It might very well be!

Imagine having bespoke data-led insights pointing you to the most valuable micro-habits that will measurably improve your top team’s performance.

For example, a top team I work with was recently missing its deadlines and taking action was slow and we knew that a lack of trust was likely to be the root cause. Using the insights from our online diagnostic survey we saw this team achieving breakthroughs in trust through a quick 90 mins workout focused on ‘tackling tough issues’. Their focus led to a sudden shift in the team’s ability to execute at speed, deliver on their commitments and grow influence with key stakeholders

If that stirs your curiosity, then ponder these few questions.

How critical is your top team’s performance to the long term success of your business?

I don’t mean their performance as individuals. That’s easy to see. I mean the team as a collective. Is it achieving way more than the sum of the parts? Does it have big goals that only the team can achieve? If it doesn’t, you may not need it to be a team at all. Call it a committee or a reporting and communications forum. That’s often what they are in practice. It might relieve lots of frustration to call it what it is, rather than engage in the team charade, which often frustrates people and makes participants cynical of the notion that we’re a team, aren’t we?

But if you believe your team IS very critical, then..

How is your team Performing?

How do you measure this and know this? Does it have a defined purpose and clear measurable goals against which it can assess its performance?

Is your team realising its full potential?

In my experience with top teams they believe they are realising c60% of their full potential and most often there is a wide variety of views on that within the team. That’s because there isn’t a common understanding of the team’s potential.

What would the gain be if your team realised just 10% more of its potential?

What would the gains be in terms of revenue, profits, speed of action, making change, cross-functional collaboration, bringing new products and services to market, staff and customer satisfaction, wellbeing and the general health of the organisation?

The good news is that transforming team performance is achievable and it can be made simple and objective for your team!

There is a time and place for team-building exercises, sharing individual profiles, and scheduling away days to set team goals. However, there is a lack of evidence that these types of solutions on their own deliver a sustainable transfer of learning back into the workplace, so they are at risk of remaining a cost and not an investment.

We believe top teams need data-driven insights and evidence on how they are delivering for their stakeholders and customers, alongside an understanding of what is needed to increase alignment and build trust.

We use digital diagnostic surveys with a team and its stakeholders, using our Meta Team tools, to help teams better understand the strength of their inner developmental game and the delivery impact experienced by key stakeholders. Using these data-driven insights to prioritise their most valuable inner and outer behaviours, teams open up a fast-track to engagement, collaboration, trust, and performance. This fast-track must balance strengthening both their inner and outer games. Focusing on only one aspect incurs huge opportunity costs.

For example, one team realised they had high trust inside the room but low stakeholder confidence outside it – they were solving for the wrong thing. That insight shifted everything.

So, team development becomes an investment and not a cost when the focus is on improving the inner and outer game of teams.

  • The Inner Game: (trust, purpose, resilience, focus)
  • The Outer Game: (adapting, agility, influencing, taking action)

By honing both games, teams achieve mastery and peak performance, driving double digit improvements in productivity, engagement and cohesion.

Do you want to move the needle on performance and potential?

If you’re interested in getting your top team on a simple objective development track supported by real data from within and outside the team, then I’m happy to have a conversation to have a quick look at where the gaps might be and I can share what most teams are missing without realising.

About the author:

Having spent over 20 years in senior leadership roles in high-growth businesses, Dave has spent the past 16 years coaching top teams across the world in businesses of all sizes and at all stages. He is valued for his lived-experience and understanding of the top team environment, his understanding of the people and business needs at stake and his commitment to the leadership, team and business development required. https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegribben/