My new team of stars is not performing – what next?
Understandably, you’re excited to be starting as new manager for a high potential team.
You’re excited about your team of highly skilled and motivated individuals. As a new manager you can’t wait to develop your group into a high performing team. Just think how much impact you will have on that all-important business plan! The next thing you know, your team members seem unsettled and distracted from the task at hand. Team politics seem to be the flavour of the day. Everyone is doing their own thing and working in a silo, suspicious that their team mate may pounce on their idea and take the credit. Does this seem familiar? Developing a high performing team can take time and investment. But if you have a group of strong employees, sometimes people just need a bit of time to settle in.
The results aren’t coming.. yet! – Performance could be right around the corner.
Don’t fret – it is not always the case that you need to resort to performance management or a tough approach with the team. More likely your newly formed team needs you as their leader to set objectives. Guide them to find their roles within the team. Or help resolve conflicts while team members find their place in the team. Or maybe a fun team dinner outside the work schedule is just what the doctor ordered!
Teams go through predictable cycles, and you can manage into a performing phase if you know how to spot what stage they are in.
The good news is that team formation tends to follow easily identifiable phases and dynamics so that you can provide the essential leadership required for the team to thrive. All teams transition through five stages, and here is a short guide on what leadership activities to undertake at the different stages.
Tuckman’s five group formation stages and how to manage to performing:
- FORMING: Direct the team, provide clear objectives for team and individuals
- STORMING: Establish processes/structures, build trust, remain positive, coach through conflict
- NORMING: Step back, help members take responsibility for progress toward goals, team-build
- PERFORMING: Delegate, aim to have only a light touch, start focusing on other goals and work
- ADJOURNING: Celebrate team achievements regularly
Use the Stages of Team Formation to help your team reach the performing stage as quickly as possible.
Identify which stage your team is in and apply the strategies that move your team through to the next stage. It is important to realize that whenever any member of a team changes you get thrown back into the forming stage. This could result from any number of scenarios; you become manager of a new team, someone leaves, the team’s purpose changes, or a new hire joins the team.
Not the issue?
Of course, there are always many team and individual dynamics at play. Anything from lack of clear direction, role misfit, unmotivated staff, an under-performing team member pulling others down, or the team going through a busy period and being overwhelmed.
If you have navigated through the team formation stages and you are not getting the performance you need, let Strategic Leadership Team help you figure out what management techniques you can apply to develop the team to achieve more: Our Services
Read more about what your team needs from you as their leader and how to manage through each group formation stage to get to the high performing stage: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm