HOW TO
CREATE HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAMS? - HPT CONE Javier Sรกnchez
Principal Agile Consultant CA Technologies www.javiersanchez.blog
THE TEAM AND THE HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAM High Performance Team (HPT) is a term commonly used when referring to teams that transcend the limits of the ordinary. We can begin by emphasizing that HPTs, like any other human system, are dynamic, and this allows them to evolve based on their components, relationships and interactions with the environment, within that dynamic of evolution it will be fluctuating between states or stages within the lifecycle, generating different levels of productivity, responses to change and emotional responses to their individuals. It is about this complex system that I feel the need to write, basing myself on valuable research on the subject, and my own experience of success and learning within this journey of knowledge towards the construction of HPTs.
IN THIS POST I WILL TRY TO CLARIFY: What is a team? What makes a team be called “high performance”? What are the ideal conditions for this to happen? What is the way to become one? What happens to our emotions in the team development process? What are the conditions for making the results sustainable once we get there? And finally, how do trust and leadership go with this transformation process?
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO I WILL START BY DESCRIBING WHAT A TEAM IS, HERE ARE TWO (2) MAIN DEFINITIONS:
1
“A small number of people with complementary skills who commit to a common purpose, performance goals and collective responsibility approach.” - katzenbach and smith ('93)
2
“A team has two or more people; It has a specific or recognizable objective to be achieved; And the coordination of activities between team members is necessary for the achievement of the team's goal” - Larson and laFasto ('89) www.javiersanchez.blog
In addition, a team must develop a collective identity, which allows it to strengthen the sense of belonging, it must build strong relationships between members that facilitate communication and mutual influence, it must have stability in its formation, which allows it to maintain its members for a reasonable period of time that allows the sustainable strengthening of their relationships based on lasting interactions.
WHAT MAKES A TEAM A HPT? THESE ARE ITS CHARACTERISTICS:
continuity (Stability in their formation)
Self-organization
motivation
Clear boundaries Competency (Right people)
Cross-functional
respect
Manage their conflicts
trust collaboration
assertive communication
HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAM
commitment
Balance between similarities and differences innovation
Sense of collective ownership
discipline
Responsible autonomy (decision making)
Resilience
Sense of transcendence
purpose (mission)
Inspection and adaptation
FIGURE 1. MENTAL MAP OF HPT CHARACTERISTICS Adding to the above the fact that HPTs are happy teams that positively transform what they find in their way, increasing the productivity and profitability of companies.
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THE PROBLEM IS THE SYSTEM It is definitely clear why HPTs are so desired, now let's see, what happens on the way? Why isn’t everyone able to develop them? I often hear phrases such as: we don’t have people who have that maturity (“many juniors”), I don’t think that will work here and besides we are doing very well the way we are, we don’t have the budget to train people who later leave, ... these are some of the excuses I have heard to try to explain the fear of facing a process of change, at times it seems we value a mediocre certainty more than a challenging uncertainty. Edwards Deming, thinker on issues of productivity, quality and leadership said: “People are already doing their best, the problem is with the system, only management can change the system.” It makes a lot of sense to trust the people we hire, “they surely do not get up in the morning with the firm intention of doing their job wrong or breaking a commitment.” The funny thing is that this is the first thing crossing many people’s minds when goals are not achieved (“it has happened to me as well at some point”). How useful it would be to understand that the problem lies in this complex system of human relations and that management has a “nontransferrable” responsibility to build this longed-for system of productivity and wellbeing.
