Establishing team performance plan

Before you learn about the critical processes and techniques involved in leading effective teams, it can be helpful for you to learn more about teams in the workplace. We will first look at the few common types of teams present in most organisations and how working effectively in teams can benefit the organisation. Then, we will examine some general skills required by the team to have effective teamwork and how group dynamics impact team performance.

Types of work teams

Often in the workplace the terms ‘team’ and ‘work group’ are used interchangeably. However, a group of employees working in the same department does not always constitute a team. An effective team shares a common goal and also shares responsibility for achieving that goal. There is a great deal of planning that goes into creating effective teams in the workplace. They need to be structured so that the team members have complimentary skills, enabling team members to work in cohesion to achieve expected outcomes. The two most common types of teams in the workplace are work teams and problem-solving teams:

• Work teams. The purpose of a work team is to manage and coordinate daily work in an ongoing way. These teams consist of employees from the same department or area of an organisation. A work team may consist of employees who all perform the same job role on a daily basis (e.g., the sales team, the accounts team, the human resources team), or alternatively these teams may work on sequential interdependent tasks. For example, think of an assembly line in a clothing producing plant. One employee might cut a pattern out of a roll of fabric then pass it to another team member who sews the pieces of fabric together. A third worker might sew on buttons and tags before a fourth worker folds and packages the item of clothing. This process is ongoing and must be coordinated to follow a logical sequence since you cannot add buttons or package the garment until it has been sewn together. This concept of performing ongoing sequential interdependent tasks applies as much to high tech industries like software development as it does to a manufacturing plant.
• Project teams or problem-solving teams. As the name suggests, the purpose of a project team or problem-solving team is to complete a particular project or solve a particular problem. These teams will often be made up of experts from different areas of an organisation whose goal is to combine their skills and provide a solution to a complex issue or to work on a particular project. Once this goal has been reached the team will disband or move on to working on another team or solving another problem.

Benefits of Teams

There are many reasons why organisations use a team-based approach to manage employees and accomplish organisational goals. These include, but are not limited to, the ability of teams to promote:

• Superior motivation
• Enhanced organisational culture
• Improved problem solving
• Higher employee engagement
• Lower staff turnover
• Increased staff proficiency
• Increased collaboration
• Diverse ideas
• Better decision making

The benefits of teamwork are extensive. However, in order to gain the maximum returns from a team-based approach, a lot of preparation and performance management is involved. Effective teams do not just form on their own, team members and leaders are required to have certain skills for productive and effective team performance.

Skills required for effective teamwork

Leading and managing effective teams requires both planning and high-level supervision. The best style of planning and supervision to adopt will depend on the team’s purpose and composition. Managers need to think carefully about how to approach team management and need to be aware of the skills they will need to develop to do this successfully. When managing teams in the workplace managers need to develop skills in the following broad areas:

• Planning and organising
• Training
• Communication and consultation
• Conflict resolution

Similar skills are needed to operate effectively as a team member. If an employee is used to working in an autonomous role, they may find adjusting to working in a team environment quite challenging. People who work in teams need to develop skills in the following areas:

• Communication and consultation
• Conflict resolution
• Group decision making
• Time management

You will learn more about the skill required for promoting team cohesion and effective management later in this Study Guide.

Team structure and dynamics

When we are in a specific group, we tend to take on distinct roles and behaviours, and the effects of these roles and behaviours on other members and the group is termed “group dynamics” (Lewin, 1951). Group dynamics can have a huge impact on group performance. In particular, a team with positive group dynamics typically has team members that trust each other and work together to achieve a common goal, and as such usually have positive impacts such as (Australian Institute of Business, 2022):

• Good and strong leadership – Good leaders are able to inspire the team members to achieve their full potential.
• Yields better results and productivity – When the team has a good dynamic, each member will be working and performing at their fullest potential which increases productivity.
• Encourages great collaboration – Good dynamics allow individuals to work in a relaxed state, which can encourage higher levels of cooperation and collaboration amongst the team members. With that, they may offer new ideas to facilitate the work progress.

