Creating High Performance Teams

Executive Coaching The Tobin Company

Great leaders create great teams. However, many executives view team building with cynicism, which we believe is often justified. Many teams take psychological tests, participate in some form of experiential learning, or attend adventure based activities. These techniques have collectively become known as “team building.” Each of these techniques can be effective when used in the right stage of team development and for the correct reasons. But they do not substitute for the “real” work that must be done to create great teams. At the Tobin Company, we begin our process by interviewing each member of a team to understand the current functioning of the group. We then design a customized approach that meets your team where they are to create a game plan for becoming a high performance team. This game plan includes sharing a summary of the major themes of the assessment with the entire team, creating the purpose and vision for the team, identifying the major strategic goals for the team to accomplish and determining an action plan for achieving these goals. In addition to these building blocks, each team has unique factors which need to be addressed in order to maximize performance. Some common themes emerging from team assessments include: team communication, team decision making, conflict resolution, enhancing trust, clarifying roles-responsibilities-accountabilities, strategic focus and effective meeting management.

Return to Executive Coaching Overview »