High performance teams

Revision as of 12:23, 18 February 2023

Developed by Bence Richter

Introduction

According to the widely accepted definition, High Performance Teams (HPTs) are a concept in organizational behavior and management that refers to a team of individuals who work together to achieve a common goal. It provides a framework for teams to enable high levels of performance and reach their goals more effectively. The concept is described by several key components, which include shared goals, well-defined roles and responsibilities, strong communication, trust, well-executed decision-making, adaptability, and continuous improvement.^[1] When implemented effectively, it can lead to increased productivity, team morale, and improved quality. Given the nature of this concept, it is used in many areas of the professional world including healthcare, sports, IT, the automotive and retail industries R&D just to highlight a few. It can be applied to almost any kind of team, meaning it can be applied specifically to project teams as well. Nowadays, numerous companies, like Volvo and Boeing, are successfully using the High-Performing Teams concept within their project teams.^[2] This article focuses on

• Providing guiding principles around building a high performing project team
• Discussing the benefits of the application of the concept
• And describing key elements of the implementation strategy.

Concept background

A short part about the historical background of the HPTs and Bruce W. Tuckman's Stages of Group Development which is the commonly used framework when talking about a team's stages of development and as such plays an important role in the evolution of high-performing project teams as well.

^{[3] [4]}

Guiding principles

Drivers and barriers of project team performance

^[5].

Characteristics of high performance in project teams

^[6].

Interview analysis conducted with members of high performance project teams

^[7].

Trust and safety as fundamental conditions

Benefits of application

Implementation strategy

Discussion

References

1. ↑ [Lund, A. (2011) Creating a High Performance Team.] User Experience Management, pages 163–189.
2. ↑ [Richardson, P. and Denton, D. K. (2005).] How to create a high-performance team.
3. ↑ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman%27s_stages_of_group_development] Tuckman's stages of group development. (2023, January 29).
4. ↑ [https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development] Using the Stages of Team Development
5. ↑ [Thamhain, H. J. and Wilemon, D. L. (2013). Building high performing engineering project teams.] IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, EM-34(3):130–137.
6. ↑ [https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/characteristics-high-performance-project-teams-8525] Edward J., Kinlaw, C. S., & Kinlaw, D. C. (2000). Developing superior project teams: a study of the characteristics of high performance in project teams. Paper presented at PMI® Research Conference 2000: Project Management Research at the Turn of the Millennium, Paris, France. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
7. ↑ [Ammeter, A. P. and Dukerich, J. M. (2002). Leadership, team building, and team member characteristics in high performance project teams.] EMJ - Engineering Management Journal, 14(4):3–10.