On the other hand, a team with not so good group dynamics can bring disruption to their work efficiency and may not be able to perform as well as a group with good group dynamics. These will lead to negative consequences such as below:

• Weak leadership – Without a strong leader, the team may lack a clear and specific direction which end up focusing on the wrong priorities.
• Blocking behaviours – Some behaviours like being overly critical of others’ contributions, not participating in discussions, and disagreeing with other members’ ideas except their own.
• Groupthink – While team members aiming for consensus within a group can help progress work, often, individuals do so by setting aside their own opinions and beliefs just to remain polite and ‘keep the peace’ within the group.
• Social loafing – When individuals are being judged and viewed as a group or a team, some team members might put in less effort than when they are working alone or being judged individually.

The way team members work together and interact change over time – what this means is that team members act very differently when a team is first formed to how they act after the team has fully developed and is successfully carrying out its assigned role. It is also useful for a manager to understand the stages of team development. In 1965 Bruce Tuckman developed a model called the Stages of Team Development, and it is still widely used today to understand the stages of team development. Tuckman (1965) proposed that teams go through five key stages:

• Forming. This is the first stage after the team has been formed. In this stage, the team rely on the team leader (or manager) for guidance. Individuals familiarise themselves with their work role, get to know each other, and talk about the direction of tasks ahead, as well as establishing ground rules and boundaries within the group. Individuals seek acceptance by others in the team and there is little conflict.
• Storming. In this stage, people start to communicate their feelings but still view themselves as individuals rather than as part of a team. Conflict will arise in this stage around interpersonal relationships and competitiveness. Team members may not be used to accepting alternative viewpoints. Some members will become more dominant while others become withdrawn. An effective manager will help the team progress through this stage by helping them to focus on the team’s purpose and encouraging cooperation and acceptance of alternative viewpoints.
• Norming. At this stage people start to feel like they are part of a team and realise that they can achieve goals by accepting alternative viewpoints. Team member’s roles are clarified, and they become less focused on individual needs and more focused on the team’s purpose. During this stage, the team starts to put their differences aside and begin to work in synergy by creating new ways completing tasks together.
• Performing. In this stage the team is performing the task and team members are contributing to the team’s goals and desired outcomes. Individual differences and conflict can be quickly dealt with so the team can concentrate on achieving its goals. Team hierarchy is of little importance in this stage and the manager is mostly concerned with measuring and monitoring team performance. Interdependence is often observed at this stage so that members can grow professionally and personally.
• Adjourning. In this stage, the team usually has achieved their expected outcomes and some team members may be prepared to leave. These changes can lead to a change in the group dynamics such as the team structure, team members, team purpose, and more. The team may conduct an assessment of a completed project or timeframe (such as a year), and implement a plan for transitioning team member’s roles and recognising team member’s contributions.

Throughout each of these stages, the team’s performance varies. For example, in the forming stage, team performance is often quite good because there is little conflict. However, performance starts to decrease during the storming stage due to conflict and poor communication between team members. The table on the following page outlines Tuckman’s stages of team development as they relate to team performance. The two axes on this graph represent the varying effect on the team’s performance as it moves through the stages of team development. As the team works through the forming and storming stages, team performance is relatively low. Once the team reaches the performing stage its performance is optimal as the team is operating effectively and achieving its goals and desired outcomes. This demonstrates how a team’s performance is impacted by team dynamics. It is important to note effective team leadership and management can limit the impact of the storming phase and get teams to the performing stage quickly.

It seems obvious that a manager will want their team to progress to the performing stage as quickly as possible so that they can start to produce good results. But how exactly can a manager leading a newly established team go about facilitating this? In most cases, establishing open communication and a common understanding of the team’s purpose, goals, roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities can be highly effective in optimising team dynamics and speeding up this process. Essentially, this involves the process of developing some form of team charter.

