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WHO’S ON FIRST?
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The Secrets of High Performance Teams
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Establishing clearly defined team roles is a great initial step towards high performance status. Many teams just roll up their sleeves and jump right into problem solving. After all isn’t that why the team was configured in the first place? Unfortunately, teams taking this approach may quickly experience breakdowns and what should have been avoidable conflicts. Failure to establish rules invites chaos to join the team.
We recommend that the team write and fill team job descriptions during the first team meeting. Start by writing the job title on the top section of a sheet of easel pad paper. Next, write the job duties under that title. Repeat the process until all of the descriptions are written and posted on the wall. Remember to do this for the Team Member’s job as well. Now agree on a process to fill the jobs. At the conclusion of this activity, everyone on the team will know what his/her job responsibilities are. Team members will also understand the roles of their teammates.
When designing and filling these jobs, be sure to distribute the workload evenly. In addition to basic fairness team members feel a heightened sense of ownership through involvement. There is no one correct way to configure a team. What is important is that your team selects a model that works for them and to do it right away. Examples of team jobs are:
The Team Leader – may be responsible for logistical and administrative support for the team. He/she may be the liaison between the team and the rest of the organization.
The Facilitator – may be responsible for running team meetings and maintaining healthy team dynamics.
The Team Scribe – does the writing on easel pad paper for the team.
The Sponsor – may be a senior manager assigned to the team to help navigate organizational obstacles.
The Recorder – may take, publish and distribute team meeting minutes.
The Customer Representative – watches out for the customer’s best interests, may be the liaison between the customer and the team and gives the team an ongoing customer focus.
The Timekeeper – may help the team to better manage time.
The Team Member – may be responsible to complete assignments on schedule and exhibit good team behavior.
Taking a few moments to do this common sense activity may prevent many problems down the road and have the team running like a well oiled machine.
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Process Tips and Tricks are brought to you by:
Gerard Bruno Associates
37 Oakdale Rd Wilmington, MA. 01887
(978)-675-7830
gerry@vatscorp.com
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