MOST of us are quite aware that high-performance teams are                                                                                            
rare. One might say they are as rare as highly successful                                                                                             
organisations.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
But if we take a moment to ponder, we might say that this                                                                                             
analogy is rather unfair. And most people would agree with you                                                                                        
if you argue that it is much easier to build a                                                                                                        
high-performance team than a highly successful organisation.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
In any case, if you are thinking of building a high                                                                                                   
performance team you might want to consider the following                                                                                             
approaches suggested by Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith in                                                                                           
their book The Wisdom of Teams.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Sense Of Urgency                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
WITHOUT a sense of urgency, team members seldom strive hard                                                                                           
enough to achieve a high standard of performance.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
This is where top management support and presence is important                                                                                        
to ensure that a right `sense of urgency' is communicated to                                                                                          
the team members.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Unfortunately, top management seldom bother itself with                                                                                               
problems that are not pressing enough. Workers therefore learn                                                                                        
from experience that projects which do not receive top                                                                                                
management's attention, are unimportant ones and therefore, no                                                                                        
one need to bother about!                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Good leaders know instinctively a sense of urgency affects the                                                                                        
overall commitment of team members. With the help from senior                                                                                         
managers, team leaders must communicate the importance of the                                                                                         
team's tasks to the members and obtain their commitment.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Equally important to establishing a sense of urgency is the                                                                                           
setting of a level of performance standard the is to be                                                                                               
accomplished. In the workplace, it is not an easy thing to                                                                                            
determine such a level.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
It is easy to theorise that the expected perfor mance level                                                                                           
should be high enough to stimulate a sense of challenge, but                                                                                          
not so high that it demoralises the members and lead to                                                                                               
remarks such as, 'How can we achieve a 40 per cent cost                                                                                               
reduction in three months?' Each team leader must decide the                                                                                          
expected performance level for his team.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Skill-Based Member selection                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
MOST work groups ultimately fail to deliver because of the                                                                                            
belief that friendship among members is more important than                                                                                           
other factors.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
It is, therefore, common to find that animosity replaces                                                                                              
friendship the moment someone is taken to task for shoddy                                                                                             
work.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Team members Should be selected based on three factors.  They                                                                                         
are ad) technical or functional capabilities, be) conceptual                                                                                          
or skills in problem solving and decision making, and a)                                                                                              
interpersonal skills which cover a broader space than merely                                                                                          
`friendship'.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Studies show that most team member are capable of requiring                                                                                           
new skills if they are committed to the teams purpose and                                                                                             
goals. That is to say, most of us have-the capacity for                                                                                               
personal growth and the ability to develop the required                                                                                               
technical conceptual and in terpersonal skills if we are                                                                                              
properly guided.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Most high-performance teams consist of members with                                                                                                   
complementery technical effective problem solving abilities                                                                                           
and the right `give' and take attitude.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Importance Of First Meeting                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
FIRST impressions always mean a lot.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
At the first meeting, everyone is watchful of the signals (or                                                                                         
lack of signals) given by others. Attention is particularly                                                                                           
focused at those in positions of au thority. It is here that                                                                                          
team leaders and senior manager(s) representing top management                                                                                        
must communicate the right message (such as the urgency of the                                                                                        
problem or task) to the team members. It is during the first                                                                                          
meeting that the seriousness of the task force or project team                                                                                        
must be communicated across.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Unfortunately most-team leaders miss the opportunity to build                                                                                         
a high-performence team by sending the wrong signals.  Instead                                                                                        
of being serious, team members get the impression that the                                                                                            
project team is a fun group instead of a high performance                                                                                             
team. All too often, once the wrong image is created a more                                                                                           
effective remedial action is to replace the team leader!                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Setting Clear Rules                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
ALL real teams develop rules of behaviour or conduct that help                                                                                        
then achieve their common purpose and performance goals.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Examples of some of these rules are:                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
* attendance must be punctual and compulsory;                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
* discussions will be open, frank and professional;                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
* facts will take precedence over opinions;                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
* only what had been agreed by all are allowed to be made                                                                                             
public;                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
* everyone gets a fair distribution of real work; and,                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
