[edit] Big Idea

Figure 1: Team performance curve based on Katzenbach and Smith,1993 [4]
Figure 2: Life Cycle model based on Neel Raman, 2014 [3]

High performance teams are critical to the success of organizations in today's fast-paced and competitive business environment. Teamwork in general is a concept that has gained a lot of attention in the workplace in the last couple of years, and organizations are now focusing on enhancing team functionality to create high performance teams. This shift in mindset from the late 1900s, is mainly driven by the new understanding that innovation and creativity are now essential for organizations long term stability [1] [3]. In order to understand how high performance teams work, different characteristics will be presented in the article. High performance teams are characterized by different factors, and research has shown that high performance teams was a result of improved employee engagement, increased productivity, and efficiency [5]. To build a high-performance team, it is important to focus on creating an environment that supports collaboration and encourages open and honest communication. Although there exists several point of view on how high performance of team work is best practiced, the majority of the characteristics seems similar. The article will take inspiration from the six characteristics presented by Macmillan (2001) [1].

There is a fundamental difference between groups and teams, and it is essential for a company to recognize the difference between them to comprehend the causes behind the success or failure. On one hand, a group is composed of individuals who work for the same company but may not work with a common agenda or collaboration. In a group, it can seem like each member is only held accountable for their own performance, and not the total output of the group. In contrast to this, a team is a gathering of individuals that has a common purpose and focuses on the output of the team. In a team, the individuals often put aside their differences to work together, and everyone is held equally accountable for the output [3]. For a more detailed explanation of the differences between them the author refers the reader to external resources.

“A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable" [4]. To illustrate where high performance teams difference from other types of teams, Katzenbach & Smith developed the “Team performance curve” which illustrates different stages of teams. The figure 1 illustrates how a working group can evolve into one of the four distinctive types of teams, with the ultimate objective of achieving high performance teams. The graph presents the performance between the team effectiveness and the performance impact. For further explenaiton of the curve, the author again refers the reader to external resources. [4]

Every team goes through a team life-cycle, and poorly design team may not reach the potential of high performance teams. The four stages of the team life cycle are the formatio, dissension, collaboration, and execution [3]. An illustration of the lifecycle process is shown in figure 2.

  • Formation. At this stage the knowledge about the problem is limited and the expectations are low. The stage is mainly about introducing the team to each other to get a feel of the individuals and the group dynamic.
  • Dissension is the next stage of the life cycle and is maybe the hardest stage to defeat as it normally consist of conflict. In this stage, low- vs high performance teams are already being distinguished as low performance teams will collapse at this stage, while high performance teams will learn and adapt moving forward. A typical reaction to this stage is that individuals often will find their specific roles based on their personalities and skillset for the high performance team.
  • The third stage is collaboration which emphasizes how the high performance teams now start to work more effectively. This stage is characterized by role definition, rediscovered optimism, “we” instead of “me”, etc.
  • The last stage, which is execution, is where a team becomes a full on high performance team where individuals understand their role, communication is optimized, and the team functions freely.

[edit] Characteristics of high performance teams

Figure 1: The six characteristics based on Pat Macmillan, 2001 [1]

The first characteristic that Macmillan (2001) [1] covers is the Common purpose . “The single most important ingredient in team success is a clear, common, compelling task”. This is how the first characteristic is described, and refers to the importance of team members common agreement of the purpose. Common purpose can also be referred to as the goals of the team, which is presented as one of the guidelines from Johnson and Johnson (2013) [6]. It is important for a team to have a common purposse so that every individual are working towards the same goal.

The second characteristic being highlighted is the importance of Crystal Clear Roles in a team. “Every team member is clear about his or her particular role, as well as those of the other team members” [1]. Making clear roles is about how tasks are distributed within the given team to optimize the work. Belbin emphasized on the importance of team roles to build high performance teams. His research showed that the most successful teams were made up of a diverse mix of roles within a team with each of the roles with different strengths and weaknesses. [7].

The third characteristic is the Accepted leadership and how it affects the performance on teams. “High performance teams need clear, competent leadership. When such leadership is lacking, groups lose their way.” [1]. Macmillan argues that inadequate leadership could be the main reason for team ineffectiveness. He goes on explaining that team members need to accept the given leader of the team that can motivate through initiative and creativity to extract individual and team performance. Johnson and Johnson (2013) [6] also emphasize on the importance on leadership, whereas they argue that equal participation and responsibility leads members to feel ownership for decisions. Resulting in more satisfied fellowship and bringing all skills available to the table. Together, this emphasize the importance of having a clear leader but also allowing individuals to have ownership of their work.

