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You want to ensure that your team is performing to its full potential, but can’t quite put your finger on what it is that makes a really good team. The following five characteristics are typical of a highly effective team. If your team are displaying them, they’re likely to be well on their way to peak performance.
Extensive research by a pair of experts on the subject of teamwork has found five interdependent characteristics that separate a mediocre team from a high-performing team: [1]
1. A meaningful common purpose
2. Specific performance goals
3. Complementary skills
4. Strong team commitment
5. Mutual accountability
A Meaningful Common Purpose
Most effective teams have a meaningful common purpose. Without this, teams operate as groups of individuals.
A common purpose is almost always developed externally and passed on to a team when they begin a project or task. Teams must be able to convert this into a common purpose and take ownership to achieve external performance targets.
Specific Performance Goals
If a team’s performance targets are not aligned with the strategic team purpose, or the targets are confusing or unclear, team members usually operate at mediocre performance levels.
The research found that effective teams are able to align a common overall purpose with measurable team performance targets. When the purpose and targets are clear, it enables teams to focus and communicate effectively towards the overall goal. On time-consuming or complicated projects, smaller, incremental performance targets help teams to stay motivated.
