​HOW TO DRIVE RESULTS BY IMPROVING TEAM PERFORMANCE

From innovation teams who are driving industries forward, to executive teams who are running corporations, professional teams truly are the backbone of modern work life. That’s why developing highly effective teams is essential to the way that companies operate. More and more, organisations are realising that by improving team performance they can improve business performance too, helping them achieve a significant competitive advantage.
 
Employees are quite limited to what they can achieve on their own. That’s why working as part of a greater team towards a common goal, will almost always raise productivity levels. But how do you create an effective team that delivers predictable results? We’ve developed a model that outlines exactly what goes into it.
 
The TAC Model of Highly Effective Teams
How do we transform a group of people, into a highly effective team? According to our TAC model, there are five key factors involved.
 
Value Creation
There is really only one thing that matters for teams today and that is value creation. To create value, it’s important to understand that it’s not about the quantity of work, it’s not even about the quality of work, it’s about delivering the right work. So, what is the right work? Essentially, it’s the work that creates real value for all stakeholders involved. And once you’re creating value, the next step is to look for ways so that you can create more of it!

When you know what value to create it's about how you create it and we have identified the four factors, in addition to value creation, critical for building a highly effective team. Namely:

Team Definition
Ever been in a team where it starts off well, but quickly spirals into a mess of conflict and unfocused work? This is likely caused by the lack of a compelling shared purpose to bring the team members together. The power of a clear team definition should not be underestimated! This should include a clear picture of the team’s goals, how the team fits into the organisation, as well as what everyone’s roles and responsibilities are within the team. If each team member understands exactly what is expected of them, it’s far easier to develop a clear roadmap for achieving the results you want.
 
Behaviours                                                                          
Trust, accountability, communication and commitment. These behaviours are the perfect ingredients for successful teamwork! Developing good team behaviours not only improves relationships, but also increases collaboration and productivity. If teams can master these behaviours they’re sure to be able to surface and resolve conflict, negotiate resources and effectively make decision, all of which are vital to driving high-performance in teams.
 
Engagements
Engagements is all about how a team relates to others. Whether it’s connecting to other team members, or engaging with external stakeholders, emotional intelligence is crucial to team performance. By connecting well with others, a team is better equipped to make real value, effectively manage and resolve conflict, and to tap in to the full wisdom of the team to ultimately unlock their full potential!

The Enablers
We call this the vehicle for excellence, as it allows the team to move from effective to highly effective. There are three enablers that we have found have the biggest impact and these are:

• Being able to see the future . Of course, nobody can really see the future. But you can take the time to think ahead to any challenges or opportunities that may be looming on the horizon. Keeping this in mind will allow the team to better prioritise and focus on the right things.
• Becoming the master of change. Change, although inevitable, can often be difficult to deal with. If a team can create agility through stable processes and behaviours that live within the team instead of the individuals they can effectively deal with challenges and quickly adapt to new environments and scenarios. This in turn will allow the team to predictably deliver results and seizing opportunities.
• Continual learning. To continuously learn and grow, the team needs to go through an ongoing process of reflection and review, allowing them to maximize their performance every step of the way.

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