KNOWING THE SYSTEM This system is composed of people and their relationships within an environment. The interaction between the individuals will depend on the characteristics of each individual, the strength of their relationships and the influence of the environment, the dynamics of the system will define the habits that in turn represent the very culture of the system. The leadership influences all the components of the system, becoming the enabler of success. The system will change its state as part of its evolution process, which in turn will impact the confidence, emotional response and response to change of individuals. The conditions (initial, support, relationships with the environment) will affect the results of the system. This is what I have called the “HPT Cone”
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INITIAL SUPPORT
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ENVIRONMENT
TERMS
STATES OF THE SYSTEM
THE RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE
TRUST THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
LEADERSHIP
FIGURE 2. REPRESENTS THE “HPT CONE”
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STATES OF THE SYSTEM Initially described by Tuckman as a model of four (4) states describing the phases within the lifecycle of team development, later Edison made an extension to the model to contemplate the “dysfunctional” stages of teams (Figure 3).
TEAM PERFORMANCE Informing
Performing
High Performing Conforming Transformation Performing Norming Dysfunctional Functional Functional Deforming
Forming
Norming Stroming
Tuckman’s Four-Stage Model
Edison’s Expansion on team dysfunction Disbandment
TIME This illustration shows the full life-cycle of a team’s developmentt, from its initial formation to its potencial decline uncline there is a transformation initiated (adaptad from edison[6])
FIGURE 3. EXTENDED LIFECYCLE FOR TEAM DEVELOPMENT
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STATES OF THE SYSTEM
LEADERSHIP
TRUST
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FUNCTIONAL Forming: Represents the formation of the team, how individuals are selected in relation to their abilities and personalities. “Here we are, now what do we have to do... and who is the leader” Storming: Characterized by friction between individuals and increasing differences between them. “And now because there are so many different people, it's hard to understand each other!... I know who the leader is, I'll start by trusting him.” Norming: The roles, agreements, processes and rules are defined. “Everything is clearer, I will comply with what is established and if I require support the leader will give me a hand” Performing/high performing: Everyone follows a clear purpose, there is enthusiasm and strengthened confidence in all other members. “I'm happy doing what I like and also I’m getting paid for it :)”
DYSFUNCTIONAL Informing: Achievements are consolidated as part of the lessons learned. “We are going to show how well we have done it :/” Conforming: About trust and feeling of extreme sufficiency. “We have everything under control and there is no better way of doing things :(“ Deforming: Loss of motivation and sense of transcendence. “What am I doing here :(“
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It is very important to understand the dynamics of teams, and not just believe that by hiring a group of well-qualified people and providing a workspace, something magical will happen. It is a critical factor to have the ability to identify at what point the team addresses the feared “Conforming” and takes control over the system in order to extend its life. A method to identify the proximity to “Conforming” could be to be very aware of the characteristics of dysfunctional teams and to take control promptly, for this I will refer to the five (5) characteristics of dysfunctional teams described by Patrick Lencioni in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Lack of confidence, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding responsibility and not focusing on team results. A correct analysis of the state of the team at all times, accompanied by a rigorous spirit of continuous improvement in the style of Kaizen (change for improvement) will be key in generating that new air for the team.
NOW I ASK YOU (TAKE 1 MINUTE). IN WHAT STATE IS YOUR TEAM?... Surely when you thought about it, one of the criteria that you used was, how you have felt lately in your work. This brings us directly to our next topic, which details individuals’ response to change within the lifecycle or states of the system.
THE RESPONSE TO CHANGE The evolution of the system will inevitably lead individuals to undergo a change process, where the individual’s response to change will be conditioned by the state of the system.
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STATES OF THE SYSTEM
THE RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE
LEADERSHIP
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THE RESPONSE TO CHANGE WILL GO THROUGH THE FOLLOWING PHASES: Denial: Response to uncertainty. “Don’t count on me” Resistance: Try to seek security in what is already known. “I should not take any risks” Experimentation: Open-mindedness by identifying the benefit of change and connection with the purpose. “I'll see if it's as good as it sounds” Learning: State of enthusiasm and confidence about the outcome of change. “I am happy with this”
Each of these phases will be experienced by the individual for each and every change that they face within the process of building the HPT. For some individuals the phases of denial and resistance will be almost imperceptible, this denotes an extraordinary openness of mind and trust.
