Despite abundant individual talent, the team's collective performance languished. This account explores their journey and the strategies employed to unlock their hidden capabilities.
It all began with the members taking a survey. Compared to a large sample of Swedish teams, they rated the team’s productivity in the 30th percentile. Beyond this stark score, the team members' written comments revealed a lack of trust, and that they were holding back their true opinions.
Yet, amidst these challenges, positive indicators emerged. The team possessed a shared purpose and a compelling vision, and individual members displayed a clear willingness to contribute. It was evident: The team’s potential far exceeded its current output. The question remained, how to bridge this critical gap?
Establishing a team's purpose is typically the most common starting point. However, as this team's purpose was already defined, we were able to quickly focus on creating conditions for positive group dynamics. A first step was for the team to produce norms, a code of conduct if you will. Since teams I meet often do not have such norms, I take the opportunity to mention what research says on the matter. In a study comparing high-performing management teams with low-performing ones, it was found that only the high-performing teams had clear conventions. In these teams, everyone knew which behaviours were acceptable and which were not. Another study summarising 40 years of research on management teams shows that established norms are a prerequisite for members’ ability to collaborate effectively.
To encourage adherence to the norms, we established a process for the team to continuously monitor its dynamics. Additionally, we implemented a method for regularly evaluating the quality of their collaboration. Such a method is also not present in most of the teams that I meet in my line of work but is equally important. Studies show that this type of follow-up increases team performance by between 20 and 25%.
Creating the prerequisites for group dynamics was a good start. But at the end of the first workshop, a member commented that it was clear the team needed to continue working on their meeting climate. I told my client, the manager of this team, that in upcoming workshops, we could focus on training in problem-solving communication and other skills supporting a sound climate. I felt it necessary to mention that such a workshop would be demanding and likely lead to frustration for some members. This is because of the gap between what individuals know they should do – such as listen and encourage – and what they often do in practice, like interrupt and dismiss. To understand the potential for frustration, consider that for four days, your colleagues, your manager, and a psychologist would scrutinize every word and tone of voice during discussions.
However, this did not deter my client, so the training began a few months later. As predicted, some frustration arose, but the participants handled it well.
Let’s fast forward to the final workshop, a year after the first one. Upon meeting the team, I noticed a marked difference in how the members related to each other. Prior to this event, the team had completed the same survey and you might be curious if there was a difference in the data. I can share that the team now rated their productivity in the 60th percentile. This represents an increase of approximately 0.8 standard deviations, which is a remarkable improvement. Moreover, the survey showed that psychological safety, trust, warmth and caring had increased.
To conclude, I would like to reflect on why it turned out so well. There are methods and tools for almost all possible challenges in a team. But the methods can only be as successful as the conditions allow. A great condition I had was the team members’ willingness to venture into the unknown. In the training, they were struggling to find their way, and many felt like clumsy beginners. But their ability to rise above the feeling of inadequacy led to the team being on par with the individuals.
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The clients that get in touch with me most often are CEO, MD or CxO. They reach out because they want to realise the potential in their organisations and accomplish extraordinary results. Here's what they have to say about my contribution to that end.