One of the biggest career lessons I have learned is that if you take the time to develop the skills and passions of other people, they will strive to continue to work for you. Developing a strong team of employees that not only produces great results but also enjoys working with one another is an art as well as a science. On this episode of The Success Talk Show, I walk you through seven strategies to building a high performance team. Not having forward progress and mobility is often the downfall of many organizations, but by following these steps you can prevent employee burnout, encourage productivity, and reap the benefits of amazing end-goal results. Listen to the full audio to avoid missing a key strategy!

Focusing on strengths is critical to producing a highly productive team

Being aware of strengths within a team is twofold: the leader's own personal strengths and the strengths of team members. You can take the overall results of an organization to the next level simply by relying on team members to "fill in the strength gaps" and compensate for weaknesses. Having a document that tracks preferred skill sets, strengths, and weak points will ensure that every team member is clear on who works best on certain project types. Collaboration increases dramatically when a strength document is implemented. How should you go about creating this document? Listen to the complete episode to discover the keys!

Performing teams invest in the development of its members

People need to feel that they're learning and growing within an organization. This is accomplished by ensuring team members can connect the dots between current tasks and future visions and goals. On this episode, I explain why most process improvement initiatives fail and how success rates improve if learning components are integrated throughout an organization. You don't want to miss these crucial team performance insights!

Prompt conflict resolution leads to greater team member engagement

The ability to problem solve is one of the greatest assets an employee can bring to an organization. Unfortunately, many leaders under-utilize this talent. To encourage high performing teams, a leader must take advantage of members who possess this skill set. Doing so leads to the employee feeling recognized, appreciated, and included. Be sure to listen to the full audio to discover why every player on the team has to be playing in their best position in order to achieve success.

Greater performance comes from recognizing accomplishments

Every team member has a preferred style of receiving recognition and praise. In order to encourage members to work effectively and efficiently, it's crucial for a leader to recognize and shine a spotlight on a team's progress and success. This can be initiated by simply asking team members "how do you appreciate praise?" Recognition can be delivered in a variety of creative and engaging ways, and shouldn't be saved for the end of a project or mission. For the full seven strategies to develop a high performance team, be sure to listen to this engaging episode of The Success Talk Show

Outline of This Episode

• [0:52] Introduction of this episode's topic:  7 Strategies to Developing a High Performance Team
• [4:22] Strategy #1 - Be clear on your own strengths
• [6:11] Strategy #2 - Focus on the strengths of your team
• [9:10] Strategy #3 - Invest in the development of each person
• [9:11] Strategy #4 - Have a written game plan for tracking success
• [18:09] Strategy #5 - Address problems quickly and engage people with the right skills
• [22:00] Strategy #6 - Shine a spotlight on your team's progress and success
• [26:23] Strategy #7 - Give each team member the recognition they deserve
• [30:07] I offer a recap on how to develop high performance teams

Resources & People Mentioned

• Episode #4 - Lessons on Leadership, Trust, and Team Building, with Suzy Welch
• BOOK:  The Progress Principle
• Episode #1 - Acclimate to Accelerate Leadership Growth
• Episode #36 - Taking Ownership of Your Career Progression, with Doug Milone
• BOOK:  Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
• Donna Ceriani on LinkedIn
• MyOwnSuccessCompass.com