Creating a Peak Performance Team

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:

• Understand the critical elements of a high-performance team and integrate those elements into the team’s environment
• Understand the potential problems and pitfalls that face teams, diagnose team problems, and discover strategies for eliminating the problems
• Assess the climate and effectiveness of the team to create an action plan
• Maintain a group at a peak performance level and solve problems
• Use skills for effective problem solving and decision making, and to gain consensus for effective team performance
• Increase team initiative and responsiveness towards managing problems
• Preserve a high level of performance by understanding group dynamics and stages of team development
• Understand the various roles that team members play and how to maximize strengths of each member
• Create skills which help with decision making and problem-solving processes and apply strategies for eliminating problems

Course Outline:

This outline may not represent the exact sequence of course material.  Because of varying needs of different groups, the sequence may be adjusted and specific challenges facing the organization as a whole as well as the individual team(s) will be addressed.

UNIT I:  What Is A “team” Anyway? 

• Characteristics of effective teams
• The differences between a group and a team, and the impact those differences have on your team
• Identifying types of teams and requirements of each to assist in planning for leadership, decision making, and communication
• Rating your team—applying the characteristics of effective teams to an intact team that you lead or participate on, thereby identifying key critical areas for development

UNIT II:  When Bad Things Happen To Good Teams

• The myths of managing conflict and disagreement
• The environment of conflict and ways to create positive results
• OPTIONAL: Assessing your personal conflict style using an assessment; developing a plan to manage your “blind spots”
• A model of dialogue to produce positive outcomes more quickly
• Basic communication skills required for successful dialogue
• Exercise: The absence of trust on teams and its impact on productivity
• Guidelines for building trust
• How to increase commitment and accountability of team members
• Team consensus decision making
• The skills of consensus: When and when not to use them
• Coaching and feedback: How to communicate tough issues when things don’t go right
• Exercise/Practice: Using the Feedback Model
• Case studies: Testing your skills
• The challenges of remote teams

UNIT III:   Group Problem Solving And Individual Action Planning