High Performance Teams

In another life I was busy researching the idea behind "High Performance Teams" (HPT). These teams are not NASCAR fans, nor are they hooked on amphetamines. Instead, they are a group of individuals who work with each other really well and outperform other similar groups in terms of their quality of work and the speed with which the work gets done. You've seen these teams in hockey as the coach will normally put certain players together and keep them together throughout the season with few changes.

In IT, however, the concept of a high performance team does not always seem to be understood or even implemented in many areas. A team can be as small as two people, or it can be much larger, but there are some key traits that all of these teams share. (OK, here is where I differ from conventional wisdom so if you want you can tune out, even though you may be missing some really cool stuff.)

• Trust. Perhaps the most important trait is that the members of the team trust each other to make the right decisions or at least a decision that can be lived with by everyone.


• Communication. Team members communicate with each other effectively. Different people understand things in different ways. Some people like metaphors, others like analogies while others love diagrams. In a HPT the appropriate mechanism is used at the right time to maximize the effectiveness of the communication.


• Commitment. Each team member knows that every other member of the team is just as committed as they are to producing a high quality product.


• Continuous Improvement. An HPT is not satisfied with the status quo, they want to do the next job better than they did the last job and the one before that, by continually improving how things are done.

Some organizations are not ready for HPTs as it means setting a group up as being "special". Others are not interested as they believe, rightly or wrongly, that if people just follow the process everyone would be part of an HPT. Some larger projects do implement this concept within the overall project and find that the HPT is extremely productive and crucial to the success of the project.

It may not be your cup of tea, but at least you're aware of the possibilities.