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

The first characteristic that Macmillan covers is the Common purpose. “The single most important ingredient in team success is a clear, common, compelling task”.(REF) This is how the first characteristic is described, and basically 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).

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). 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-performing teams, and 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. (https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles).

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). 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 (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.

The fourth characteristic described by Macmillan 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.” (ref). The characteristic refers to how teams mastered different factors like identifying, mapping, and mastering how their team master 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”. This characteristic is mainly referring to the … of diversity of 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 ( https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1890/130001). 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 til the performance factor). The diversity of a team can vary between gender, function, experience, personality, ethnicity, etc.

The last and sixth characteristic Macmillan 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. (ADD another reference here if neccessary)

Application of high performance teams in project management

This section of the article highlights how theories on effective teamwork apply to the PPPM (Project, Program, and Portfolio Management) arena. While high-performance teams are important for PPPM, the focus will now shift towards their relevance in projects management. Providing a step-by-step guide for project managers on how to incorporate knowledge about high-performing 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. Nonetheless, this section suggests situations where the tool is appropriate.

• 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 succeed 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. (https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/13527590510584285/full/pdf?title=leadership-in-highperformance-teams-a-model-for-superior-team-performance). The leadership is a crucial factor in any project across alle the stages of the project lice cycle (https://neelraman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HPT_Book_Final.pdf). 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 (A Guide To the Project Management Body of Knowledge (pmbok® Guide) – Seventh Edition and the Standard for Project Management (2021)). A situational leadership approach is motivated by the development and effectiveness of the team, rather than self-serving interest. (Riaz, A., & Haider, M. H. (2010). Role of transformational and transactional leadership on job satisfaction and career satisfaction. Business and Economic Horizons. (1), 29-38.) 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.

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