As a team leader, you will need to build a high-performance team to handle your project if you want to improve efficiency, productivity, and profits.

Getting a team to deliver top-quality results day in day out can seem challenging. But if you know the right ways of building a high-performance team, the task is not as tricky as it may first appear.

Create the Right Team Composition

Forming a high-performance team is all about selecting the right people. That does not only mean choosing people who have the necessary skills and experience, it also means finding people who will work well together.

Begin by examining the different skill sets you need for your team. Depending on your project, you may need a creative thinker, a strategist, and a financial expert. For example, if an accountant will be integral to your team dynamic, you could choose an enrolled agent (EA) or certified public accountant. An EA advises, represents, and prepares tax returns, and many EAs specialize in tax resolution. So, if tax issues are a crucial part of your team project, it could be beneficial to get an EA on board. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) also handles tax issues, but he or she can also help with investments, financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, and much more. Once you find the people with the right skills for your team, you can look at how those people would work together and select team members accordingly.

Another vital factor to not overlook is the size of your team. It would be best if you kept the group small but not too small. In a small team, every member’s opinion is heard. That means decisions can be made more easily and more quickly, and bad choices are less likely to be made. Studies suggest a team’s effectiveness deteriorates if you have more than ten people on board.

Ensure All Team Members Are on the Same Page

By creating the right team composition and dynamics, each member will be able to accomplish extraordinary results, but you must ensure that all of the team are on the same page.

If you want to accomplish high-performance results, each team member must thoroughly understand the goals and objectives of the project. Ensure all members share the same vision so that they are in synergy towards achieving pre-set goals. Communication is the key to achieving synergy.

As a team leader, you must communicate your objectives as precisely as possible, but it is also essential that team members communicate well with each other at all stages of the project. The more in tune and communicative the team is, the more you will see them produce excellent results.

Resolve Conflicts Quickly

Promoting communication in your team is one way of getting each member to cooperate. But that does not mean conflicts will not occur.

When a heated disagreement happens, it can tear the team apart. So, you need to help resolve any disputes as quickly as possible. You may become tempted to leave the group members to settle the argument by themselves because they are mature and professional people. However, in reality, people often do not address their disputes quickly and directly.

As a team leader, it is your job to step in when needed, but you can also help to prevent conflicts arising in the first place by choosing the right team dynamic and focusing more on cooperation than competition between team members.

Set Stretch Goals

A stretch goal is an additional goal you set for your project or campaign.

High-performance team members love set stretch goals because the goals drive them to accomplish the nearly impossible. High performers do not want to turn up to work every day and do something that any other team could do just as well. They want to accomplish something genuinely challenging so that they can be proud of their capabilities and competency.

Set stretch goals for your team members, and you will see their engagement in work increase, which will undoubtedly lead to better performance and results.

Encourage Employee Development

If you want to sustain a high-performing team, you need to invest in your team members in the long run.

For instance, you could provide educational assistance, so that team members can further their education and learn new skills. You could also provide ongoing training to ensure team members do not become stagnant in their work. It can also be advantageous to give your employees leadership roles, to show that you value them. You do not necessarily have to promote employees to make them leaders but, by assigning them leadership roles for particular projects or in specific departments, they will become reenergized and extra-motivated.

Equip team members with additional skills, knowledge, and responsibility, and they are sure to become high performers.

Be a Trusted Source of Inspiration

For a team to become truly high performing, the members must have an inspirational and trusted leader. Yes, that is you.

Do not think that all you need to do is select the right people for a team to attain high performance and then leave it up to them to get on with the project at hand. To create a high-flying, high-performance team, you must go out of your way to inspire and motivate your team members to achieve their goals. It is up to you to gauge your team’s motivation at every step of the way and reignite them with enthusiasm and energy when their spirits look low. When a team is inspired, they become more confident about achieving their goals.

Not only do you need to inspire your team members, you also need them to trust you. If your team perceive you as distrustful, then they will not trust your judgments and decisions either. They would probably also not bring issues like conflicts and objections to you if they did not trust you, which means more problems will occur and remain unresolved. You can build trust among you and your team by creating positive relationships, being consistent in your actions, and staying true to your pledges.

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