Team charters are documents that are developed to establish a common understanding of the team’s purpose in terms of the organisation’s goals and objectives as well as each team member’s roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities. Team charters provide a ‘road map’ to ensure team members are aware of where they are heading and to provide direction when problems arise (Eyre, 2015). With the increase in individuals doing hybrid and remote work, the team charter plays a crucial role in ensuring every team member is well aware of their roles and responsibilities within the team.

When you are working with an established work team it is likely that the team’s charter will have already been established, even if it is not recorded in the form of a team charter. For example, members of the sales team or the finance team or the human resources team will all understand their role within the organisation, the individual team member’s employment contracts will outline their individual roles and responsibilities, and each team member (and perhaps the overall team) will have a set of established key performance indicators (KPIs).

However, if you are put in charge of leading a new project team or problem-solving team it will be important to go through the process of establishing some form of team charter. For a new team to work effectively, each team member must be made aware of their own roles and responsibilities within the team as well as how these roles and responsibilities fit with the organisation’s goals and objectives. Below, we will discuss a formal process for doing this. It is important to remember that while, in practice, if you are leading a small or informal team these processes may not be conducted or documented as formally as they are outlined below, an effective leader will still undertake a similar process to establish a common understanding within the team.

An effective team charter will generally emerge through a process of discussion and negotiation. In most cases, the team’s client or senior manager will establish the context and purpose of the team, however, the roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities are often developed through consultation and negotiation with team members. This consultation and negotiation will often occur in a team meeting so that team members can engage in an open discussion about the team’s various roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities. Before this meeting occurs, team members should be informed of the meeting’s purpose and instructed to prepare for the meeting to ensure they can make a valuable contribution.

As all aspects of the team charter must be developed in accordance with organisational goals, plans, and objectives, the team should also (before the meeting) be provided with any organisational documents relevant to the development of the team charter. This can be achieved by the manager informing team members of these requirements by email and attaching the relevant organisational documents or instructing team members to access these documents through the organisation’s intranet or document management system. Organisational documents relevant to team charter development may include:

• Position descriptions of team members
• The organisation’s code of ethics
• The organisation’s strategic plan

Team charters come in many different forms depending on the team’s purpose and composition. The following document is an example of a simple team charter for a project team that has been convened to update a company website:

To heighten your understanding of what should be detailed in a team charter, each component is explained below (Mind Tools, n.d.):

• Purpose. A purpose is defined so the team knows what it has to achieve. If the team charter lacks a purpose, individual team members can become side-tracked with their own thoughts, beliefs, and work/career agendas instead of the overarching goal of the team’s activities. In most cases, the purpose will be developed by the team’s client or senior manager. However, all team members should be given the chance to share and discuss their thoughts on the proposed purpose.
• Roles. To develop team roles, it is important to look at the context and purpose of the team to determine which team members are most suitable for completing which tasks. As such, the team can achieve their purpose as well as completing it within a reasonable amount of timeframe. The most effective teams are made up of people with the right skills and experience to do the job. Therefore, it is essential to match the correct team members to the correct roles.
• Responsibilities. This section should include the duties that each team member is responsible for completing on an ongoing basis. If the team is expected to operate in an ongoing manner or for an extended period of time this section may be comprehensive and detailed and will outline how each team member will operate on a day-to-day basis.
• Accountabilities. After the roles and responsibilities have been defined, the charter should then outline which team members are accountable for ensuring team members are meeting their responsibilities. This includes who has the authority to direct the team’s activities. This section should also outline what aspects of the team’s operations require approval from management before proceeding.
• Approval. Each team member should sign the charter and, by doing so, agree to hold themselves and each other accountable to the roles and responsibilities it contains.

Depending on your organisation and the team, you may want to include additional details that are not listed above. Your charter should be tailored to meet the needs of the team and have enough detail to ensure all team members understand what is expected of them. For example, budget and resources, internal checks and reviews, team members evaluation, and more. Project teams and problem-solving teams can be an extremely effective way for an organisation to reach its goals. However, if teams aren’t managed correctly, they can focus on the wrong objectives, fail to use important resources, and can be torn apart by problems with team dynamics (Mind Tools, n.d.). Taking the time to fully develop a team charter helps prevent such issues.

