Critical Aspects of a High-Performing Team

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1.    Not all work processes are properly designed for effective use by true high-performance teams. (E.g. Great teamwork is not one member working and three others watching.) What are the key aspects of the processes that make for a true high-performance team?

2.    The natural path from groups to teams to high-performance teams seems to include a change in the role of the manager. What is it about true high-performance teams that seem to require less from the manager and more self-management and self-designing from the team members?

3.    The number one interpersonal skill needed for good team membership is defined as “listening skills.” Dig deeper into your personal experiences to identify, at a deeper level, the key behaviors needed to develop better listening skills. (E.g., It is easy to listen without hearing the message being sent.) Explain the more subtle skills and behaviors and why they are critical to true high-performance team success.

4.    It’s been suggested that the basis of most conflicts should be resolved during the “norming” phase of Tuckman’s model. Assume a situation in which a conflict develops among members of a true high-performance team, while the members are still in alignment in terms of Tuckman’s model and nothing happened to undermine the trust. Propose a possible root cause for this conflict, suggest a path to a resolution, and explain your rationale.