Although changes will occur at any point in the lifecycle (states of the system), it is in the states of Forming, Storming and Norming that we experience the greatest amount of change and therefore the leadership once again plays a major role in positively influencing, and with a greater emphasis on the phases of Denial and Resistance. A good practice that will contribute to the management of these changes could be to carry out a change management process and for this I will refer to John Kotter with the implementation of the change management process described in his book “Leading Change,” which defines eight (8) stages for the proper management of change, and these are:
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1
Create a sense of urgency for change: Why is the change required.
2
Build a coalition: Forming agents of change.
3
Create a strategic vision of change: Where are we going with this change.
4
Communicate the vision: Everyone must be informed.
5
Empower people: Everyone should be part of the change.
6
Create early victories: Little triumphs that confirm that the path is right.
7
Consolidate those victories: Let's celebrate.
8
Anchor the change in culture: Change has become a habit.
Lastly, we must understand that for a process of change to be successful it is necessary to have a clear vision, have sufficient skills required by the change (competence), feel motivated by the change, have sufficient resources to support the change (financial, logistics, technology,...) and in addition there must be a plan of action with constant verification and adaptation.
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NOW I ASK YOU (TAKE 1 MINUTE). HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FOR YOU TO CHANGE SOMETHING?... I imagine that when you thought about it, all those emotions that you have experienced in a process of change crossed your mind, the following subject focuses speciďŹ cally on this, the emotional response of individuals within the lifecycle or states of the system.
THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE As we saw previously, the process of building HPTs is accompanied by changes and in turn these changes generate a response that can range from denial to learning. This incessant frenzy will carry an emotional cost, where proper management of these emotions will be a critical success factor for the process of change.
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STATES OF THE SYSTEM
THE RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
LEADERSHIP
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One of the main elements for proper emotional management is the identification of emotion, which implies recognition of it accompanied by why we feel this way, this is what Daniel Goleman calls “Emotional Self-awareness” in his book Emotional intelligence as the first element of emotional intelligence.
THE FIVE (5) ELEMENTS ARE:
1
Emotional self-awareness: Refers to the identification of emotion along with the root cause of it. “I am angry because I have not been taken into account”
2
Emotional self-regulation: Keeping emotions that give rise to impulsive responses under control. “I will count to 10 and try to make myself understood”
3
Internal motivation: Finding what inspires us and fills us with energy (sense of purpose or transcendence). “I feel satisfied with the job well done.”
4
Empathy: Putting yourself in others’ shoes. “The other person is also right”
5
Social skills: Interpersonal skills of mutual influence. “Together we will achieve it"
Although different types of emotions can occur at any time and this can vary between individuals, certain states of the system (lifecycle) are more likely to generate different emotions. Figure 4 illustrates the dynamics between the states of the system versus the most frequent emotions.
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Performing
Performing
Conforming
Forming Norming
Conforming
Stroming Worried
Motived Enthusiastic
Fearful
Trusted
Frustrated Angry
Frustrated Trusted
Fearful Open Minded Motivated
Open Minded Enthusiastic
FIGURE 4. STATES OF THE SYSTEM VERSUS THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
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An adequate emotional recognition, a control of the response to emotion accompanied by a firm purpose that inspires and motivates, will help you in the intrapersonal plane, now you must work on building empathy with your team. Once again, leadership plays a major role, you are the one with the power to positively transform the environment, it will be what Eduardo Martí calls “moments of leadership” in his book We are all leaders. To empathize and influence your team it will be very useful to understand that the states of the system can affect the emotional response of the team. In that direction you can achieve the strengthening of interpersonal relationships, where the whole is much more than the sum of its parts.