Further, you should keep in mind that the team charter should not be an instructive document that is distributed to the team members. Rather, the leaders should encourage team members to take part and brainstorm the team charter together. This can help team members to reach a shared understanding of their purposes, roles, and responsibilities and as they participated in the developing of the team charter and hold ownership towards it. Otherwise, team members might not feel a sense of belonging and may struggle to adhere to the team charter. Consequently, the team purpose cannot be fulfilled.

Once you have developed your charter, the next step will be to develop performance plans.

Performance planning is an ongoing process used to attain a desired level of performance for both individuals and teams. A good performance plan allows team members to grow individually and achieve their full potential while contributing to the team to achieve the team goals and achieve better productivity. Some organisations develop both team performance plans and individual performance plans. Other organisations develop team performance plans and use these same plans to manage the performance of individual team members. An example of a workplace that may use team performance plans to manage performance of individuals is a large call centre, where there is a low manager-to-employee ratio and where all members of the team perform the same job role.

Whether developing team or individual performance plans, the process is similar. In both cases, performance plans should always be developed through a process of consultation. The best way to produce a useful plan is for managers to engage in effective performance planning discussions with team members. This allows team members to contribute their thoughts and ideas to the plan.

The most effective performance planning discussions are ‘two-way’ conversations where team members and managers can exchange views, ask questions, and reach agreement about the following factors:

• Expected outcomes. The expected outcomes should be drawn from organisational goals. They refer to what needs to be achieved, such as the main tasks, projects, and deliverables. Essentially, the expected outcome should answer or resolve a business problem.
• Outputs. Outputs refer to the actions the team will have to take to achieve the expected outcomes. This section of the plan should outline how work will be done and the specific behaviours the team will use or develop while at work.
• Goals. The expected outcomes must be broken down into achievable, measurable goals for the team. Goals should be developed using the ‘SMART’ framework:
  • Specific – a specific outcome/result must be defined
  • Measurable - measures to assess progress toward the result should be defined
  • Achievable – the goals must be realistic and attainable; if they are too hard or unrealistic to achieve, the team is likely to give up before they even begin
  • Relevant – the goals must be something that the team members can control and influence, as well as staying relevant to the organisational values and objectives.
  • Time-based – a realistic timeframe should be set for achieving the goal so that team members are motivated and will prioritise it.
• Key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are a tool used to measure whether the team or individual is on track to achieve their expected goals. When developing KPIs it is important to first establish what you should measure and then set a challenging but still realistic benchmark (or upper and lower limits) for team members to strive towards.
• Support required. There must be a clear understanding of what support the team as a whole or individual team members will require to ensure they meet their goals. We will look at how you could support team members in the later part of this section.

Providing an opportunity for team members to ask questions and air their opinions is a very important part of the planning process. It is crucial to listen to each team member’s contribution towards the performance plan and integrate the relevant parts. This is because if team members are unclear on expectations or do not agree with the plan it will be unlikely that the team’s objectives will be achieved.

Reading C – SMART Goals

Reading C provides an overview of what is a SMART goal as well as looking at some specific examples of SMART goals.

• Specific - What exactly are you trying to achieve?
• Measurable - How will you know when you've achieved it?
• Attainable - Is it genuinely possible to achieve it?
• Relevant - Does it contribute to your agency's revenue growth?
• Time-bound - When do you want to achieve this by?

Preparing for a team performance planning meeting (group)

You should never begin a performance planning discussion without taking adequate time to prepare. Following the steps below will help you plan the discussion and ensure that you are organised:

• Choose an appropriate time for the discussion - take into account team members’ availability and workloads, and consider whether team members work better earlier or later in the day
• Arrange a venue for the discussion where the team won’t be interrupted, and team members will feel relaxed and willing to participate.
• Prepare an agenda by deciding what you want to get out of the discussion and what areas you want to cover.
• Invite team members and provide details about the time the discussion will be taking place, the venue, and what preparation you would like team members to do before attending. For instance, you would want your team members to be familiar with some organisational documents before attending the meeting such as organisation values and objectives.