The fourth characteristic described by Macmillan (2001) [1] is the Effective processes. “Teams and processes goes together. […] processes might include making decisions, managing a meeting, processing insurance claims, or any other activities we undertake in pursuit of our mission.”. The characteristic refers to how teams working with different factors like identifying, mapping, and mastering how their team handle unique processes. Effective processing is not something that is done over night, but an iterative process that asks the team the questions on how to get better each time to optimize their performances.

The fifth characteristics is Solid relationships. “[…] teams and teamwork is the belief that to work and communicate effectively, team members must be close comrads. Not true. In fact, the diversity of skill experience, and knowledge needed for effectively and creativity […], which is most often based on common interest” [1]. This characteristic is mainly referring to the importance of diversity in a team and how that contribute to becoming a high-performance team. Research has shown that having a diverse team can enhance both the productivity of the team and the quality of the final outcomes [8]. By having a team that visualizes tasks from different point of view, the team will be able to handle problems, decisions, and other issues with a higher standard of IQ [1]. The diversity of a team can vary between gender, function, experience, personality, ethnicity, etc.

The last and sixth characteristic Macmillan (2001)[1] presents is Excellent communication. “Communication is the very means of cooperations.[…] A team, or the organization in which it resides, cannot move faster than is communicates”. Communication is therefore key to team and organizations success. High performance teams understands that effective communication is essential for successful teamwork because it facilitates coordination, conflict resolution, and collaboration. Increased efficiency and productivity, avoid duplications of work, and aligning the work towards common goal are just some of the benefits a team will face when having excellent communication. Furthermore, communication allows the team members to share ideas, opinions, and feedback, which can result in better decision making and improved outcome [6].

[edit] Application of high performance teams: leadership

Providing a step-by-step guide for project managers on how to incorporate knowledge about high performance teams directly into their projects is challenging, because each project is unique, and adjustments must be made to suit the companies’ conditions and specific teams. For that reason, leadership becomes essential for teams to be able to perform at a high level. The section will therfor take a closer look at the importance of leadership of high performing teams. In additiion, the section will touch upon how high performance teamwork relates to PPPM (Project, Program, and Portfolio Management) and what is done to create high performance teams. While it is important for all of them, the focus will be on project management

Leadership

Leadership is a major part of creating high performance teams and even though the accepted leadership is one of the characteristics of high performance teams, Macmillan (2001) emphasize on the importance of leadership to create a high performance team in relation to every characteristic. There is an overall importance of having a leader through the process, that can manage how the group is facilitating the characteristics and, in the end, working together towards a common goal. Even though it is the characteristics of a high performance team that is making the team perform at that level, it is the leaders responsibility to guide the team through the process and acknowledge all the characteristics in the team. To become an effective leader, it is important to demonstrate effective leadership behaviors to your team members. If leaders fail to lead the team effectively, he or she is unlikely to achieve high levels of performance for the entire team. High performance of teams occur when thoughtful and mindful leadership is taken place [9]. The leadership is a crucial factor in any project across alle the stages of the project lice cycle [3]. After years of change in market and strategies, different theories and practices have developed to define different leadership styles. It is therefore important to use the appropriate style of leadership for each situation and more specifically each team in order to achieve project success [10]. A situational leadership approach is motivated by the development and effectiveness of the team, rather than self-serving interest. [11] Therefore, situational leadership style is considered most suitable for project management as it enables the leader to select the best course of action based on the circumstances and create high performance teams.

Team performance is also a focus in the standards of Project Management Institute (2017)[12]. In section 9.4 and 9.5 the focus is on how management facilitate the team to improve results through improved teamwork. Project managers use knowledge about effective teams to select the best strategies for obtaining their goals. This project manager-approach is a nice add-on to the six characteristics. More or less, project managers try to push their team into a suitable environmental and cultural frame. This is to give the team a climate of trust. To obtain this Project Management Institute (2017) [12] introduce tools and techniques that help facilitate this environment. When the environment is good, the team is more likely to be able to focus on developing and applying the six characteristics in their project.

[edit] Discussion and limitation

The six characteristics presented in the article are useful in many ways, but as they are only characteristics describing what a high performance team often perform well on, it is not enough to be used alone. The characteristics do not guide the reader on how a team should fulfill the characteristics through activities or phases in a project. As they are presented in the article, they are only intended as guiding towards how a high performance team should operate. So to actually make use of them, additional tools is necessary. Understanding how to create a team, implement activities and phases, and in general learn about how to manage a team through leadership are examples of knowledge needed to take use of the characteristics. This article should therefor be seen as a step towards increasing knowlede about creating high performance teams.

Raman (2014) [3] presents some hindrances to high performance teams. These bullet points are presented as hinders that companies needs to overcome to create high performance teams and represents limitations of high performance teams.

