High performance team assessment

High performing teams are different. They think and act in unique ways and they practise high impact habits with passion and discipline. If you’re serious about your team being high performing, this is where to start.

This tool is all about making sure you know how your team measures up against the best when it comes to performance.

Reading time: 4 minutes

What will it do?

This tool is all about making sure you know how your team measures up against the best when it comes to performance. You can do this as a team or do it separately then bring all the scores together and combine the results.

You can use this tool anytime and it’s worth completing it every month or so. That way you’ll get a good idea of progress and the more often you get the feedback it provides, the quicker you’ll make progress.  You can also ask people outside the team to complete it for the team so you get some useful external views.

Three steps to take

Get focused on the things that will make the most impact for you

1. Look at the table below.

For each one, rate your team on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is rubbish and 10 is brilliant. Capture the range of scores across the team as well as the average. An average of 7 where the range is 6-8 tells you something different from an average of 7 and a range of 2-10.

Characteristic Description Score Range
Team “Why” We are 100% clear on why we exist as a team. It unites and inspires us and we talk about it a lot
Team “What” We are 100% clear on what success is for us and how we’re measuring that along the way
Team “How” We are 100% clear on the behaviours team members expect of themselves and each other and we use these to ensure we’re constantly united in what we do and accept
Role Clarity We are 100% clear on individual roles for the team and how they all knit together. There’s high role acceptance in the team
Desire to Improve We’ve united in our desire to improve and get better as individuals and as a team. We commit time and energy to the process of improvement
Mutual Accountability We totally share responsibility for team performance and results. So we offer help, support and challenge each other. Team members put themselves second and the team first
Learning We learn from every performance, including our wins. We create winning recipes
Team Confidence We have high confidence in each other and in the teams ability to fulfil it’s purpose and goals. We invest time in working on our confidence as a team.
Team Connectedness We are brilliant at connecting with each other – communicating what’s needed and supporting each other. We are also great at connecting with others outside the team as we need to fulfil our purpose and goals
Team Control We have a high sense of control and autonomy as a team. We trust each other to get on with what’s needed. As a team we ensure we keep our focus on what’s in our control and minimise the time and energy we spend on stuff outside our control

2. Now prioritise and set some targets

There’s no point in trying to do everything so think about the areas that will have the biggest impact for the team and decide on the timescale. At least 1 and ideally no more than 3. List them here in order of importance and set out what success will look like. The one here is just an example, not a hint or an instruction.

Priority Target What success looks like
Goal clarity  8/10

3. Nearly there

Now decide what you are actually going to do as a team to increase those scores. We’ve filled in one example to get you going and you probably don’t want more than 5 or 6. You can always add different ones as the habits you’ve chosen at first become, well, habits.

Priority Action
Goal clarity Write down and share what we each see as our roles on the team and how they interact with other roles
Meet as a team and nail it

 

Your plan

Get a plan Stan. The basics you need to have in your plan are set out below.

Plan basics

  1. What are you going to do? (This bit is easy – it’s the 3 things listed above. No 3 is particularly helpful here)

    My actions:

  2. When are you going to start? (You don’t have to be great to get going, but you better get going if you want to be great)

    My start date:

  3. How often will you be doing it? (Getting great has a lot to do with making things a habit)

    Check in dates:

Get serious

The difference between having a plan and making it work is about action. So get this in your diary now. Tell the people who need to know so that they can support you and won’t just think you’re being weird. Do it now.

Remember, it’s progress not perfection. You’re looking for gradual improvement, not for Rome to be built in a day.