Developing a culture of high performance - Guest Article by James Bargeron
There are two important things that need to be addressed when looking to develop a culture of high performance in leaders and their teams, whether it is in business or in the sports arena, before adopting and putting any enhancement strategies into place.
They are greater awareness and intention. Greater awareness means asking questions such as:
- What makes a successful team or group?
- Why do some people or teams seem to excel, whilst others falter or fail?
- What will make a positive difference?
- What are our strengths?
- Where are we lacking?
- Who will make the difference?
Gaining clarity is vital for everyone involved, from the top to the entry-level of a team or organisation, to establish what you want to achieve, the desired outcome or the vision as it’s often used these days and the likely challenges and obstacles preventing it from happening.
Developing the right culture means being intentional about change and improvements, rather than winging it and there must be something that John Maxwell, a world-leading authority on leadership calls ‘The Law of Buy-In’, which means that unless people buy into you and what you’re looking to achieve, they aren’t going to believe in it and that means they simply won’t trust you.
Gaining trust is a critical factor as without it, there is no solidity or bond to the group or team; it’s the glue that holds people together and takes time to develop, as people have to get to know you as a leader and each other as part of the team.
Often the tendency is to focus purely on how it will all work, to build a complex plan but it’s more about the ‘who’ rather than the ‘how’. A team will have a mixture of different people, but an excellent team will have a mixture of people who gel, who have a desire to perform at a higher level and who value being part of a unit. It’s about getting the right people and then finding a way to achieve the desired outcome.
Jim Collins, the author of ‘From good to Great’ put it succinctly when he said the idea is to “Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off…. And the bus headed in the right direction”.
Developing culture means:
Having people who value each other, the team and organisation as a whole, not just themselves. This is not only necessary but vital for the overall harmony of the team and success in developing the right culture.
Insecurity can be a problem and can lead to people not wanting to have the best people or better people involved in decision making or in the team for fear of being left out or looking inferior. What makes a real difference is having people who aren’t afraid of helping and developing other leaders around them.
Empathy. Taking time to understand your colleagues, their strengths, their weaknesses and their feelings, as well as your own and being open about them, helps to develop a much greater understanding between everyone involved and what affects their performance.
Three important questions people will want to know from you as a leader and team member:
- Can I trust you?
- Can you help me?
- Do you care about me?
Communication. Maybe the most critical element of all. The real secret to success at any level is the ability to communicate effectively i.e. connect with other people as well as ourselves.
With so many different forms of communication available these days, it’s easy to misunderstand or be misunderstood, through body language, ambiguous email or text message or good old-fashioned talking. It’s well documented how more than 50 percent of our communication comes from our body language, both positive and negative.
How often are we affected by someone who smirks, raises an eyebrow or shakes their head in disbelief and at what cost to the individual’s self-belief and performance?
Nurture a positive mindset. At the beginning of my corporate career, we were trained by fear; fear of making mistakes and failure and being penalised for doing so, which taught us to focus on negatives and stifled our development. If we encourage people to express themselves, to make mistakes and to see feedback as a way to learn, it will help inspire them to develop and fulfill their potential, rather than limiting them.
It takes time and effort, as well as continuous adjustment to develop the right culture in the office, boardroom or on the sports field and it all starts with making a decision to do so.
(This article first appeared in Business Connexions magazine)
James Bargeron helps leaders, professionals and organisations develop a culture of high performance and a mindset for success, through training, speaking and coaching. He focuses on developing the mental strategies, attitudes and resilience that forms the foundation for accomplishment both personally and professionally.