TRUST To be able to take advantage of such a complex relational system, it will be quite useful to know its possible states, understand the importance of humanizing the evolution process of teams, understanding the reaction to change of individuals and their respective emotional response. At this point you may wonder, what else can happen? For this I want you to try to remember those situations where the results were not what was expected, those moments where you believed that both you and your team could have gone further, those moments where a direct and open conversation with your boss, client, partner or ally would have been enough to solve the situation... try to imagine that person within that conversation,... now think of a conversation with your parents, partner or best friend,... with whom do you think you have more opportunity to expose your vulnerability, clarify your expectations and reach a better solution?, What do you believe is the difference?... The answer is TRUST, and you would be surprised by the impact it has on your productivity and quality of life.
On a business level, it is believed that companies with high levels of trust among their employees are three times more profitable than companies with a low level of trust (according to Watson Wyatt.) You would also be surprised that only 51% of employees trust their executives and that only 36% believe in the honesty and integrity of their leaders, to this we can add the impact on the retention rates of employees for reasons related to distrust. www.javiersanchez.blog
STATES OF THE SYSTEM
THE RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE
TRUST THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
LEADERSHIP
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Let's go into detail by defining trust as “the belief that a person or group will be able and willing to act appropriately in a given situation.” Trust will be more or less reinforced according to actions (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confianza). By this definition we could deduce that trust is directly related to the credibility of the individual or group. This credibility starts from the confidence that the individual has in himself, and then asks himself whether or not he is worthy of the trust of others.
In that order of ideas, if I am an integral person, will I be trustworthy? The answer is: not necessarily. Integrity is one of the elements within the process of building credibility, the other key element is results.
Integrity and results will define credibility and therefore dictate whether the individual or team is trustworthy. To describe the process of building credibility I will support myself on those described by Stephen M.R. Covey in his book The SPEED of Trust, where he defines the construction of credibility within the components of character and competence. Character are those characteristics and traits that define the nature of the individual/team, it will be influenced by integrity and intention, understanding integrity as the congruence of our actions, where there can be no difference between what we think and do, additionally we will not have a problem in humbly recognizing the results of others and to do what we have to do with courage, however difficult it may seem. Intention refers to those elements that motivate the action, those that forge paths of mutual benefit and above all, those elements that are easily perceptible by others, from the simple observation of our behavior, this will be in charge of defining the character. As we saw previously, the single integrity defined within the character will not suffice, we must build trust also from results and for this, it is our competences that will allow us to continue advancing in the process of building credibility. Those capacities will allow us to perform a job with excellence and these are our talents, experiences, skills and knowledge, that together with the results (past, current and potentially future), enable the development of sufficient competences within the process of building credibility.
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Congruence
Motivation
Humility
Agenda
Courage
Behavior
Integrity
Intention
CHARACTER
BUILDING CREDIBILITY (TRUST) COMPETENCE Capacities
Results
Talents
Past
Attitude
Current
Skills
Potentially (futures)
Knowledge Style
FIGURE 5. MENTAL MAP - BUILDING CREDIBILITY
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The process of building trust inevitably accompanies the process of building high performance teams, and in turn is influenced by the states of the system, and in this same way we identify that in the state of Forming the team will tend to conduct a process of evaluating their leaders, validating whether or not they are trustworthy, continuing with the state of Storming where conflicts and differences will lead team members to focus trust on their leaders, leaders who will help address those conflicts and guide the process of collective building of trust. In the process of evolution from Norming to Performing, the team will go from a trust based on the leaders and certain established processes or standards, to a trust based on an environment of mutual influence and credibility, where elements of character and competences have granted the team enough security to trust and be trustworthy. You have to keep in mind that trust must be maintained, and that even in high-performance teams, there are times when characteristics of dysfunctional teams may appear. At this point we connect the lack of trust described by Patrick Lencioni in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the states of the system and the importance of trust in the productivity of teams and companies described by Stephen M.R. Covey in his book The SPEED of Trust. I hope this information gives you an idea of how critical trust is and perhaps it can be a starting point to work on the firm purpose of better managing your Trust Accounts, one account for each relationship with a team member, those accounts will bring a balance between deposits and withdrawals of trust. For the management of your accounts you must be very alert as withdrawals have a greater impact than deposits. Watch out for overdrafts. Be very careful as there are withdrawals and overdrafts that perhaps no deposit can manage to pay off.
