High Performing Teams (HPT)

Before reading this i just want to mention that i know that the references are not structured and know i need to improve this and the big idea is yet to be written fully. Would really appreciate feedback in the text of the structure and the characteristics, the leaders impact, and the discussion and limitations. But ofcourse feel free to give feedback on everything. I just havent had the time to compleatly finish the drat for now

Abstract

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. Research has shown that high-performing teams lead to improved employee engagement, increased productivity and efficiency, and higher levels of innovation . 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.

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. 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.

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. By focusing on these key elements, organizations can build teams that are capable of delivering outstanding results and driving business success. 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.

Big Idea

High-performing 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 1900, is mainly driven by the new understanding that innovation and creativity are now essential for organizations long term stability. (ref both macmillan and https://neelraman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HPT_Book_Final.pdf). In order to understand how high performance teams work, different characters will be presented in the article. HPTs are characterized by different factors, and research has shown that high-performing teams lead to improved employee engagement, increased productivity, and efficiency . 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 Pat Macmillan (2001)(The performance factor) and also back up the characteristics of effective groups from Johnson and Johnson (2013) and other sources. 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: https://neelraman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HPT_Book_Final.pdf) For a 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 (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993)(ref : The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization, Katzenbach, Jon R.; Smith, Douglas K., Harvard Business School Press, 1993). 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 XXX 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. 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 formation, dissension, collaboration, and execution. (REF: https://neelraman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HPT_Book_Final.pdf).

• 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. (same ref).
• 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.

Characteristics of high performance teams

In this section i will try to identify the most important characteristics of high performance teams by looking into different articles and see which once that are beeing repeeted by different authors and articles.

Clear Goals: High-performing teams have a clear understanding of their purpose, goals, and objectives. These goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Clear goals provide direction and focus for the team, and help team members stay aligned and committed to achieving the team's objectives. Reference: Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American psychologist, 57(9), 705-717.

Roles and Responsibilities: Each team member should have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities within the team. Clear roles and responsibilities help to avoid confusion and conflict, and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals. Additionally, team members should have the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to fulfill their roles effectively. Reference: Hackman, J. R. (1987). The design of work teams. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 20, pp. 267–335). Academic Press.

Effective Communication: High-performing teams communicate effectively and openly with one another, sharing their ideas, concerns, and feedback. Effective communication helps to build trust and understanding, reduce conflict, and promote collaboration. Team members should be encouraged to listen actively, ask questions, and provide constructive feedback. Reference: De Dreu, C. K. W., & Weingart, L. R. (2003). Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(4), 741–749.

Trust and Collaboration: High-performing teams trust and respect one another, and work collaboratively to achieve their goals. Trust is built through open communication, shared experiences, and a commitment to the team's success. Collaboration involves sharing ideas, resources, and expertise, and working together to achieve a common goal. Reference: Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709-734.

Accountability: Each team member should be accountable for their actions and contributions to the team's success. Accountability involves taking responsibility for one's own performance, and being willing to hold others accountable as well. This helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals, and that individual contributions are valued and recognized. Reference: Latham, G. P., & Pinder, C. C. (2005). Work motivation theory and research at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 485–516.

Continuous Improvement: High-performing teams continuously seek to improve their processes, skills, and performance. This involves setting performance standards, monitoring progress, and making adjustments as necessary. Teams should be encouraged to learn from their mistakes, experiment with new approaches, and seek feedback from others. Reference: Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday.

Celebrate Success: Recognizing and celebrating the team's successes and milestones helps to foster a positive team culture, build morale, and motivate team members. Celebrating success can involve acknowledging individual contributions, recognizing team achievements, and providing opportunities for team members to socialize and build relationships.

Ieaders impact on HPTs

Leadership plays a crucial role in choosing and leading a high performing team. A good leader can effectively motivate, communicate, and inspire their team to achieve common goals and objectives. In order to create a high performing team, a leader must not only have strong leadership skills, but also possess the ability to recognize and select the right individuals for the team.

One of the key responsibilities of a leader in building a high performing team is to select individuals who possess the right skills and characteristics for the team. This requires a leader to have a deep understanding of the team's objectives and the roles each member will play. Additionally, the leader must consider the diversity of the team, both in terms of individual skills and cultural backgrounds, to ensure that the team can work effectively together.

Once the team is assembled, a leader must provide direction, guidance and support to the team members. This includes clearly defining goals, communicating expectations and providing feedback throughout the project. The leader must also foster a positive team culture that encourages open communication, collaboration and mutual respect.

In addition to these skills, a good leader must be able to adapt to changing circumstances and challenges that arise during the project. This requires strong problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to recognize when the team may need additional resources or support.

