By William Holden, chairman, Sewells Training and Consultancy

Building and sustaining an engaged team is more critical today than ever before in order to survive or thrive in these challenging times.

Effective, high performing teams don’t just happen by chance – it takes insightful, skilful, disciplined, focused action in the right areas and each team member is expected to make a significant contribution to team results.

High-performing teams are, by their very nature, deeply committed to their purpose, goals and one another.

They are energised by performance challenges which are meaningful to them and focus on tackling these
collectively, to further enhance their performance, both individually and as a team.

Now, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you know where you are going and can you articulate it in a way that captures your people’s hearts and minds to want to come with you? Creating an aspirational and evocative vision for where you’re going helps point people in the right direction and work together towards achieving a common purpose. If your people don’t stand for something, they’ll fall for anything.
• Do you have the right culture (what people think, feel and believe), so that the right behaviours are exhibited day in, day out, in order to exceed objectives? Culture eats strategy for breakfast, every single day.
• The culture should be strong enough to identify the roles people play in the team – players, supporters, cynics, knockers, terrorists, or the walking dead. The culture should be strong enough to only support players and supporters.
• Do the team players know the strategies and are they capable enough to deliver what is expected? Most people we meet don’t – and aren’t.
• Do you lead by example? Are you setting an example that your team is following and is it the best example for them to follow?

If your team is not currently performing as you want them to, it may be time to consider a different approach.