THE LEADERSHIP At this point you will have noticed that the leadership has direct influence on the other components of the system. In each state of the system the leadership will influence the components, providing an environment conducive to change management and an adequate emotional response among people. Additionally, they provide support in the process of building mutual trust, which is why they are at the base of the cone, taking control over the system and transforming everything in its path. www.javiersanchez.blog
INITIAL SUPPORT
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ENVIRONMENT
TERMS
STATES OF THE SYSTEM
THE RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE
TRUST THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
LEADERSHIP
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The leadership I am referring to is the transformer, the one who generates enthusiasm, who motivates and inspires its followers, the one with the firm intention of forming other leaders, the one who teaches by example, that leader in the service of his followers, that facilitator, coach and mentor that motivates, influences and persuades the team to accomplish amazing things.
I WANT YOU TO THINK OF A LEADER FOR ONE MINUTE. WHAT PERSON DID YOU THINK ABOUT?... It is very common that when talking about leaders we think of bosses, politicians, senior executives or gurus. Frequently the image that we have in our mind is of personalities that summon crowds, with super powers and with great public speaking skills. This is normal, and I think that both Hollywood and our educational system have done a great job about it.
At this moment I want you to reflect for one minute about those people who have influenced your life, these people who with their wisdom, attitude, courage, empathy and firmness have contributed to you being where you are right now...
DO YOU THINK THEY WERE LEADERS?... THE ANSWER IS YES. I am referring to the leaders who have positively transformed our lives. Those people who came to our life at the necessary time, and with just what we needed in order to be better. Now let us think that just as some people have influenced our life, surely we have done the same in the lives of some of the people who have crossed our path. Does that make us leaders? The answer is yes, and that moment in which we generate a transformation is called “moment of leadership” by Eduardo Martí in his book “We are all leaders”. That moment when you managed to listen and be listened to, put yourself in others’ shoes, build trust and enthusiasm. You managed to connect a need, a how and a why, and with it to be the catalyst in the transformation of another person. www.javiersanchez.blog
Dear reader, leadership is far from being a title or distinction within the team, it is more of a task that we perform within those moments of leadership, instants created organically based on the strengths of the individual, relationships with others and the type of situation to face. From this we decide to lead or follow, giving the greatest benefit to the team. In the Harvard Business Review Byron Reeves, Thomas Malone and Tony O'Driscoll refer to dynamic leadership, that leadership that provides the transparent environment that enables learning, that leadership that allows individuals to switch from leader to follower and vice versa, in relation to the situation that the team must face. In that vein, high-performance teams (HPTs) are teams made up of leaders, leaders who transparently display their vulnerabilities, humble leaders who deliver acknowledgement of successes to the team, trustworthy leaders, leaders at the service of the team, who assume responsibility both in leadership and in followship, always seeking to deliver the best version of themselves. Responsibility in leadership is yours, it's something you cannot delegate.
“THE TRANSFORMATION WILL COME FROM LEADERSHIP” EDWARDS DEMING
THE CONDITIONS So far we have been able to take a tour of the key elements in the building of the much desired HPT, now we will learn the conditions that will affect both the performance of the team and all other components of the system. Those conditions will accompany the team in each and every state. Additionally, they will have direct influence on trust, response to change and emotional response.
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INITIAL SUPPORT
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ENVIRONMENT
TERMS
STATES OF THE SYSTEM
THE RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE
TRUST THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
LEADERSHIP
www.javiersanchez.blog
Once again, the leadership is a protagonist, now being responsible for the formation, construction, strengthening and maintenance of these conditions. It is the leadership that will guide the conditions of the system.
I WILL PRESENT THREE (3) CATEGORIES: 1
Initial: Basic conditions on which the construction of the HPT begins.
