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Master Your Game
This Issue: Foundation of High Performance Teams - Part 2
Dear Reader,
Summary
This is the fourth article in the series on High Performance Teams. Now that you've conducted your
self-assessment, here are some suggestions
for increasing the effectiveness of your teams. The first three category
areas were discussed last month.
The last four categories are covered here.
Creativity
Introduce fun into the workplace to stimulate thought and new ideas. When creating flip charts, use multiple pen
colours as colours stimulate the brain and enhance memory. How about bringing slinky toys or squishy balls to
your next meeting? Simply using our hands to play with toys while we are thinking enhances personal creativity.
This may sound silly, but the toys will allow you to simultaneously stimulate both sides of your brain, so
instead of only using half your brain to solve problems, you will be able to use all of your brain.
Diversity
To appreciate each other it is important to understand the behavioural or personal styles of the people
on your team. We all have different styles of responding to our external environment and different ways
of approaching and thinking through problems. Diversity encompasses more than respecting and valuing
the different skills and unique talents of individuals, it also includes having a perspective on who
we are as individuals.
In the seminar Uniting Your Team,
the self- assessment Personal Coaching Styles Inventory is used to develop an understanding of your
team's behavioural styles, the first step to enhancing understanding and respect among team members.
To have an in-depth independent assessment and debriefing session, contact
Catalyst.
Continous Learning
Open and honest reflective questions of how well you are doing as a team will facilitate growth, both
individually and as a team. Are you willing to ask the hard questions of yourself (the team) to determine
how well you are working together? What are you doing well? What would you like to do more of? What do
you need to learn as a team? What resources would make you more effective?
Through group coaching, Catalyst Business Coaching can help you identify knowledge gaps and learning opportunities
for you and your team.
Results
It is important to have clear measurable goals, measure your progress along the way and celebrate successes
and milestones. Celebration is an opportunity to recognize achievement and to maintain high energy levels to
promote further successes. Acknowledgement is required to generate a sense of accomplishment and build confidence
so individuals willingly take on bigger challenges. But remember, the attributes of a high performance team
are developed and executed in the first six internal process areas - team charter, dialogue, working procedures,
creativity, diversity, continuous learning. If your team is doing a great job in everything else, the results
will flow effortlessly.
Mastering Your Game
My golf coach told me that if I wanted to become good at golf then I needed to focus on something other
than the scorecard -- RESULTS. I learned that I needed to focus on my grip, swing and stance -- WHAT I
needed to do to hit the ball to make a difference in my results. The next thing I learned was that I
needed to focus on WHO I am and my attitude - HOW I show up when I play.
(WHO → HOW) X WHAT = RESULTS
By focusing on improving my technical skills and attitude, my scorecard also improved. I applied this
formula for individual and team coaching and have had great success. Mastering Your Game means increasing
your knowledge of who you are, as a leader or part of a team, and on how you approach what you are doing.
If you can master that part, the results will follow.
Coaching can help you align your team's performance with the results you want to achieve. Depending on
your needs, Catalyst can design a customized coaching, facilitation and/or seminar sessions to help you
achieve high performance status.
If you require resources to enhance the performance of your team contact
jacque@catalystcoach.ca.
If you have any comments on this set of articles or suggestions for future topics please
e-mail info@ catalystcoach.ca.
Wishing you successful teams,
Jacque Small
Catalyst
Business Coaching is a corporate development organization. It
works with people who want to achieve a greater
sense of success for both themselves and others in
the organization. It supports people to develop
strong interpersonal communication skills and build
foundations to develop dynamic teams. Jacque
Small, principal and owner of Catalyst, founded the
company in 2000.
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