10 Habits of High-Performance Teams


The one book you need to develop your team building skills

This book contains the very latest high-performance teams research and best practices from some of the world's leading and most progressive organizations, namely, Harvard Business Review, Google, Microsoft, Deloittes, Adobe, Forbes, Praxis, Gartner, and Gallup, with a wealth of knowledge from books such as Good to Great, The Five Dysfunctions of Teams and The Hedgehog Effect.

In 10 Habits of High-Performance Teams, you will find:

-       Workshop based training with easy step by step instructions.

-       A summary at the end of each chapter.

-       How to build trust and gain the confidence of your team.

-       Evaluate your team and different personalities.

-       How to develop charisma and become a person of influence.

-       Give effective feedback and motivation.

-       Secrets to effective communication and developing emotional intelligence.

-       How to be persuasive and be a good mentor and coach.

-       Manage conflict to your team's advantage.

-       And much more…

What do today's employees want?

Today's new generation of employees are vocal about what they want their workplace to look like; they are suspicious of the older Traditional management styles, which they view as managing, administering, and in some cases stifling, unreasonable and unwarranted. They want managers who are trained in High-Performance and Transformational Management styles, managers who will recognise them for their efforts, and who will work in a collaborative, supportive and motivational manner.

They want a say in how their workplace is managed, where free-thinking, empowerment, service, and community are put ahead of self-interest. They are demanding higher levels of job satisfaction and managers who are more like leaders, who are open and honest, fair, and reasonable and value their team members contributions. Today's employees respond favourably to the High-Performance management styles and being a High-Performance Team member. These fulfil their willingness and desire to work across teams and their need for positive reinforcement and praise.

They are demanding a safe workplace to have conversations and freely voice ideas, an environment that changes and transforms individuals, one that satisfies their needs, values them and places team members first. The workplace must embody high levels of mutual trust, accountability, and collaboration, open communication is a crucial feature, as is shared leadership. Creativity must be encouraged with no room for public criticism of individual team members' mistakes. No matter how they are viewed, the simple truth is that the new generation looks at work dramatically differently from the previous one.

Today’s management can use this profile to their advantage. They can learn to manage each employee as a unique team member and establish a leadership approach that suits them best. The more approachable they are as a manager, the more relaxed the employee will be, and therefore, they will be more motivated to perform well for their bosses because of their increased respect and regard for them. Today’s employees are looking for managers who are interested in their professional development and an inclusive organisational culture that rewards individual achievement and promotes merit rather than tenure.

Managers who retrain and adopt a High-Performance Management style can influence team members and are better able to inspire them to perform beyond their perceived capabilities and to achieve unexpected or remarkable results, giving team members autonomy over specific jobs, as well as the authority to make decisions. This induces a positive change in team members attitudes and the organisation, transforming team member expectations, aspirations, perceptions, and values are into something better.

High-performance managers are focused on their people; they are a role model who set high targets and expectations. Team members look to this style for strong values, courage, and a sense of ethics. To succeed with this style, a manager needs to be emotionally mature - not going off the handle, being erratic or inconsistent.

A consistent and interactive management style works best for this generation, as well as regular, open conversations that involve the employee in their progress. Today’s employees crave responsibility and involvement within the workplace. Feedback is vital to them, they need comments about their work, reviews, and suggestions for how to do better, especially if they are looking to progress to management. Teamwork is high on their agenda and regular team meetings and collaboration with colleagues are essential. They need openness and transparency from management within an organisation.

A research study on American employees from Gallup found that 50% resign due to bad management. The study continues to show that having a ‘bad’ boss creates unhappiness in the office adding stress and spreading negativity to their home life and families. Finally, workers feel like they’re given little guidance as to what’s expected of them.