Canadian HR Reporter

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 CANADIAN HR REPORTER & STRATEGIC CAPABILITY NETWORK Boosting the performance of work teams requires dedication to clari- ty and commitment, according to Alex Vincent, senior vice-president of leadership transformation at Lee Hecht Harrison Knightsbridge in Toronto. In today's world of work, teams are the engine that drive business forward — and it is critical that they operate at a high level, he said at a recent SCNetwork event in Toronto. "All of us believe, and all of us know experientially, that teams are critical to an organization's success," said Vincent. "Our theory, or proposal, is that teams who become truly ac- countable perform better. So, in fact, it's by working on account- ability that we actually increase team performance." Individual contributor culture and unaligned visions are holding teams back from maximum effec- tiveness, he said. And while 92 per cent of leaders view teams as critical to workplace success, just 23 per cent consider them to be effective, according to a 2013 survey of 255 managers by LHH Knightsbridge. "e gap is large between what we need our teams to deliver on, and what they're actually deliver- ing on," said Vincent. "On top of that, our team experiences aren't that great." Absolute clarity and total com- mitment are necessary for teams to complete their objectives, he said. State of teams Today's work teams are more complex and built with the ex- pectation of instant performance, said Vincent. Teams may be dis- tributed across the globe, and connected via technology over different time zones. "We need them to perform very, very quickly for them to de- liver the mandate, and then move on to another project," he said. Many corporate cultures are stuck in individual reward and recognition models or recycled annual business plans — det- rimental strategies that trickle down to team success as workers often become more concerned with their own personal perfor- mance, rather than the collective, said Vincent. "We've put teams together in a non-deliberate way," he said. "We don't deliberately say, 'OK, what is the team mission? What do we need a team to actually drive that's going to help us succeed? Who are the members that need to be part of this team?'" LHH Knightsbridge's research reveals the vast majority of teams are viewed as mediocre or weak — often operating at 50 per cent of their potential, according to Vincent. When determining a team's problem points, it's important to run a diagnostic, he said. Dysfunc- tional teams, for example, are very difficult to turn around. "Too many organizations… have spent too much time try- ing to fix team dysfunction," said Vincent. High-performing companies have the most accountable teams, he said, noting both clarity and commitment are critical dimen- sions to their success. "You can get a lot of the work done by making things more clear for teams and the team members." And by working on clarity, managers are naturally ratchet- ing up commitment levels, said Vincent. "Clarity drives 65 per cent of commitment. If you want to drive commitment, work on clarity," he said. "Team members don't come in with full commitment; it's not an inherent trait of people. People aren't born fully commit- ted or aren't born not committed; they come in with a certain level of commitment. And then it either goes up or down based on what happens." Instilling clarity Team clarity refers to the degree to which all team members are clear on the group's mandate, said Vincent. Clarity helps workers under- stand their clientele, ensures team members are clear on their collective goals and priorities, and clarifies trends and drivers affect- ing their specific industry, he said. "When we put people together, it's for them to deliver something that they couldn't deliver on their own," said Vincent. "If the clarity dimensions aren't met, their com- mitment's going to be low." When the mandate isn't clear, workers are quick to get behind what they subjectively feel is right, rather than work towards organi- zational success, he said. As workplaces change rapidly, managers should also be proac- tively sharing their thoughts on the unknown, said Vincent. "Having that continuous dia- logue, even when stuff changes, and just talking about the changes without knowing where it's going, is important." Knowing how a team's work aligns with a broader organiza- tional mandate helps employees understand what "winning" looks like, which spurs them on to own their individual performance, rather than rely solely on a team leader for motivation, he said. Improving commitment Commitment refers to the degree to which the team members are fully committed to the group's mandate, said Vincent. Often, the best-performing teams are driven from within — caring deeply about colleagues, exuding passion about the future of the organization, and demon- strating resilience in the face of adversity, he said. Leadership must offer a posi- tive vision statement grounded in reality if they want team members to fully commit, said Vincent. "e number 1 thing is that the organization that we are a part of has a positive future vision that they can articulate to us." It is also important that workers get to know one another on a per- sonal level and pursue account- ability, he said. "I need to know that these peo- ple care about me — not just in terms of what I have to deliver as a Credit: Love the wind (Shutterstock) Building an exceptional team Individual contributor culture, unaligned visions hold teams back BY MARCEL VANDER WIER "You can get a lot of the work done by making things more clear for teams and the team members." NEED > pg. 13

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