In the 7 Steps to High Performance Teams Workshop and Consulting, people are shown a prescriptive model that illustrates how to develop and lead High Performance Team Work. The model has the 7 Steps and examples of work-behavior that will be seen if the step is Realized meaning that the team has accomplished that step OR Unrealized meaning that the team has not accomplished that step. Once the Realized work-behavior is seen and known then the team and team leader can move to the next step.

Teams are often surprised that the model has a step before ‘Establish Trust’ (Establish-Trust is Step 2). Very often as Team-Leaders and manager, even team members we skip this first step because we just think that everyone knows it already.

1. Induction to the team

• Why am I here? Why are you here? Why are we together on this?

Have you ever heard this or perhaps you have said this. Someone asks, “Why are you here?” your response, “I don’t know I was told to show up.”

When forming a team everyone is uncertain about ‘why them’ ‘why you’ ‘why now’ and ‘what can I add to this team / project’?  By sharing the reason each person is on the team, their skill sets, and how their combined strengths could work to accomplish the project, creates a shared purpose and identity for the team.

People need an answer to these questions to continue their work and then Establish-Trust. If I don’t know why I’m on this team, and why you’re on this team – then Trust will NOT HAPPEN, and if Trust is not  established you can forget about the project getting completed.

What do you think?

Is ‘Induction to the Team’ a necessary step? Have you ever been on a team that did a great job of establishing who is on the team and what their skills sets are? Thinking about teams you have worked on, could Trust be Established if you did not know why others and you were on the team? In what ways could you make Step 1: Induction to the Team, clear and distinct to all team members?

Interested in learning and implementing the 7 Steps to High Performance Teams into your Organization and Team? Contact Mike today Phone 1-716-629-3678.