ACEC Texas Building and Leading

High-Performance Teams

What is a team?

A team is a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

What is a HIGH PERFORMANCE team?

• Environment built on trust• Guidelines— defined business objectives• Core Values• Accepted norms and behavior• A “way” of working• “Plugged-in” team members• Momentum• Work-life balance• Right DNA

Environment Built on Trust

Source: Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Peter Lencioni

Defined Business Objectives Create Alignment

• What road are we taking?• How are we going to get there?

Core Values

• Honesty/Integrity• Loyalty• Determination/Perseverance• Mutual Respect• Limited Distractions

•Ego•Turf•Career

Accepted Norms and Behavior

• Healthy debate commonplace— status quo continuously challenged

• Positive reinforcement vs. public displays of dissatisfaction

• Non performance confronted constructively, in real time

• Negativity stamped out• Full participation at meetings• Rapid response to internal clients— minutes vs. days

(or not at all)

A “Way” of Working

• Well-designed standards that are used• Mechanisms for continuous improvement

Empowered Team Members

• Context is understood• Challenged to take on more• Control over resources— accountable for

results• Plugged into firm-wide strategies and changes• Open lines of communication with internal

support resources• Access to market intelligence

Sense of Urgency

• Serious about deadlines• Serious about not letting their teammates

down• Experiment and brainstorm when the heat is

on— resulting in group learning and innovation

Momentum

• They build on ideas with “and”• They never use the term “Devil’s Advocate”• They are penny- AND pound-wise• Over, under, around, through obstacles

Work-Life Balance

• Team members put things in perspective• They have fun at work and away from work• They have success at work and away from work

The Right DNA

• Can park egos• Great communicators• Positive energy• Passion for excellence• Eager to learn• Great work ethic• Willingness to develop their own skills

No Bad Apples!

• Support publicly, undermine privately

• “That’s not my job”• Individual agenda overrides

group goals• Unreliable

Other Building Blocks

• Access to talent• Ability to sell the firm’s vision and values• Up-to-date tools• Training and development

How to Build Something Special

• Get out of the “doer” mode• Do a whole lot of learning• Do a whole lot of practicing• Do a whole lot of supporting

Meet Charles (Chuck) McKenna, P.E.

• Runs a Transportation Group at Luncaster, Adams, Marris & Edwards

• 47 years old• Married, 3 Kids• All-around good guy• Feels overworked, a bit burned-out• Favorite phrase: “If you want something done right,

do it yourself.”

L.A.M.E.’s Mindset

Chuck’s Leadership Philosophy

Chuck’s Thoughts on Delegation

But Chuck’s Team Was Floundering

• Revenue and profitability kept sliding• Quality was dropping• Bickering• Lousy meetings (or at least that’s what he heard)• Turnover• Not so much fun anymore

Chuck Realizes His “Doer” Took Over

• Chuck’s job is to get the right pieces in the right places

• Accomplish things through others• Mentor and delegate

Chuck is Drinking the Cool-Aid

• Sending and Receiving• Influencing and Directing the Team• Counseling and Coaching• Delegation• Learning

Chuck is Mastering Sending and Receiving

• He controls his impulse to immediately answer questions• He stops himself from arguing mentally• He puts all of his energy into listening• He ask a lot of questions• He speaks clearly, uses language everyone understands• He varies tone and pace• He keeps verbal and non-verbal communication in sync• He gives undivided attention• He uses the person’s name, smiles, relaxes, is friendly• He move from general to the specific

Chuck is Building Reliability

The elements of a promise

The elements of reliability

Determining sincerity

Elements of a Promise

• Clear customer• Clear performer• Clear conditions of satisfaction• Finish line• Takes place in the future

Elements of Reliability

• Conditions of satisfaction are understood and acceptable to the performer

• The performer has the competency or access to the competency

• The performer knows how long it will take• The performer has the time to do it• The performer has allocated capacity to the task

Determining Sincerity

• What unspoken conversation are you having about the commitment you just made?

Chuck is Influencing and Directing the Team!

• He is doing his own job well• Whatever the rules are, he is following them• He puts out a solid effort every time• He shows maturity and dignity• He shows a positive attitude• He sells his own position

Chuck is getting to know the Team

• He’s learning their strengths• He’s getting a read on their personality types• He’s pushing the right buttons

Coach Chuck?

• Chuck is starting to help team members arrive at their own conclusions

• He’s listening intently, asking more questions, and avoiding giving advice right away

• He’s getting better results by offering encouragement

Chuck is Dishing Off

• He’s determining the task• He’s matching it to his team’s strengths• He communicates authority, responsibility, objectives,

deadlines, and other specific parameters• He monitors periodically• He gives feedback in real time• He rewards/acknowledges performance

Chuck Brings the Outside World Inside

• He’s looking outside of the industry for ideas and inspiration

• He set up a “mastermind” for individual and group learning

Bringing Unity to the Organization

• What do our clients need, and do we leverage all that we have under our roof?

• Look for opportunities to work together that create value

• Create the communication mechanisms • Knock down the barriers to team performance• Shift focus to company-wide performance• Measure value delivered as an organization

What Are You Going to Change?

• What are you good at?• What are you learning to do better?• What are you dissatisfied with?• What needs more of your attention?

3 Must-Do’s for High Performance

• Build and share your knowledge• Build and share your network• Share your compassion