To get the most out of the discussion, it is a good idea to develop an agenda. This will act as your guide during the discussion and will add structure to the meeting. Time is valuable, so an agenda will keep the discussion on-track. An example agenda has been provided below.

^{(Adapted from ACT Government, 2019)}

During the meeting you should:

• Open the discussion by stating its purpose.
• Make sure everyone has an opportunity to speak.
• Keep a record of the key points that are raised, what has been agreed to, and any issues that will require follow-up action.

From this meeting, you should have all the information necessary to develop a formal team performance plan. You must document this plan and then ensure that all team members sign the performance plan to signify their awareness and acceptance. Before signing, you should offer your team members an opportunity to clarify any doubts they have about the performance plan and if there is anything they would like to be updated or discussed further before signing the plan. An example of a documented team performance plan is included below:

Preparing for team member performance planning meeting (individual)

An individual discussion will generally require less consultation time than a group discussion but should still be adequately planned. The planning process and agenda will be very similar to the group discussion but will be tailored to the individual. Individual planning discussions are a great tool to use in addition to the group discussion. Many organisations will hold a group discussion to plan a general overview and then have individual discussions to break down the requirements for each individual. Of course, the specific approach you should take will depend on the team and the team’s objectives. To begin preparing for an individual discussion, you should do the following:

• Review team member’s job description.
• Arrange a time and place for the discussion where you won’t be interrupted and confidentiality can be maintained.
• Allow adequate time for the discussion.
• Prepare questions to ask the team member

An example agenda for such a meeting has been provided below:

During the meeting you should:

• Be respectful.
• Take a positive approach and focus on the future.
• Have realistic expectations of the team member.
• Be mindful of the team member’s perspective and be prepared to negotiate if necessary.
• Confirm that the team member understands by summarising key points and agreements.

As a result of this meeting, you should have all the information necessary to develop a formal individual performance plan. Again, you must document this plan and then ensure that the team member has the opportunity to raise any concerns before signing their performance plan to signify their awareness and acceptance. An example of a documented team member performance plan is included below:

Once you have consulted team members to establish a common understanding of team purpose, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and you have developed performance plans, the next step will be to support team members in meeting expected performance outcomes.

As a leader or manager, it will be your responsibility to support team members to achieve both their individual and team performance plans. Some team members will require more support than others and it will be your responsibility to identify diverse needs and provide the appropriate support. For any team to perform well, team members need to feel supported and know how to access support if required. All too often team members may not like to ask for help as they feel uncomfortable, or they may feel that there is no help available. If timely support is not provided, the consequences can result in unnecessary conflicts and problems or the individual and the team not achieving their established goals in the expected timeframe.

Providing support to team members may take the form of:

• Explaining or clarifying policies, procedures, instructions, etc.
• Assisting with solving problems
• Providing encouragement and recognising team member’s achievements in order to foster a positive attitude
• Providing training
• Providing coaching and mentoring
• Ensuring that team members have the resources they need to perform their role

Support options should be included in the performance plan and should be explicitly explained throughout discussions. Team members should be told how/where to access support and to access support before any issues manifest into larger problems. Essentially, you want your team members to know that support is always available for them whenever they need it. Further, other than the formal learning opportunities listed above, support can also come in the form of informal learning opportunities such as conversations and providing feedback. If the support required by the team member is beyond your capability or require approval from a more senior position (e.g., attending a costly training program), you should reassure your team member that you will discuss it with them instead of just dismissing them.

As the saying goes, there is no “I” in team. All team members should be supportive of one another and when you are leading a team, you should be leading by example and demonstrate supportive behaviours. You will learn more about the actual processes involved in supporting team members in the next sections of this module.

In this section of the Study Guide, you have learned how to consult with team members to establish a common understanding through the use of a team charter. You also learned how to develop performance plans to establish expected outcomes, outputs, key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals for the work team. Finally, you learned the importance of providing support team members in meeting expected performance outcomes.