Building a High Performance Team Instructor: Mike O’Dell

What SD Students Say (about team/projects) Nobody wants to work with someone who will not pull their load. Most want to work with someone who thinks and works like they do. Everyone wants to work on a "meaningful", or "real world" product. Most want their project to be a success. Most would like to work on a project that is directly relevant to their future/current job. CSE 4316

What SD Student Say (about team/projects) Everyone wants all of their teammates to be honest, trustworthy, and hard-working. Only a few of you want to be a team leader. Many of you don't understand why you need to work on a team - i.e., with other people. Not everyone is a “technical expert”. Many of you are nervous about your presentation/oral communication skills. Each of you has a unique set of skills that can contribute to your teams/projects success. CSE 4316

Characteristics of High-Performance Teams Discussion: Amish Barn Raising (pp. 273-274) Team structure Team dynamics Other team characteristics Why did it work? Discussion: Case Study 12.1 (pp. 274-275) Team structure, dynamics & characteristics Why didn’t it work? Discussion: Case Study 12.2 (pp. 277-278) CSE 4316

Team Productivity Studies have shown that productivity of teams can vary significantly1 As much as 5 to 1, in studies where backgrounds and experience varied between teams Typically 2.5 to 1 between teams with similar backgrounds and experience 1 Boehm, 1981; DeMarco & Lister, 1985; Weinberg & Schulman, 1974; Boehm, et. al., 1984; Valett & McGarry, 1989 CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? Goals and objectives. The team’s ability to understand and agree on commonly understood goals. Utilization of resources. Team member resources are recognized as well as utilized. Trust and conflict. The degree of trust among team members, and ability of team to handle conflict openly. Leadership. Sharing of leadership roles among team members. CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? Control and procedures. Effective procedures for team functioning that team members support and use to regulate team function. Interpersonal communication. Communication between team members is open and individuals participate. Problem-solving/decision-making. Established procedures for group problem solving Experimentation/creativity. Ability to try new or different ways of doing work as a team. CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? Evaluation. The frequency with which a team examines their own functions as a team. Cohesion. The level of enjoyment of working together as a team. CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a shared, elevating vision or goal Buy-in… every single member of the team Streamlines decision making on smaller issues Provides focus and avoids wasted time Builds trust… and cooperation Small issues stay small… focus is on BIG GOAL The vision MUST be important to the organization, and create challenging work CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a sense of shared identity A sense that you belong together A way to distinguish your team from others Shared sense of humor Satisfaction in teammates’ accomplishments “WE,” instead of “I” in your team language Competitive FIRE! Thoughts/ideas on how you go about building this shared identity for YOUR team? CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a results-driven structure Organized with max. development speed and efficiency in mind Clear, and clearly understood, roles for everyone Accountability for each individual Effective communication system & rules (up-down, down-up, across) Performance monitoring/measurement Decisions are based on FACT, not opinions or mandate CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have competent team members Teams are a blend of individuals, each with different key competencies and skills Key Competencies Strong technical skills in relevant areas Strong desire to contribute Strong collaborative skills Mix of roles… every team must have: Organization and Leadership Communication capabilities Specific technical capabilities But… Flexible, not Rigid CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a common commitment to team Involves personal sacrifices for the team (that you may not make for the larger organization) Calls for a commitment of your personal time and energy… everyone! Each member must know and buy-in to exactly what you and your team are committing to… VISION… CHALLENGE… TEAM IDENTITY CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They trust each other Four components of trust: Honesty Openness Consistency Respect Breach just one… trust is gone! Trust is learned, not mandated CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have interdependence among members Understand and rely on each other strengths Everybody gets to contribute… in the way(s) that they are best qualified to do so Everybody gets to participate in critical decisions that affect the team Everybody looks for ways to make other members successful Result: everyone gravitates to the role in which they are most productive! CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They communicate effectively Establish preferred ways to communicate Stay in touch with each other Establish their own “team language” based on mutual understanding (Recall Case Study 12.2) Express true feelings, without any fear of retribution or embarrassment Even (or, maybe, especially) the “bad news” CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a sense of autonomy Feel like you can do whatever you need to do to make the project/product successful Based on trust within the organization (a.k.a. management) No micro-managing No second-guessing No overriding tough decisions Full support in those “impossible” situations CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a sense of empowerment The organization gives you the power to do what is right for your team You can make decisions, within the context of your project, and not have them over-turned You can make a few mistakes, and not have them held against you CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They are “right-sized” Small enough to communicate effectively Small enough to work efficiently Small enough to bond as a team Large enough to form a group identity Large enough to get the job done Large enough to include the right key competencies and skills Larger projects can usually be broken into smaller, more efficient, teams CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They enjoy what they are doing Not every enjoyable team is a high-performance team… but Every high-performance team is enjoyable! Shared sense of humor, secret hand-shakes, team vocabulary, secret jokes… done in good taste, these things can be FUN. CSE 4316

Effective High-Performance Teams

An Effective Team Is not an individual, or two No “geniuses” No “heroes” Everyone contributes equally Need not be experts on anything Must have a leader Must have a balance of key competencies Must have a balance of relevant skills Must have identity/cohesiveness CSE 4316

Key competencies and relevant skills… Organizational Communication Technical CSE 4316

Organizational Competencies (e.g.) Planning Personnel management Scheduling Tracking Reporting Ability to stay on track Ability to keep others on track CSE 4316

Communication Competencies (e.g.) Written reports/presentations Clear and correct English Proper format Timely Good with presentation/visual aids Verbal Oral reviews/team meetings “Sales” presentations Training CSE 4316

Communication Competencies (e.g.) Critical Analysis Reviewing materials, plans Reviewing/evaluating customer and sponsor input Clearly conceptualizing difficult ideas/issues Understanding and integrating other approaches/opinions Considering alternative design approaches Objective, open-minded, clear-thinker CSE 4316

Technical Competencies (e.g.) Requirements analysis UI design Product design Test design Coding to meet specifications Test supervision and execution Product packaging Hardware interfacing Source control Change control Knowledge of specific languages Knowledge of specific technologies CSE 4316

Team Competencies… are the union of individual skills and competencies BUT, a team must have (or develop) a sufficient level of ALL required capabilities. NB…… A high-performance team maximizes its capabilities AS A TEAM. A high-performance team matches individual skills with the job(s) to be done. CSE 4316