Building High Performance Teams and Organizations (video)

In a recent Expert Insight Interview, John Golden spoke with Joris Merks Benjaminsen, an award-winning author and the former head of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at Google. They discussed what it takes to build high-performing teams in the modern workplace. The following are the main points and the guidelines that leaders and managers can use to develop effective and cohesive teams.

Exploring the Challenge of Developing High-Performing Teams

This paper explores the challenge of developing high-performing teams in the current workplace.

Developing a high-performing team has never been easy, but today’s workplace presents new challenges:

• Generational Differences: Different age groups communicate and process information differently. Thus, all generations can’t use one approach.
• Company Growth: Maintaining the mission as the company grows and ensuring that all teams are on the same page is always challenging.
• Leadership Expectations: Younger workers want to work in a collaborative environment rather than a classic top-down management.

How to Overcome These Challenges

• Use Multiple Communication Styles: Change your communication methods according to your audience’s generation. This includes using digital tools, having face-to-face meetings, and collaborating with teams.
• Keep the Mission Clear: To keep the focus as the business grows, go back and reinforce company values.
• Be a Flexible Leader: To meet the needs of a diverse team, balance collaboration and direct leadership.

Changing Organizational Structures

Traditional vs. Matrixed Models

John and Joris also discussed moving from fixed hierarchies to organizations structured in matrices with cross-functional teams. John supports the matrixed model, but according to Joris, the issue is not the structure but its power.

Leading Without Relying on Power

Here, Joris introduces the concept of ‘managing without power’. He says that leaders should ask themselves this question: What would I do if I had no power to enforce my decisions? This leads to a more enabling and more team-focused approach to leadership.

How to Apply This Approach

• Encourage Ownership: Make it a policy that the employee should be able to own his or her work, regardless of the company’s structure.
• Practice Thought Experiments: Learn to lead as if you have no authority to develop a more considerate approach to management.
• Foster Collaboration: Ensure the employees are appreciated and encouraged to participate.

Finding the Right Leadership Balance

Avoiding Extreme Leadership Styles

Some leaders are unable to balance being too active and too passive in the organization. Joris stresses the need to move from autocratic to democratic leadership, depending on the context.

Encouraging Upward Feedback

This type of feedback from team members to their leaders increases the chances of better communication and the overall atmosphere of the workplace.

Steps to Improve Leadership

• Adapt Your Leadership Style: Learn to identify certain situations and know when to be firm or when to consult others.
• Create Feedback Channels: Surveys and frequent meetings should ensure that people can give feedback freely.
• Promote Honest Conversations: Create a culture where people can feel safe to give feedback to the leadership.

The Power of Positive Feedback

Recognizing Strengths and Contributions

Most organizations are more likely to concentrate on employees’ weaknesses than on their strengths, even though positive feedback is equally important. At Google, Joris found that recognizing team members’ strengths boosted their performance and morale.

Building Trust with Encouragement

Positive reinforcement is a way of life, which means that it is easier to give constructive criticism once in a while.

How to Use Positive Feedback Effectively

• Acknowledge Good Work: It is important to acknowledge the employees’ efforts from time to time.
• Give Ongoing Feedback: Feedback, praise, and suggestions should be given often, not only during performance appraisals.
• Use Positivity to Build Trust: When they feel valued at the workplace, People are more willing to accept feedback and grow.

Setting New Employees Up for Success

The Importance of Onboarding

If new employees are to be effective in their roles, they need a good onboarding process that will prepare them for work. Unfortunately, most companies do not provide enough training or support to their new employees.

Balancing Support and Accountability

Some companies are very supportive but do not have strict goals; others have strict goals without support. It is always a balance.

How to Improve Onboarding

• Invest in Training: The new hires should be given clear directions and support from the first day.
• Set Clear Expectations: This is to avoid confusion by clearly defining roles and responsibilities at the beginning.
• Provide Ongoing Support: Have a follow-up to make the new employees feel comfortable and capable in the new environment.

Final Thoughts

This paper provides important implications for leaders who want to build a high-performance team in today’s complex work environment. Joris Merks Benjaminsen’s experiences and thoughts benefit any manager who wants to enhance his or her team.

Using this approach, organizations can enable different forms of communication, ensure that members are accountable for their actions, have flexible leadership, appreciate the positive, and support new employees.

Joris provides training and coaching for people who want to improve their leadership skills. He says it best: Effective leadership is an ongoing process, and leaders must be flexible and understand their teams’ needs.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.