  • The hierarchy of a company refers to the structure of a company and how it affects the performance of teams. A hierarchy with many levels of management can hinder team autonomy and slow down the decision making process, especially if employees needs to be involved with co-workers on different levels of the company. Simultaneously, hierarchies that are flat and can often result in smaller teams with less diversity leading to the risk of group thinking resulting in lack of new ideas and problem solve efficiency.
  • Communication is key, and Raman (2014) argues that it is crucial for high performance teams. As communication is mentioned as a characteristic of high performance teams, this emphasizes the importance on communications to create a high performance team.
  • Lack of accountability within a team can lead to the team falling apart due to distrust. Without accountability, the team members may lose sight of their goals and the necessary steps to achieve them.
  • Lastly it is also important to acknowledge that in today’s fast-paced markets, companies does not afford to slack off and argue that “now is not the time”. If a company truly wants to change and be competitive, excuses like not having the time is no longer an option to stay competitive.

Another issue with the characteristics is the applicability in an organizational context. Previously, the balance of the guidelines have been put against other tools like matrix management and time, cost and quality. Projects have a constant pressure on their resources. High performance teamwork takes a lot of time and may not always be the best solution for the organisation as a whole. The high performance must be weighted up against effectiveness and allocation of resources and can therefore not be seen as complete.

To summarise the concerns of the characterisics in a project management context they are now compared to project management standards. "Managing the project team requires a variety of management and leadership skills [...] to create high-performance teams. Team management involves a combination of skills with special emphasis on communication, conflict management, negotiation, and leadership" [12]. And "Managing is a term that implies capability to direct and administer the work of others" [13]. In project management we need both good managers and well functioning teams. Project managers need to recognize their role in the team according to local adaptions and find a nice balance between applying their duties as project managers according to the standards from Project Management Institute (2017) [12] and the characteristics of high performance teams from Macmillan (2001)

[edit] Annotated bibliography

The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork, Pat Macmillan, 2001

The performance factor is a book that for big parts focuses on six different characteristics of high performance teams. The book also explains the urgent need for high performance teams and how the last 70 years has changed towards a team based organization structure. Furthermore, the book presents how the characteristics can be turned into practice to build a high performance team.

Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014

This book presents the reader, and especially the leader, with a guide on how to create high performance teams. More specifically, 7 principles to increase productivity and results. The book emphasizes on the importance of leadership through all principles to show how important the leadership is for high performance teams.

The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization, Katzenbach, Jon R.; Smith, Douglas K., Harvard Business School Press, 1993

This book provides information and a guide on how to create high performance teams within organizations. The book present the reader with successful and unsuccessful examples of teamwork, giving the reader the aspects from both sides. I also places importance on the various of team performance and how to learn about team effectiveness. Furthermore, the book looks into the dynamics of effective teams, again through the examples.

Joining Together. Group Theory and Group Skills. Johnson, D. & Johnson, F. (2013). Pearson, twelfth edition.

In Johnson & Johnson (2013) the reader can have broader explanation of the seven guidelines for effective teams through research and explanations. Each of the seven guidelines have their own chapter where the focus is on the basis of the guideline and skills for applying them in practical situations. This is a brilliant way to get a better understanding for the seven guidelines as the presentation of them in this article is basic.

[edit] References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork, Pat Macmillan, 2001
  2. ↑ Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review, 71(2), 111-120
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Building High-Performing Teams: 7 Principles that will Increase Productivity and Accelerate the Results of Your Team (The Leader's Guide Series Book 1), Neel Raman, 2014
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization, Katzenbach, Jon R.; Smith, Douglas K., Harvard Business School Press, 1993
  5. ↑ The discipline of teams.Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review, 71(2), 111-120
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Joining Together. Group Theory and Group Skills. Johnson, D. & Johnson, F. (2013). Pearson, twelfth edition.
  7. ↑ What is a Team Role?, Meredith belbin, https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles
  8. ↑ Creating and maintaining high-performingcollaborative research teams: the importance of diversity and interpersonal skills, Kendra S Cheruvelil1,2, Patricia A Soranno, Kathleen C Weathers, Paul C Hanson, Simon. J Goring, Christopher T Filstrup, and Emily K Read, 2014, https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1890/130001
  9. ↑ Leadership in high‐performance teams: a model for superior team performance, Linda S. Wing, 2005, https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/13527590510584285/full/pdf?title=leadership-in-highperformance-teams-a-model-for-superior-team-performance
  10. ↑ A Guide To the Project Management Body of Knowledge (pmbok® Guide), Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI), seventh edition., 2021
  11. ↑ Role of transformational and transactional leadership on job satisfaction and career satisfaction., Riaz, A., & Haider, M. H., 2010, Business and Economic Horizons. (1), 29-38.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI), sixth edition, 2017
  13. ↑ Project Management. Maylor, H. (2010), Prentice Hall, fourth edition
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