2
Support: Structural factors that support the strengthening of the HPT.
3
Relationship with the environment: Relational elements about the context in which the HPT is developed.
INITIAL THESE CONDITIONS ANSWER TWO QUESTIONS. Do you have the right people on the team? What is the existing culture? Jim Collins, in his book “Good to Great”, says, “start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus,” with this he emphasizes the importance of having the right people, those with the correct balance between attitude, competence, integrity and adaptability. Those people who are trustworthy, who integrate properly with the other members and who from their differences manage to reach a respectful and focused “chaos” that makes continuous learning possible in an environment of enriching conflicts. Now I ask you... do you think it is easy to find the right people? Definitely not, this is no easy task.
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And it makes sense that leading companies are so concerned about strengthening their recruitment and selection processes, it is also very common, “at least in the field of technology,” the emergence of many specialized recruitment firms. According to my experience I could say that you should focus on hiring people with the values and purpose (vision/mission) that you want for your team, this will be more relevant than the skills, knowledge or certifications. Additionally, you must accept that no matter how rigorous your selection process is, you will not always get it right. I also want to invite you to explore other alternatives, one of them is self-selection, this practice is to allow the team itself to choose their own members, I know this can lead to controversy “it is my intention to do it :)”. I ask you to reflect, who better than the team itself knows their needs, differences and strengths? To achieve the best results, the process of self-selection must be framed within certain constraints, some of them are: having a team vision and mission, values, understanding of the skills required to fulfill the mission, among others. When we are creating a team from scratch, the influence of the leadership on the process will tend to be greater, when faced with individuals who may not know each other, within a team that does not yet have clear boundaries and is beginning the process of trust-building. Self-selection is a team empowerment tool. Once we hire people, it will also be useful (approximately 6 months to 1 year) to carry out self-selection workshops where the team conducts a self-selection review process, analyzing everything, from the complementarity of skills among the members, to the number of team members. This is part of the team inspection and adaptation process. All of this without forgetting that the formation of the HPT is a long-term learning process and we do not seek to create an unnecessary instability in the evolution of the team.
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Another key initial condition is the existing culture. With this I refer to the habits of the company, department or team. Those behaviors that by becoming repetitive have become the very culture guiding interactions between individuals. We must understand that we are in a process of transformation and that cultural changes are complex and take time. We must be filled with serenity and wisdom to know that culture, and as we saw in the response to change, to generate small transformations that will later become the new habits that will surely take the organization to another level.
At this point you will have noticed the degree of importance of the initial conditions and maybe you can even relate. I want to emphasize Esther Derby, who says that the initial conditions can impact in up to 60% the success of the teams, this is something that we can not lose sight of.
SUPPORT To describe what I have called the support conditions I will rely on the CDE model (containing, differences, exchanges) described by Glenda Eoyang as part of her work, which describes the conditions of self-organization in human systems. The CDE model defines three (3) components that condition the self-organized system, these are the container, which defines the limits on which the system defines its identity, the differences, which explains how to build extraordinary teams by taking advantage of the differences between individuals, and the exchanges, which describes the interactions between individuals and the benefits of this in delivering value to clients.
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LET'S LOOK AT THIS MODEL IN CLOSER DETAIL: THE CONTAINER Refers to those similar elements that are shared among team members, emphasizing on having a purpose (“what for”) mission/vision/goals, also knowing the market, the expectations of clients, existing guidelines and habits, and project goals. Clear rules are necessary for decision making. For this, it recommends some practices, one of them is Team Canvas, in it you can support yourself to define the purpose of the team, besides strengthening the values, the knowledge of their strengths/weaknesses, identifying the roles within the team, defining rules and agreements for decision-making. For decision-making, I would complement the Team Canvas with a Delegation Board, in which we can agree upon the rules for decision-making in certain situations, for this it uses a scale of 1 to 7 in relation to the level of delegation the team agrees upon for the situation. This works quite well to empower the team and clarify the decision-making process. For more understanding of the client and the market, it would be very useful to use an empathy map, with which we can analyze in detail the expectations of a client within the market.
