The Productivity Blueprint: Building High-Performance Teams in Midsize Organizations

Every organization wants to be a well-oiled machine—tackling challenges and managing resources with ease. However, it’s not as simple as it sounds. The key to a strong organization starts with a high-performing team. These organizations will see efficiency improvements, better communication among teams and across departments, and increased growth. But first, how do we create high-performing teams?

How to Improve Team Performance
A healthy team will produce better results, that’s a no-brainer. So as a leader, what can you do to improve team productivity? Before you bring in the office popcorn machine, you need to first understand if and what needs are not being met. It goes beyond hiring people that “mesh” well—you must create an environment of trust within your organization—a space that allows healthy debate, discussion, and conflict.

Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team identifies the crucial elements for a high-performing team’s success. These elements provide a framework for creating a collaborative and results-driven environment: Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability, and Results. Without Trust, your team can not healthily face conflict or reliably achieve Results.

Identifying the areas your team needs to work on will help you understand how to boost your team’s productivity. Remember, high-performing teams don’t just ‘happen’; they develop over time with consistent effort and focus on the five behaviours. Once you’ve identified where your team struggles, follow Patrick Lencioni’s suggested exercises to boost that area. Or connect with inVision Edge for a Team Alignment session!

What Are Three Ways to Increase Productivity?

1. Efficiency Improvements: Removing the redundancies and bottlenecks from workflows and processes is crucial for boosting productivity. This could involve automating repetitive tasks, upgrading software for better integrations, or restructuring workflows to remove inefficiencies.
2. How to Increase Team Productivity: Foster a culture of accountability and goal alignment within your team. Encourage members to set clear objectives and prioritize tasks. By establishing a roadmap for success and empowering team members to take ownership of their responsibilities, productivity will naturally flourish.
3. How to Improve Your Team Performance: Continuous improvement is the bedrock of high-performing teams. Invest in ongoing training and development initiatives to enhance the skills and capabilities of team members. By providing opportunities for growth and learning, you empower your team to perform at their best and adapt to evolving challenges.

How to improve team efficiency? 
It’s crucial to streamline processes, eliminate bottlenecks, and empower team members with the tools and resources they need to achieve their goals. Additionally, increasing operational efficiency by creating a culture of collaboration and growth can drive efficiency gains by encouraging knowledge sharing and innovation. Regular feedback and performance evaluations can also pinpoint areas for enhancement and ensure that teams are operating at their highest potential.

How to Improve Company Communication?
Ambiguity from the leadership team can often result in misaligned actions and wasted efforts, especially in Strategic Planning. While the leadership team is often in the room creating the organization’s goals, these goals are typically executed by individuals not seated at the leadership level.

Therefore, when choosing the language of your goals, you must be clear about your intentions. Are you looking to refine or reinvent? Clarity is a main theme throughout the entire strategic planning process, and it’s no exception here. Learning to better communicate with your team will help you understand how to improve team effectiveness!

Wrapping up
Building a high-performing team boils down to trust, embracing healthy conflict, and fostering accountability. Keep in mind that team productivity is a journey of constant tweaking and empowerment, and no one method guarantees success. It’s about staying adaptable and committed to refining strategies as you strive for excellence.