High performance is critical to the survival of any organization or individual. And when we talk about organizational performance, teams (human beings) are catalysts for its realization. I have decided to review this text titled “Ten Commitments to Building High Performance Teams” as a guide on how to achieve organizational performance through effective teams. It is written by Dr. Tom Massey, a corporate leadership coach and trainer with approximately 20 years of experience optimizing individual and organizational performance.
The performance of the team, according to Massey, is only as strong as the collective performance of the members. This consultant says that when engaged and collaborative people with complementary skills work together, a synergistic effect occurs because the total return is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Massey adds that, in other words, one plus one no longer equals two; instead, it equates to three or even more in a high-performance team environment.
He says the ten commitments outlined in this text will help you put the right people in the right positions to build a focused, values-driven, and high-performing team. The author advises you to learn how to make each member personally own the success of their team by creating shared goals, values, and strategic objectives.
Massey says that through this text, you will be able to learn how to set up profit sharing, set work standards, and correct performance issues, as well as create a learning organization that is capable of adapting to the challenges of the next century.
He adds that through this text, you will be better informed about how to build a team environment where people have fun and play to win. Massey says you will also be able to create a team environment with increased employee retention, job satisfaction, engagement and productivity that will propel your team to championship performance.
This text is divided into ten chapters. Chapter one is titled “Committing to Getting the Right People ‘Get on the Bus’.” According to the author, when you have the right people on the bus, with the right skills and a high-level commitment, regardless of whether you are a business manager or a sports team coach, you will succeed. Massey says the first thing to start when choosing the right people for your team is developing job descriptions based on the success factors for each position.
“Great coaches and managers develop each position as if it were the most important position on the team, and it is. Remember the saying: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” he says.
Massey teaches that success factors can be defined as the skills and behavior necessary to perform a job successfully within the culture operated by the team. Explain that these factors include more than just skill requirements. Skill requirements are essential characteristics or experiences that team members must have to qualify for their respective positions, Massey says. However, there are other standards of behavior necessary to ensure the team’s success, he adds.
Massey teaches that when defining a position, you must first determine what the primary purpose of that job is and how it fits into the overall purpose of the team. The author explains that each member of the team must see their position as a personal mission that contributes to the success of the team.
He says that based on the results of a recent national study involving more than 20,000 employees in various industries, only 37 percent of employees said they had a clear understanding of what their team or organization was trying to achieve and why what; only 20 percent were passionate about their team’s goals; and only 20 percent said they had a clear “line of sight” between their work and their team’s goals.
Massey emphasizes that to make sure team members understand how their jobs contribute to the overall success of the team or organization, they need to know the purpose of jobs, the reward for a job well done, etc.
Chapter two is titled “Commit to greet everyone ‘on the same page’.” According to the author here, set rules provide structure and people know what is expected of them and how they will engage with each other in day-to-day interactions.
Massey says that conflicts commonly arise in teams due to failed expectations caused by the assumptions of one or more people. These assumptions are often the result of implicit agreements or standards of behavior that have not been clarified because people do not understand the rules of engagement, Massey adds.
Discusses the topic of creating a team charter and says that a team charter is a written document that is used to define the purpose / vision, values and goals of the team. Massey adds that the letter will also help him serve as a contract between the team and the organization he represents.
In his words, “Bylaws can be developed by top management and then presented to team members, or teams can create their own bylaws and present them to top management. Regardless of who creates the bylaws, it is absolutely imperative that the top management provide support to provide the team with the direction and authority it needs to be successful. “
Additionally, Massey discusses the problems of developing a statement of purpose; identify team values and ground rules; develop specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based (SMART) strategic objectives, etc.
In chapters three through six, the author analyzes analytically concepts such as committing to creating a learning environment; commit to sharing profits and losses; commit to reversing poor performance; and commit to dancing with ‘those who brought you’.
Chapter seven is based on the theme of committing to win. According to Massey, if you want your team to achieve high levels of performance, you must transform those moments of fear and uncertainty into opportunities for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results.
It says the late John Wooden, a hall of fame coaching legend, once told his UCLA basketball team like this: “Men, the team that makes the most mistakes tonight will win the game!” Massey adds that Wooden encouraged his players to take risks and make more mistakes because he knew that 100 percent of shots that are never made are missed.
According to Massey, never give naysayers a foothold on your team by allowing them to perpetuate a history of negativity. He says that the story heard is the story told. Massey advises you to tell a different story, one that perpetuates a “play to win” mentality that allows you to create whatever you want. Playing to win requires a commitment that even if you fail, you will never give up and never let your goals and dreams die, explains the author.
The author reiterates that playing to win means moving forward no matter what happens. “And that’s possible when people don’t take mistakes personally,” he adds.
In chapters eight through ten, Massey discusses concepts such as committing to grow through adversity; commit to having fun; and commit to playing big.
Style-wise, this text is fine. Apart from the simplicity of the language, the way of presentation is logical and very didactic. Additionally, Massey employs classic allusions, beginning each chapter with a quote from a legendary figure, just for conceptual reinforcement and to ensure easy understanding by readers.
Add a “Practical Application” segment at the end of each chapter for additional tips, to ensure practical participation from readers.
However, the phrase “High Performance” in the title must be hyphenated (“High Performance”) to become a compound modifier of the noun “Teams”. Also the uncountable noun “Behavior” is pluralized in chapter two.
Overall, Massey’s intellectual efforts in this text are commendable. If you want your organization to exceed the above accomplishments by building highly effective teams, then this text is a must-read and the tips should apply to you.