Simple Adjustments for Improved Performance

Fading are the days of the one shot training session or activity-based "teambuilding" exercise because these one dimensional approaches have little impact on their own. In the same way that teams are multi-dimensional and multi-faceted operating in a dynamic and shifting environment, the solution to improving the performance of the modern team will be a sophisticated and evolutionary application of some simple strategies that must be sensitive to the needs of both the business and the individuals concerned.

The most powerful approach to building or rebuilding teams needs be mindful of the following:

  • The strategic purpose and positioning of the team in its parent organisation
  • The dynamic needs and challenges of the team's marketplace
  • A recognition that the effective, high performing team will be made up of a group of effective, high performing and successfully interacting individuals
  • Simple and easy incremental adjustments on an individual and then team level will have the most significant impact
  • That in every situation there is probably one thing that could be done immediately that will have instant impact
  • That facilitation, coaching and mentoring have replaced "training"
There is no one single approach to helping a team adjust its performance but experience has shown that the most effective and sustainable improvements are made in partnership with the team's leader and with the following strategies in place:
  • The strategic view of improving team performance is maintained by working with the team's key influencers through structured 1-on-1 coaching
  • The development and enhancement of new and existing team relationships
  • The encouragement of frank and open quality conversations between team members
  • The building of trust in the facilitator/coach
  • The tactical view of improving team performance by working with and coaching the whole team
  • Having an external facilitator and coach who will bring a different perspective based on working with numerous other teams across a wide range of industries
  • The willingness of the team and its leadership to be challenged and to be open to honest feedback and observation
  • The commitment and willingness of the team leadership to let go of outdated and ineffective practices and to support the necessary changes to see them through to successful implementation
A suitably qualified and experienced coach and facilitator will be able to help a team become more aware of the issues at hand and help the individuals in that team, at all levels, understand the implications of those issues and what needs to be done to improve. With the right intervention a facilitator can rapidly bring stability to an under-performing team to create a strong foundation on which the adjustments can be made to allow improvements to take place.

A good coach and facilitator is merely the catalyst but can only be effective if they are allowed to be catalytic!

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or on 07971 817844