THE DIFFERENCES We focus on knowing and exploiting the differences of individuals, these differences can be in experience, knowledge, education, culture, skills and age, among others. For this, the Team Canvas can provide valuable information, you can also implement a personal map. Personal maps will be very useful in identifying the similarities and differences between members, since we can know more about the person from their hobbies, experiences, tastes, family and education. These practices will be very helpful to you, additionally I consider that, just as in the process of building trust, we observe the behavior of the people, in identifying the differences, the observation and interaction with the person is key; this will allow us to know them even better. Also, the management of emotional responses and response to change of individuals is valuable, these topics have been previously described.
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THE EXCHANGES If you come from the agile world, surely you will be very familiar with one of the values described in the agile manifesto, “People and Interactions over Processes and tools,” this puts the person and their interactions at the center of software building, emphasizing the benefits that developing innovative products with committed and motivated people has on efficiency and effectiveness. The exchange will occur between the individual, the team and the environment or context, and the transfer of knowledge between individuals represents a key success factor for the system, in addition, these exchanges should be directed to maximize the delivery of value to clients. In order to achieve the greatest benefit of exchanges or interactions, the team will face situations where they will have to adapt their behavior balancing:
1
The important thing over the urgent thing.
2
The consensus over the opportunity in the decision making (the paralysis by the analysis).
3
Autonomy over collective responsibility.
4
The multi-functionality over specialization.
5
The continuous learning over the pressure within the iteration.
6
Be agile over living with the traditional.
Once again the dynamic and transformative leadership takes sides and it is who guides the individuals and teams for the indicated balance that enhances the delivery of value.
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The support conditions are structural factors that support the strengthening of the HPT, enabling the launch of the team on a sound basis. It focuses on building solid relationships between individuals, an understanding of the purpose, a clear definition of boundaries, accompanied by the delivery of responsible autonomy to the team.
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ENVIRONMENT The relationship with the environment (context) conditions the process of development of the team and its results. Elements such as education (coaching), infrastructure (resources), access to information, relationships with organizational culture, incentives, management support and customer involvement are critical success factors for team building, the following will be described in detail: Education / Coaching It refers to the conditions that the environment provides for continuous learning. Answer the questions: Do we have the time and resources to access knowledge? Can we transform that knowledge into learning based on experimentation?
Rewards / incentives It has to do with the symbolic consequences for the good results and the support of the organization to the continuous process of learning. This is about connecting, the motivation of teams, the response of the environment to the results and the process of continuous learning. Infrastructure Look for the appropriate physical and logistic conditions to facilitate the development process of the HPT. Some elements to keep in mind: Suitable facilities: workstations that enable the flow of communication, meeting spaces, office elements and relaxation / reflection spaces.
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Tools required: communication, management, development, versioning, knowledge management, integration and deployment, Logistics and resources: mechanisms for access and management of the resources of the organization. Access to information Like any process of change, assertive communication is vital, since it allows empowering the team, delivering all the necessary information that allows it to perform its work with autonomy. It is very important to be very assertive with the information shared with the team, as we do not want to reach an "infoxication", delivering an information overload that is diďŹƒcult to handle by the team within a work plan. Management Support Management has a direct impact on team results. Many are the challenges to face in order to provide the right environment for HPT construction. Extraordinary teams need fertile land to grow, and management has the responsibility to provide the best manure and care for the land. Here are some challenging elements:
1
The type of structure of the organization.
2
Work administration policies.
3
Key performance indicators.
4
Contractual negotiations (employees, contractors and suppliers).
5
Mechanisms for ďŹ nancing business initiatives (projects, programs, portfolios).
6
Level of risk tolerance of the organization.
7
Mechanisms of human talent management.
8
Resource management policies or organizational assets.