Several studies have shown the importance of leadership in creating and managing high performing teams. For example, a study by Kozlowski and Ilgen (2006) found that effective leadership was the most important factor in the success of a team. Another study by Hu and Liden (2011) showed that transformational leadership, which focuses on inspiring and motivating team members, was positively correlated with team performance.

In summary, leadership is critical in choosing and leading a high performing team. A good leader must possess strong leadership skills, be able to select the right individuals for the team, provide direction and support, foster a positive team culture and be able to adapt to changing circumstances. These qualities are crucial in creating a high performing team that can achieve its objectives and succeed in the project.

References:

Hu, J., & Liden, R. C. (2011). Antecedents of team potency and team effectiveness: An examination of goal and process clarity and servant leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(4), 851-862.

Kozlowski, S. W., & Ilgen, D. R. (2006). Enhancing the effectiveness of work groups and teams. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7(3), 77-124.

Application of high performance teams in project management

In this part the article focuses on how theory about efficient teamwork fit the PPPM scene. Although high performing teams are relevant for PPPs, we will from now on focus on their relevance for project and project management. It is hard to provide a step-by-step guide to project managers on how to implement knowledge about high performing teams directly in your project. This is because no project is similar and everything need to be adjusted to local conditions and the specific team. However, this section give suggestions on useful situations where the tool is appropriate, and it will be up to the reader to do a implementation of the guideline in their local project.

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, 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 the workers at the bottom of the organisational structure. They come in different shapes and sizes and need to be adjusted to their environment. Knowledge about high performing teams are therefore important in the terms of PPPM.

Furthermore, groups and teams are a natural part of the work breakdown structure of a project. Most projects, due to their complexity, are divided into smaller portions of work where it is natural to create a group or a team to do the work. In this relation it is clear that individual teams that do not accomplish their task will give a negative impact or delay to the whole project. We can thereby emphasize the importance of high performing teams in projects, which is a reason for project managers to facilitate the creation of effective groups and high performing teams in their organisation.

Knowledge about high performing teams is important when managers form teams. Project managers benefit from having an understanding on how individuals behave in teams (Maylor, 2010, p.255). In this way they can put together teams with abilities to adapt to these seven guidelines. This includes having a nice balance of diversity and a nice distribution among skills and characteristics among the members, adjusted for the tasks they are assigned to.

An example of a management issue of balancing several high performing teams is matrix management and distribution of resources in an project. The reader should seek knowledge of this topic from other sources. The seven guidelines for effective groups require a lot of time, dedicated- and motivated members. These are scarce resources in a project. It is reasonable to say that the benefits of high performing teams in a project must be balanced against other concerns in the iron triangle of time, cost and quality. Project managers need knowledge about groups and teams when deciding how much time and energy each employee should be allowed to spend on different teams in projects. This is important when managers design and manage the organisational matrix and an aggregated plan of resources. This means that sometimes it is reasonable for managers to limit teams and groups to be other types of lower performing groups. Knowledge about performance in teams is therefore a nice tool to include in these kind of evaluations.

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

The guidelines for high performing teams are a useful tool, but they should not be relied upon alone. While they provide guidance on certain aspects of team performance, such as equal power distribution and the importance of culture and motivation, they do not provide specific instructions on how to fulfill the guidelines through activities or project phases. This means that additional tools may be necessary to fill in the missing aspects, such as learning and knowledge management.

In project management, it is important to recognize the relationship between a project manager and team members. While the guidelines emphasize equal power distribution, it is still important for managers and leaders to understand their role in the team and how it can impact the team's performance.

Another challenge with the guidelines is their applicability in an organizational context. High performance teamwork takes time and resources, which may not always be feasible for the organization as a whole. Therefore, the high performance must be weighed against effectiveness and resource allocation.

In summary, project management standards emphasize the importance of management and leadership skills in creating high-performance teams. While project managers have a role to play in the team, they must also find a balance between their duties and the guidelines for self-management of high performing teams. (Project Management Institute, 2017; Maylor, 2010).

Annotated bibliography

Yet to be written... unfortnuently didnt have the time so i know this

References

This is the once i have found and planning on using or now. https://www.wydawnictwo-siz.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Trendy-w-zarz%C4%85dzaniu-przedsi%C4%99biorstwem.pdf#page=125

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01437739610106011/full/pdf?casa_token=wiHbPxhUQyYAAAAA:aV6_Zxs5yE94PCYZe1hB2fnTU1PEFcR41PddbvLKXUR6RnpoL09-0rUCOpIUL3gene8PVMO9VLRqIdN3rYvUGVcrFxynOsuWNF2vtzCor-snEeQaTP9X

https://www.timreview.ca/sites/default/files/article_PDF/HakanenSoudunsaari_TIMReview_June2012.pdf

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6498873