Want to put together a high performing team? Just ASK!

Who doesn’t want to work with a high performing team or in a high performing team!

Leaders worldwide grapple with this challenge perhaps every day to unlock the secret code of building teams of high performers.

Companies invest their time and effort to put together meaningful Mission and Vision statements so that people with the right skill sets and attitudes get attracted to apply for jobs.

Human resources chalk out intricate ways in which the applicants are tested psychologically as well as intellectually to recruit fresh talent with fire in their bellies.

Trainers and LandD professionals plan out ways to ensure that the new recruits are given the right push in the right direction from the beginning of their on-boarding process and come up with interesting strategies on regular basis to nurture a learning culture and a high performing mindset within the various teams.

But if you want really want to put together a high performing as the head of the department, one of the most basic thing required from you is “ASK”!

ASK

That’s right. If you lead a team of individuals in your office or workplace, then let’s take a look at the three critical pillars that are required to make a team of high performers.

Attitude

Attitude is what our teams bring at work every day. Leaders who want to build a high performing team need to ensure that their teams always bring a winning AND a positive attitude at work. An associate who comes to work bringing stress and negative thoughts spoils it for everyone else in the team.

Remember the wise old saying “One bad apple spoils the rest”.

Attitudes are difficult to work around because human beings respond to different situations differently. Some people have a high threshold to tackle challenging issues while some may buckle under pressure easily.

As a leader of your team, it’s your job to keep a look out for such associates who might get hasseled easily. Ensure that you spend enough time with them on regular basis to let them know that you are there if they hit any rough spots. Counsel them, guide them and talk to them about their OFIs (Opportunities for improvement).

It is an unfair expectation that each newly recruited and trained associate in your team should be a born performer. So invest time in your team to align their work attitudes with the company’s vision, purpose and brand promise.

Skill

People say that attitudes cannot be taught but skills can. Well, I agree, at least with the latter half of this statement.

Not everyone in your team can be a highly skilled associate. Some could be trainees, some could be fresh graduates with no prior work experience and yet some could be half way between ‘not too experienced but still fairly good’ level.

If you have a team of people with a mix of such skill levels (which mostly are the case) then you need to have a plan for each and every member of your team with regards to their learning.

Yes, it may sound exhausting, but nobody said that the road to building high performing team is easy.

Sometimes as leaders we all tend to walk into the trap of thinking – “Why do my best performing associates need any training plan?” Actually they need it the most because the best performing associates are more eager to learn about new skills as they are ambitious and are eager to grow within the system because they have the potential.

Similarly, associates who are ‘in between’ are individuals who require your due attention as much as the associates, who, you might feel, still have a long way to go.

Knowledge

Knowledge by far is the most underrated when it comes to building high performing teams. A lot of leaders take great care in honing the right skills and creating a positive environment for their teams but when it comes to upgrading the knowledge of the associates, not much attention is paid towards it.

A Story

Let me share with you a story on this note – The other day, some friends of mine went to a fancy restaurant for a couple of drinks in the evening. They were greeted with a warm smiles and hearty enthusiasm of professional and courteous associates , the restaurant was beautifully setup with just the perfect ambience , the waiter who served them was elderly and looked very experienced and talked to them passionately and fluently about the history of the restaurant . He knew the menu thoroughly and therefore could suggest the right food and the right drinks to go with it. My friends ordered Gin and tonic and the waiter promptly suggested the various brands of Gin available on the menu. Everything was going smooth, until one of them asked the waiter, “Uh.. Do you happen to have slimline tonic by any chance?” The waiter quickly replied, “I’m afraid, madam, we do not have any limes but only lemons.” My friend thought that perhaps the waiter did not hear correctly owing to loud music in the restaurant. She repeated, “No, No. I meant slimline”. The waiter hesitated and repeated, “Slimline?”. Well, let me just wrap it up here by saying that the waiter was not aware what slimline tonic was.

You might be thinking, how is it possible in such a fancy restaurant and with such well trained staff. Well this can happen if you don’t pay attention towards the knowledge upgrading of your team. Knowledge is a very generic word and it refers to everything related with your product, your services and facilities and even covers the current affairs and general awareness. Holistically, it refers to everything that is happening around us.

So if you are a leader who wants to build a high performing team then check the generic awareness of your team from time to time. Give them opportunities to find out and explore what is happening in the world around them, about trends, technology, and history, everything which is relevant to your field of expertise.

So here we are, very close to deciphering the secret that goes into making and building a high performing team by nurturing your team’s “ASK” which means : Attitude , Skill , Knowledge. The cardinal rule for building high performing teams is ASK and you shall receive!