Last updated on July 17, 2019

High Performing Teams: 14 absolutely mandatory characteristics

By Luis Gonçalves, in Digital Product Management

High performing teams are groups of people who share a common vision, goals, and who collaborate and hold each other accountable to achieve great results.

Table of Contents

High Performing Teams

High performing teams – do you, as a manager or executive want better quality, faster response time, higher productivity, greater sensitivity to customers, improved profitability? People, working together in teams, make this happen.

Many members of high-performing teams report that it’s fun and satisfying to work on collaborative teams because they are asked to contribute at their highest potential and they learn a lot along the way.

Being part of a great team where you love to come to work every morning, a team that charges you up with energy, a team that encourages you to accomplish goals you think are impossible, is a great feeling.

Being on the team where there is a constant conflict or disagreement, where you are afraid to speak up or share honest feeling is not an ideal situation.

A team is more than a group of people who work together. A high performing team is a group of people who share a common vision, goals, metrics and who collaborate, challenge and hold each other accountable to achieve outstanding results.

Team Coaching International mentions that the most successful teams have the means to take action and build effective relationships to motivate and sustain that action. They developed The Team Diagnostic™ model that defines seven separate productivity factors and seven positivity factors. This constellation of competencies provide a complete picture for creating high-performing teams.

Positivity Characteristics of High Performing Teams

Trust- You can speak openly and freely about your team. Team members can count on each other and are reliable.

Respect-The team members are empowered to contribute their best. There are a mutual respect and real concern. Characteristics such as contempt and hostility are not accepted.

Camaraderie– Empathy, good humour and playfulness are appreciated. There is a strong sense of belonging to the team. The team members celebrate and take accomplishments.

Communication– Clear and efficient communication is appreciated. What is not valued are less direct approaches such as gossiping, stonewalling or politicising.

Constructive Interaction- Conflict can arise as a mean of opportunity for discovery, creativity and growth. The team should avoid defensiveness, criticising and finger pointing. The team should give and receive feedback on timely manners.

Values Diversity– The team is open-minded and appreciates differences in ideas, perspectives, backgrounds, personalities and approaches. Diversity is crucial.

Optimism- The team shares an inspiring vision. The team members are enthusiastic and appreciative of each other. There is a strong spirit of fighting together for the goal.

Productivity Characteristics of High Performing Teams

Team Leadership– There is a strong sense of team leadership. Team members contribute when the need for their leadership happens. The team leader´s role is clear and supportive.

Resources- The team correctly manages available resources and training to meet its objectives. There is an atmosphere of “win-win” rather than “win-loose.”

Decision Making- The team has transparent and efficient decision-making processes, which is proved to be effective.

Proactive- The team takes the initiative. The team is flexible in addressing opportunities, responding positively and creatively. Change is a core aspect of the team, but it is crucial for the rest of the organisation too.

Accountability-There is clarity of roles and responsibilities. When problems occur, the team responds. Team members hold each other accountable for team results and team agreements.

Goals and Strategies- The team has clear, challenging targets and strategies to achieve them. The goals of the team are not defeated easily; they are strong.

Alignment- The team values cooperation, coherence and interdependence. The team has a common mission and purpose.

A team bond spreads the way for collaborative success by providing clarity that builds trust and accountability.

With a team bond in place, you’ll be able to unlock the potential value of your people by empowering them to contribute. In the long run, teams with a clear purpose and good chemistry drive business results. Job satisfaction goes up, employees stay engaged in their work and everybody wins.

We provide Team Coaching, Agile Training, and Agile Consulting, OKR Training, OKR Consulting, Innovation Training and Innovation Consulting.

With my team, I built 5 main products: High Performing Teams, Scrum Team Coach, Scrum Master Mentoring, Organisational Mastery and the External Business Accelerator.

To check all our products and services please visit our pages: Products and Services.

About Luis Gonçalves

Luis Gonçalves is an Entrepreneur, Author, International Keynote Speaker, Blogger and Management Consultant. I spent most of my career helping organisations become more Agile with different roles in different organisations. Nowadays I work with Executive Leaders by improving their organisations leading them to become effective, efficient and highly rewarded leaders.