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As we saw previously, the path to the development of HPT represents important challenges to be addressed, to achieve success, I would like to highlight two components that in my opinion are the most important, TRUST AND LEADERSHIP, together are key to addressing the uncertainty inherent in an innovation process. An atmosphere of trust as part of the support of management allows us to move forward without the fear of "making mistakes", what is more, we no longer speak of "mistakes" instead a learning process, It is in this environment where we are encouraged to "make mistakes" as quickly as possible, learn from them and move forward. This will not happen overnight, as we explained earlier, trust building is a complex process, understanding its complexity will help us direct our energies in the right direction always with the courage to do what needs to be done and waiting for those moments of leadership / followship to generate a small transformation that will make the dierence, it is true, it takes time, when is the best time to start ?, 2 weeks ago surely, but since we can not give back time, it is about the "Now" that you have control, and your actions will lead your team to exceed all limits. Customer Involvement The customer has a direct impact on the results of the team, generating positive or negative consequences depending on the degree of involvement of the team. This because the purpose of the team is largely fueled by the satisfaction of the needs of its customers (target population), in this sense the participation of the customer is of vital importance, I want to highlight some main where of inuence to take into account : Fixed scope negotiations: This limits the exibility of the equipment along with its ability to maximize value delivery.
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Prioritization: Improper prioritization can lead the team to deliver a lot of work and little value. One runs the risk of having the false sense of agility when in fact we are expending our energies in the wrong direction. Pressure on commitment: At this point we could become familiar with "Everything is important and it's for todayâ€?. This is risky because when it comes to everything is important, nothing ends up being important, adding to the counterproductive that can be the pressure on the team, resulting in stress, lacks in quality and unproductivity. We need customers who make the development process their own, those who enthusiastically embrace change, opening their minds to new collaborative work alternatives. Culture Culture brings together a large part of the aforementioned components as elements of the environment and it is on this same that are stored those rules, behavior and in summary the habits of people and organizations that allows you to respond according to the situation to face, some organizational cultures are designed to be exible and reinvent themselves in the best way to exploit a market opportunity, others are a little more static, characterized by complex processes / procedures to follow with marked hierarchical levels, those where a change at any level (software, Process, business, ďŹ nancial, etc.) represents a challenge to have to balance the complex organizational structure with the diversity of a market guided by the constant changes.
NOW I ASK YOU (TAKE 1 MINUTE). WHAT CULTURE ARE YOU IN? Whatever your response, it will have served to place you at some point in the process of change. At this point it will be very useful to understand that being where you want to be will take time and that your leadership, conviction and courage are the key to reach that desired culture.
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CONCLUSIONS One of my ideas is to humanize the software development process and deliver tools that allow teams and organizations to identify and overcome their limitations, deliver products/services that positively impact “transform” the lives of many people. Being developed by people who are proud of their work, of their company, and achieving a sustainable balance between work and personal life. Whichever agile framework you believe is the most appropriate to implement in your organization, technology or workplace, it will be useful to understand the complexity of high performance teams, the states they go through in their evolution process, the natural response to change, the emotional response, the impact of trust, the responsibility within a dynamic leadership, and the influence of conditions on the results of the system. “With this, I hope I have given you the tools to increase the chances of success in building HPTs, and to achieve amazing results, increasing the profitability of companies, with quality software/systems, efficiently built by happy teams who are proud of their work” -- Javier Sánchez
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REFERENCES Jim Collins '01, “[Good to great]”, Rashina Hoda, Tesis PhD (self-organizing agile teams) Glenda Eoyang, Conditions for Self-Organizing in Human Systems, PhD (in human systems dynamics) Francis Heylighen, “[The Science of Self-Organization and Adaptivity]” Esther derby, “Video:Self-Organizing Agile Teams”. Stephen M.R. Covey, “[The SPEED of Trust]” Eduardo Martin, “[Todos somos líderes]” Edwards Deming, “[Out of the Crisis]” