Great Teams Exhilarate — What Sets Them Apart? There is nothing quite like the sensation and satisfaction of being on a high performing team. I’ve had this luck and pleasure a number of times in my career, but it’s rarer than I’d like. High performing teams seem to generate their own energy and elevate everyone on the team to their full potential. Despite achieving more, working on these teams is less taxing — the workday feels shorter and less frustrating. So what sets high performing teams apart and why aren’t all teams so successful and fun? High performing teams aren’t just a collection of strong individual performers, although that certainly helps. They don’t leave great performance to luck or personality, they design for success. Here are 6 tangible and actionable attributes of high performing teams: 1. Defined Goals Defined goals and a clear plan to achieve them are essential to great performance. Abstract annual goals aren’t enough — teams need shorter-range, compelling and clear goals that unify and galvanize them on shared purpose. Sequencing these to an annual result works well, but it’s key the team wants to achieve the goals. 2. Committed Actions Successful teams write down the committed actions each person owns on the path to goal achievement (and they waste less time determining who owns what). Members feel a sense of personal ownership and have a shared intention to accomplish the results they’ve committed to the team week over week. Making progress on actions aligned with a goal people believe in energizes people and elevates their performance, according to author and Harvard professor Teresa Amabile. 3. True Transparency Facts and status enable members of the team to work more effectively together, pivot or adjust course quickly on unforeseen events, and execute with greater efficiency and predictability. Embracing transparency is one of the most distinct features of high performing teams (and a stark contrast to the politicized and professional “ball hiders” that frequent lesser performing teams). Moreover, the activity required to achieve transparency improves the odds of goal achievement: people with written goals and actions alone have a 43% goal achievement rate while adding status reports against goals boosts the likelihood of achievement to 76%. 4. Unabashed Accountability The team leader and members hold themselves and each other accountable for their commitments and goal achievement week to week. When the team or a person comes up short, it’s not swept under the rug — it’s triaged and addressed quickly to get back on track to goal. There is a uniform expectation of each other, that when combined with a uniformly high level of commitment to goal, are the essence of a high performing team’s greatness. 5. Frequent Feedback Members of the team get and ask for regular feedback on their work. Learning members get positi

1. 6
Hallmarks
of
High
Performing
Teams
Deidre
Paknad
CEO & Co-­‐Founder of Workboard

2. High
performing
teams
seem
to
generate
their
own
energy
and
elevate
everyone
on
the
team
to
their
full
poten6al.

3. What sets high performing teams apart and why
aren’t all teams so successful and fun?
They
aren’t
just
a
collec6on
of
strong
individual
performers.
They
don’t
leave
great
performance
to
luck
or
personality,
they
design
for
success.
They
have…
Defined Goals
CommiDed AcFons
True Transparency
Frequent Feedback
Unabashed Accountability
Celebrated Successes

4. Defined Goals
Defined
goals
and
a
clear
plan
to
achieve
them
are
essen6al
to
great
performance.
Abstract
annual
goals
aren’t
enough.
Teams
need
shorter-­‐range,
compelling
and
clear
goals
that
unify
and
galvanize
them
on
shared
purpose.
Sequencing
these
to
an
annual
result
works
well,
but
it’s
key
that
the
team
wants
to
achieve
the
goals.

5. CommiDed AcFons
Successful
teams
write
down
the
commi?ed
ac@ons
each
person
owns
on
the
path
to
goal
achievement
(and
they
waste
less
6me
determining
who
owns
what).
Members
feel
a
sense
of
personal
ownership
and
have
a
shared
inten@on
to
accomplish
the
results
they’ve
commiIed
to
the
team
week
over
week.
Making
progress
on
ac6ons
aligned
with
a
goal
people
believe
in
energizes
people
and
elevates
their
performance,
according
to
author
and
Harvard
professor
Teresa
Amabile.

6. True Transparency
Facts
and
status
enable
members
of
the
team
to
work
more
effec6vely
together.
They
can
pivot
or
adjust
course
quickly
on
unforeseen
events,
and
execute
with
greater
efficiency
and
predictability.
Embracing
transparency
is
one
of
the
most
dis6nct
features
of
high
performing
teams
(and
a
stark
contrast
to
the
poli6cized
and
professional
“ball
hiders”
that
frequent
lesser
performing
teams).

7. True Transparency
People
with
wriIen
goals
and
wriIen
ac6on
plans
improves
goal
achievement
43%
Adding
status
reports
boosts
the
likelihood
of
achievement
to
76%

8. Unabashed Accountability
The
team
leader
and
members
hold
themselves
and
each
other
accountable
for
their
commitments
and
goal
achievement
week
to
week.

9. Unabashed Accountability
When
the
team
or
a
person
comes
up
short,
it’s
not
swept
under
the
rug
–
it’s
triaged
and
addressed
quickly
to
get
back
on
track
to
goal.
There
is
a
uniform
expecta@on
of
each
other,
that
when
combined
with
a
uniformly
high
level
of
commitment
to
goal,
are
the
essence
of
a
high
performing
team’s
greatness.

10. Frequent Feedback
Members
of
the
team
get
and
ask
for
regular
feedback
on
their
work.
Learning
members
get
posi6ve
feedback
that
enables
them
to
learn
and
engage
quickly,
while
expert
members
get
construc6ve
feedback
that
helps
them
con@nuously
advance
already-­‐mature
skills.
Because
team
members
are
focused
on
achievement
and
respect
each
other’s
commitments
and
efforts,
feedback
is
easier
to
give
and
apply.

11. Celebrate Success
They
savor
the
small
and
the
big
wins
as
a
team.
High
performing
teams
celebrate
people’s
individual
contribu6ons
and
the
accomplishments
of
the
team
as
a
whole.
In
large
matrixed
organiza6ons
where
teams
coalesce
and
disband
quickly,
it
takes
extra
effort
to
celebrate
success
but
it
is
actually
more
rewarding
than
a
cash
bonus,
according
to
McKinsey.

12. It's
not
just
the
business
results…
People
who’ve
worked
on
high
performing
teams
tend
to
remember
the
experience
and
their
team
mates
vividly
for
years
to
come.
When
they
describe
the
experience,
they
use
words
like
“epic”
and
there
is
tangible
pride
and
gra@tude
in
their
voice.
That
team
imprint
is
far
greater
and
longer
las6ng
than
its
contribu6on
to
the
company
at
which
its
members
worked.

13. 13
Engage
and
Empower
Your
Team
More
Easily
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app
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share
goals,
ac@ons,
status
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