From the course: Foundations of Performance Management

Creating and maintaining a high-performance culture

From the course: Foundations of Performance Management

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Creating and maintaining a high-performance culture

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- Developing and maintaining high levels of performance is not easy. And for many years, I struggled with teams that I managed. It was only after a few years of trial and error and seeking the advice of some great bosses and mentors that I realized there are five secrets to successfully creating and maintaining the ideal work environment. By understanding and applying these five secrets, you will have created a sustainable working environment that encourages, acknowledges, and rewards high performance. Secret number one. Outstanding leadership is key to the team's success. Be ready to vary your own style as needed and to use your skills differently each day to suit the issues and people you are facing in that moment. As an example, learn to decide when you should join your team by helping them with their daily operational challenges, and when you do the opposite, by stepping back to give them space and leaving you time to focus and reflect on the bigger picture. Secret number two. Encourage your team to work with the ideal values. I cannot tell you what values you should choose, since you must decide what values are essential for you and your team to sustain success. But here are three examples of ones which I have always focused on with any team I have led. Honesty and integrity, working for another as one team, taking ownership and responsibility. Secret number three. Make constant learning part of the culture. No one can be successful without being willing to continually learn, unlearn, and relearn. And your role as a leader is to continually help and encourage each member of your team to be comfortable and willing to invest the time and effort in learning, growing, and developing. Secret number four. Help your team change direction as often as needed. You must truly accept the need for constant change and to help your team also understand and accept that constant change has become the new normal in today's business world. Your role is to ensure that you spend as much time as necessary in communicating with your team about any need to change or adapt, and to help them leave their comfort zones and embrace new ways of working. Secret number five. No single team member is greater than the whole team. Ensure that your team's drive for excellence is never derailed by an individual in the team. It is better to lose someone in your team, even a high performer, if that will help maintain the team's overall success. I love the following quote from Babe Ruth. "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." What will you do now? Why not spend a few minutes creating an action plan for how you will create an ideal, high-performance working culture for you and your team to thrive within?

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