STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE

THROUGH HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAMS

NIGEL A.L. BROOKS

THE BUSINESS LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

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 STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE
THROUGH HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAMS

The sustainable enterprise strives to achieve performance excellence by

doing the right things, and by doing them well. By delegating
responsibility for managing projects and perpetual processes, creating
ideas, and problem solving to high performance teams, management can
focus on overall planning and policy development and performance
measurement activities. As such, management can address doing the right
things, and high performance teams can address doing them well by
making decisions close to the front line. By establishing a feedback loop,
high performance teams can contribute to the future direction of the
enterprise. Together the enterprise achieves more.

Teams are formed or emerge to address specific issues by leveraging the

differing competencies and experience of their members for a common
purpose. Teams are either formed by a higher authority or emerge based
upon need.

The basic ingredients for teamwork include:

● Establishing shared values, vision, mission, objectives, and goals

consistent with enterprise values, mission, and vision

● Operating according to a set of guiding principles

● Providing an opportunity for shared learning

● Encouraging "out of the box" thinking

● Being mutually accountable

Teams migrate through four phases of connection:

● Formation - determining the purpose and rules

● Divergence - defending current positions based upon differing

backgrounds

● Convergence - accepting differing points of view

● Association - committing jointly to the purpose, rules, and results

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A "leader-managed" team serves under an appointed leader who
establishes the objectives and goals. An empowering leader enables the
team to become self-managed, and potentially self-directed over time.

Self-managed teams work together based upon direction from the leader-
manager or another higher authority. Cross-functional teams operate
across organizational units (functions and business units). Although it is
hard to achieve in practice, in theory the entire enterprise is a cross-
functional team.

Self-directed teams are self-managed and establish their own direction

almost exclusively. Team leaders may emerge from both self-managed
and self-directed teams.

Self-directed teams are formed in two ways - either because they were
commissioned by a higher authority, or because of a breakdown in
leadership causing a void. When commissioned, responsibility has been
delegated by a higher authority because the team members have
commitment, competence, and momentum, and have earned the
opportunity to be empowered. However, with empowerment comes
accountability to the higher authority and the enterprise.

Higher authorities act as servant leaders to self-directed teams by

collaborating with them. As servant leaders, they ensure that the team is
equipped to get tasks completed by having the necessary resources to
operate, but not standing in their way. Servant leader collaboration does
not preclude the existence of a leader within the team itself. Servant
leadership is an aspect of stewardship because all participants share the
values and vision of the enterprise.

High performance teams are both cross-functional and self-directed, and

are focused on the improvement of people, process, and product and/or
service capabilities. Higher order synergistic effects will kick-in when
representatives from the legal, finance, human resources, information
technology, research and development, operations, and business
development functions are brought together for a common purpose.

For example, involving service personnel in design and manufacturing

processes can impact how best to maintain and repair products. Involving
salespeople in design processes ensures that customers' wants and needs
are considered when enhancing existing or developing new products.
Involving legal and human resources personnel in manufacturing
processes ensures compliance with labor laws and regulations.

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Operating within the context of existing plans, policies, and performance
measures, high performance teams take the pressure off of management to
find methods for doing things well, and provide a feedback loop to future
plans. High performance teams innovate, solve problems, and execute
operational processes with high standards for effectiveness of the results,
and for the team itself.

Areas of focus of high performance teams include:

● Reducing time-to-market

● Reducing cycle time

● Increasing productivity and efficiency

● Reducing production costs and operating expenses including selling,

research and development, and administrative

The standards for behavior include the basic ingredients for teamwork
and:

● Following rigorous problem solving approaches that include:

understanding the situation, what complicates it, framing the problem
statement, pursuing alternative solutions based upon anticipated and
probable outcomes, and making recommendations based upon
commitment, ease of deployment, effectiveness of execution, and
achievement of performance excellence

● Encouraging lively debate that includes the views of both internal and
external constituents, encourages varying opinions and points of
view, respects diversity, and avoids criticism and personal attacks

● Addressing strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats, especially

to pursue under exploited opportunity, to reduce overengineered
solutions, and to leverage core competencies

● Making fact-based decisions, but not necessary inferred from facts if

experience and judgment suggest otherwise

● Exceeding expectations

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By enabling high performance teams to work close to the front line,
management can focus on the overall direction of the enterprise. Morale
improves because decisions are made by those who are directly involved.

Establishing high performance teams is an enterpriship (entrepreneurship,

leadership, and management) competency.

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For more information...

For information about audiobooks, books, earticles, ebooks, and eseminars

offered by The Business Leadership Development Corporation visit
www.etailia.com

For more information about the discipline of enterpriship visit

www.enterpriship.com

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About Nigel A.L Brooks...

Nigel A.L Brooks is a management consultant to entrepreneurs, business

enterprise owners, executives, and managers, and the enterprises they
serve. He specializes in developing the entrepreneurial, leadership, and
managerial competencies that build sustainable advantage from vision to
value. He is an author and a frequent speaker.

He obtained his professional experience as a partner at Andersen

Consulting (now Accenture, Ltd.), as a vice president at Booz Allen
Hamilton, Inc. (now Booz and Company), as a senior vice president at the
American Express Company, as president of Javazona Cafes, Inc., and as
president of The Business Leadership Development Corporation. He has
been a contributing editor for the Bank Administration Institute magazine,
and has served on boards of entrepreneurial networks. He was educated at
the University of Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom.

His clients are in the financial services, food services, high-tech,

manufacturing and distribution, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, professional
services, retail and wholesale, transportation, and government industries.

He has experience in North and Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

www.nigelalbrooks.com

About The Business Leadership Development Corporation (BLD)...

The Business Leadership Development Corporation is a professional

services firm that works with entrepreneurs, lifestyle business enterprise
owners, executives, and managers, and the enterprises they serve.

BLD develops entrepreneurial, leadership, and managerial competencies

that achieve performance excellence by building sustainable advantage
from vision to value through:

 Strategic Management Consulting

 Executive Coaching and Mentoring
 Professional Training via The Center For Business Leadership
Development (CBLD)
 Motivational Speaking

www.bldsolutions.com

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