Improving Team Performance
As a team leader, what corrective measures would you take to improve team performance? How would you communicate these measures to your team members?
Set up guide lines to better communication with each member of the team , create a rules and regulations for the members to follow to created better results and any task
cesar,
Be careful about creating rules and regulations in isolation...even though you are the team leader. It may beneficial to present a draft as a talking document and then involve the team is setting up rules and regulations. You then a better change of buy-in of your team.
Ron Obstfeld
Clearly defining the team's purpose and vision allows team members to create their own strategies for self-motivation and increased performance. I've found that if the goals are clearly understood, team members find the means to get there by drawing on their individual strengths
Kathleen,
I agree. Be sure that you track progress, issues and give feedback and guidance frequently.
Ron Obstfeld
So true Kathleen, what I have found in my team is that they come to meetings with problems but with no solutions. When going through this lesson, I have some ideas I will use with my team at meetings. They at times seem to ponder on the problem meeting after meeting but no one offers any solutions. When going through this lesson the one thing that really stuck with me is when it stated that your team should find the good in others and focus on that instead of the negetive. Building on the postive will only help them to see the good in each other as well as what they can do as a team member to help make the situation better. This was a good lesson for me as a leader. I at times wondered how could I get them to look at the situation at hand and focus on the solution is instead of complaining.
As a long-leaderless team, my people have become very strong individual contributors, but now need a group identity. To correct our comparative lack of collectivism, we are employing a handful of group activities in the quarterly staff meetings as well as establishing a more coherent network of references for finding out what other team members do.
I would first find out exactly what is issue is and why the performance is leaking. After developing my plan of action I would conduct a meeting that outlined the specific issues. If certain areas were not being met I would ask for explanations as to why the items were not completed. If employees were in need of help or direction I would reassign tasks bases on the outcome. Working as a team is the best way to accomplish a goal.
Ajani,
Self directed teams can be very effective. What has prompted you to change this dynamic? What is not working?
Ron Obstfeld
Audrey,
The improvement items you listed could be avoided during the initial team set-up. Frequent success monitoring toward goals would also be a preemptive action to ensure a team is progressing as planned.
Ron Obstfeld
I would tell my team their task and how important it is. I know they say they don't know their part.
katina,
If team members do not know their parts it is critical that the leader clarify. Understanding your role is critical for full participation and achieving positive results.
Ron Obstfeld
I think clearly defining the purpose and vision of a team allows them to do their work effectiviely. If team knows the goals and the forecasted outcomes they can move forward with ease allowing them to make good decisions.
Miriam,
Equally important is to choose the right team members for the job as well as providing leadership and direction.
Ron Obstfeld
I would reiterate and identify goals of the team and ensure that efforts to improve need to be focused on addressing root causes (re-identify) and intended outcomes (re-identify).
Jim,
Reiteration may not be enough. More proactive measures may be required. What other direct actions might you consider?
Ron Obstfeld
As a team leader I would have clear objectives as well as time tables to meet thoughts objectives. If the team is under performing then we would get together to figure out why we are not meeting the set objectives. At this point we would reevaluate the goals of the team along with what work load the team can handle. Whit new goals in place, the team feels that they can archive should allow the team to increase their productivity and get the workload done.
Joseph,
Your use of "we" tells me you are certainly an invested member of the TEAM.Nice. Another thing to consider is what you might do if the goals are a directive and can not be modified.
Ron Obstfeld
Identify the goals of the project to be completed. Do my best to match each person to their strengths. Give positive responses to goals that are being met and or the process.
Jennifer,
I would suggest to check in with your team too to see if they perceived a difference.
Ron Obstfeld
