When evaluating the performance of teams, businesses often rely on metrics such as KPIs, ROIs, and other objectives. However, building and supporting high performing teams take more than metrics and processes. In order to create sustainably high performing teams, the human dynamics must be understood. Factors such as psychological safety, organizational culture (which is a significant aspect in itself!), personal and individual differences, and organizational elements all play crucial roles in the team dynamics and overall performance of teams.
So, how can organizations build and maintain sustainably high performing teams by leveraging organizational psychology? To shed light on this topic, we interviewed Dr. Kane Bidwell, an organizational psychologist and the Director of Psychology at Egon Zehnder, a global leadership advisory firm.
Dr. Bidwell’s background is in organizational psychology and data science. He spends most of his time innovating products or solutions focused on the intersection of these two areas and has spent over a decade working across different industries around the globe. Dr. Bidwell believes that ‘work’ as a construct is broken and is passionate about finding ways to make it better through products and solutions that focus on what matters most.
What is your definition of a high performing team?
For me, a high performing team is one that is able to consistently achieve exceptional results. It may exceed expectations or outperform the competition but achieving results is the key. This is realized by developing a culture that is based on shared goals, trust, respect, and open communication. A team that people want to spend their time being part of.
There are a couple of key elements that are necessary for a high performing team. There needs to be a shared sense of purpose and clear goals that everyone on the team is committed to achieving. This creates a sense of ownership and accountability that drives team members to work together towards a common goal.
Other important elements are trust and psychological safety. This is built through open communication, transparency, meeting commitments, and a willingness to listen to and value each other’s opinions. When team members trust each other and have a sense of psychological safety, they are more likely to take risks, share ideas, and collaborate effectively.
How are high performing teams built?
First, prioritize finding the right people. This means hiring team members who are not only highly skilled, and sometimes experienced, but also share the organization’s values and are committed to the mission.
We also think about team activities that foster trust, collaboration, and open communication. As well as creating opportunities for team members to develop and grow.
Of course, teams are built by leaders and they have their role to play here too. Leaders must create a culture that promotes innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. They need to provide clear direction and support to help team members achieve their goals.
How important of a role does culture play in the performance of a team?
High performing teams need to have a culture of improvement. This means that team members are committed to learning and growing, both individually and as a team. This includes embracing new ideas, experimenting with new approaches, and being open to feedback both positive and constructive.
For me culture is about accepted behaviors and it plays a critical role in the performance of a team. A positive culture promotes trust, respect, and open communication, which are all essential for collaboration and innovation, and subsequently performance. A negative culture, on the other hand, can lead to distrust, conflict, and low morale, which can ultimately undermine the team’s performance.
What are some work practices that have played into shaping your team’s performance?
My current team is an interesting one in the sense that we are a fully remote team spread across six different countries supporting global activities. A lot of what we do is in the innovation space so often specifics are unknown and so performance is about finding the solution rather than knowing the answer or executing tasks. Some of the work practices we have that support performance are open and regular communication channels, such as team meetings or chats, to discuss progress, form ideas, share feedback, learn from each other, and collaborate on projects. We also encourage team members to take ownership of their work and to be proactive in finding solutions to problems. We also dedicate time to non-work related stuff, including coming together in person at least once a year. Being remote, forming close relationships with colleagues takes a bit longer and you definitely need to work at it and be open to the fact that colleagues in different countries are living different experiences that may impact them at work. Being mindful of this helps build these close trust-based relationships that are critical for performance.
What kind of tools have you used with a positive effect on your team’s performance?
In terms of tools, we have found that using project management software and communication tools have been highly effective in supporting collaboration and productivity. These tools help us to stay organized, track progress, and communicate effectively.
Do you measure your team’s performance in some way?
For performance we think mostly about output and value delivered. We focus on metrics such as project completion rates, customer feedback, and product adoption rates. For most solutions we also think about the value delivered through metrics like cost saved, revenue generated, or time saved. While we mostly think about output metrics, we do also measure against the team elements needed for high performance, such as psychological safety, trust, respect, and culture. By looking at these kinds of things, we are able to identify areas where we can improve and make data-driven decisions to optimize our performance and focus.
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