* no finger-pointing.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Once the rules are formally adopted they should not be broken.                                                                                        
And when they do occur, appropriate punitive actions should be                                                                                        
taken against the guilty party.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
If punishment is not meted out soon enough, the entire group's                                                                                        
credibility is at stake. Usually the team members will lose                                                                                           
confidence on the leader right to lead.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Take for example the rule on total confidentiality to                                                                                                 
encourage open and frank discussion. Anyone who violates the                                                                                          
rule by talking to outsiders about matters that should be kept                                                                                        
confidential must be rep rimanded by the team leader.                                                                                                 
Otherwise future discussion will not be open and uninhibited.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Celebrate Achieved Performence Targets                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
IN order to forge team spirit, team leaders must celebrate                                                                                            
successful achievement of performance targets or goals with                                                                                           
all the members taking part in it.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Examples of events that are worth celebrating are:                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
* achievement of a 30 per cent increase in production output                                                                                          
in six months;                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
* sizeable reduction in wastage rates;                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
* achievement of on-time delivery targets when every                                                                                                  
department in the company is working under pressure;                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
* more satisfied customer as measured by a reduction in the                                                                                           
number of complaints, and so on.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
It would be penny wise pound foolish for team leaders to try e                                                                                        
frugal and therefore refrain from spending small sum of money                                                                                         
to forge a spirit of togetherness among team members.  We must                                                                                        
recognise that the potential energy in a closely-knit team far                                                                                        
surpasses the money spent for the celebration!                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
For any `celebration' to be meaningful the achieved                                                                                                   
performance targets must contain a `stretch' component. If it                                                                                         
does not, the performance target lacks challenge and                                                                                                  
therefore, there is really nothing to celebrate.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Spend Lots Of Time Together                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
FEW work groups become real teams without spending lob of time                                                                                        
together, both formally and informally.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Yet many team leaders fail to realise that such personal                                                                                              
bonding, creative insight and team energies grow out of                                                                                               
constant interactions among members both during scheduled                                                                                             
meetings as well as unscheduled get-togethers.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
When team members spend time together many productive                                                                                                 
activities such as:                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
* problem analysis;                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
* debating issues and choosing from among various                                                                                                     
alternatives;                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
* brainstorming and generating new and better ideas, and so                                                                                           
on, can take place.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Top management and team leaders-nead to realise that                                                                                                  
extraordinary achievements can only come from teams that spend                                                                                        
lob of time together formulation strategies and approaches to                                                                                         
achieve the common purpose and goals.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Give Positive Reinforcements                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
WITH very few exceptions, everyone responds well to positive                                                                                          
feedbacks, recognition or words of praise and reward.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Because there are many ways to give positive feed back, to                                                                                            
recognise and reward team performance, it is really up to the                                                                                         
leader and his team to come up with positive reinforcement                                                                                            
that are meaningful and will be treasured or appreciated by                                                                                           
the recipients.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Again unfortunately it is not uncommon to hear recipients (of                                                                                         
positive reinforcements) complain that what they received are                                                                                         
of little value or use to them.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Under ouch situations, if only the people involved                                                                                                    
(particularly the team leader) put some consider action into                                                                                          
what is appropriate reward for whom, the outcome would be                                                                                             
win-win situations for all.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Conclusion                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
BEFORE an ordinary work group becomes a high-performance team                                                                                         
it must go through much trials and tribulations.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
The above seven approaches real teams experience is no                                                                                                
guarantee that the recipe will succeed in helping potential                                                                                           
teams move up the performance curve.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
As authors Katzenbach and Smith put it, team building involves                                                                                        
all sorts of risks. For instance:                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
* abandoning the command/control model risks team instability;                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
* releasing the tight control is to risk performance;                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
* acknowledging responsibility for self-improvement is self                                                                                           
esteem risk; and,                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
* encouraging an open and free for all kind of discussion                                                                                             
exposes team leaders to risks such as emotional outbursts,                                                                                            
interpersonal conflict and so on.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Therefore, for teams to go through such risks makes sense only                                                                                        
if it unleashes the team's potential capabilities and be able                                                                                         
to achieve levels of performance that are much higher than the                                                                                        
sums of inputs from individual members.