How to Manage High Impact Teams

“High Impact” describe ‘teams who are highly focused and outperform in anticipated productivity.’ Teams are a part of almost any organization and teamwork is an integral element of ensuring that targets and deadlines are met in an organization and managers have a huge role to play in the effectiveness of these teams.

Here are 3 tips for managing high impact teams;

1. Sometimes Diversity is key to a having a great team: Having similar people work together as a team can be a good thing because everyone gets along. However, it can affect the productivity of the team i.e. creativity and idea generation can be stifled. When people who are similar work together, they tend to come up with the same ideas and solutions to problems. However, a team that’s made up different people i.e. different backgrounds, sex, age groups, etc.) have the advantage of their different experiences. In order for teams to perform at a high level of productivity, diversity is important.
2. Offer incentives: Incentives are a great way to show your teams that high performance is recognized and rewarded. Teams that are given incentives have a higher productivity level. A study by Genesis Associates, a U.K.-based recruiting firm for engineering, sales, and creative sectors, found that 85 percent of workers surveyed felt more motivated to do their best when an incentive was offered, and 73 percent described the office atmosphere as “good” or “very good” during an incentive period. The Genesis survey found that 71 percent of workers preferred team-based incentives. Patrick Bell, managing director of Genesis Associates, said this is likely because when employees work toward a goal as a team, there are more people to help maintain high levels of motivation throughout the incentive.
3. It is okay to agree to disagree: Not everyone agrees on every issue every time so its okay to disagree once in a while. It fosters a community of creativity through brainstorming and reduces groupthink. When teammates do not challenge each other out of fear of disagreements or arguments, it can lead to passive-aggressive behaviors and in the long run, reduced productivity. Disagreements should be welcomed in every team, and as a manager, learning to properly guide your team through their disagreements can help them perform effectively.

Sources:

• Business News Daily
• Insights