Top Team Effectiveness
The 7 characteristics of high-performing teams
In this article, you will learn why high-performing teams are a key success factor for companies and how they contribute to increasing organisational performance. We present the seven core characteristics that transform a team from an "average" to a "high-performing" team. We also highlight the challenges that teams need to overcome to maintain their effectiveness in the long term and provide practical tips on how organisations can successfully develop their teams. The article offers valuable insights and strategies for fostering teamwork, leadership and cultural change to ensure the long-term success of your organisation.
Why are teams the key to corporate success?
Teams are the centrepiece of a successful company and a key lever for increasing company performance. Especially in times of growing complexity and dynamic markets, the right teams are playing an increasingly important role. 90% of companies1 are convinced that their complex projects can only be successfully solved through teamwork. Studies also show that employees in teams are 2.3 times more likely4 to be fully committed to their work. Furthermore, 75% of employees2 favour teamwork over individual tasks.
What makes a high-performing team?
The success of a team depends not only on its size or structure, but above all on the way in which team members work together, support each other and work towards common goals. In our experience, high-performing teams are characterised by certain features that distinguish them from "normal" teams.
The seven core dimensions of high-performing teams:
- Team Vision & Purpose:
These teams have a clear, convincing direction for their work and a meaningful purpose that is shared by all team members. A clearly defined purpose motivates and strengthens collaboration. - Team ambition:
High-performing teams set themselves the common goal of acting as a real team. They have clear goals and work closely together to achieve them, with everyone making their own contribution. - Team context:
High-performing teams work in a supportive organisational context and interact effectively with their environment. A positive environment fosters collaboration and strengthens team cohesion, even in the face of external challenges. - Team roles & accountability:
In successful teams, there is a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of all members. This clarity promotes trust and ensures a high level of accountability for each individual. - Team processes & routines:
High-performing teams have well thought-out work processes and routines that ensure an efficient workflow. These processes enable quick decisions and promote communication. - Team relationships:
The basis of successful teams are strong relationships characterised by trust and respect. This creates a safe environment in which team members can communicate openly and resolve conflicts constructively. - Team composition:
High-performing teams are built on a well-structured composition that enables effective collaboration. The skills and strengths of the team members are perfectly harmonised.
Challenges for teams that want to maintain their performance level
Maintaining team performance is not a sure-fire success. Teams have to overcome several challenges to ensure their effectiveness and performance levels in the long term. These challenges can be categorised into four key areas:
- Strategy & Organisation
Teams must continuously adapt to strategic alignments and organisational changes. The implementation of post-merger integrations or transformations requires teams to react flexibly to new requirements and continuously develop. - Hybrid future of work
The trend towards hybrid working models presents teams with the challenge of ensuring effective collaboration. Distributed teams and remote leadership require new ways of working and an adapted corporate culture in order to maintain strong collaboration. - Market & customers
Teams must adapt quickly to changing market conditions and new customer requirements. Issues such as product digitalisation and growth challenges require teams to be highly adaptable and able to make quick decisions. - Team & individuals
Team dynamics play a central role. Internal conflicts of interest, new team set-ups and the search for the right team leaders must be actively managed in order to ensure the team's efficiency.
Team goals: a reflection on the initial situation and team dimensions
A team's aspirations are a decisive factor. It is important to recognise that teams can be classified according to various dimensions such as location, hierarchy, working methods, time or team composition. These dimensions influence the goal aspiration and determine how the team defines its goals and what kind of development it strives for. Effective team development therefore takes into account not only the team type and the initial situation, but also the team's specific target aspirations.
Our expertise is based on...
In order to create a sound basis for the assessment and development of high-performing teams, we combine our many years of project experience in the field of leadership and team development with scientific studies and proven external leadership models. This integrative approach enables us to develop practice-orientated solutions based on sound knowledge and real-life experience.
How to develop high-performing teams
There is no single way to develop a high-performing team - but there are clear building blocks that pave the way. Our modular approach to developing high-performing teams consists of three flexible elements:
Linking with current topics
Successful team development goes far beyond the team dimension. The link to the company's current issues is another important success factor. Be it in strategy work, the development of corporate values or the OKR process - the improvement of cooperation must be measured against real examples and challenges that the team is currently facing.
Conclusion: High-performing teams for long-term success
High-performing teams are more than just a group of people working together - they are well-organised, trusting and committed units that continuously work towards their common goals. Regardless of the industry or team type, effective teams are the key to growth, productivity and long-term organisational success.
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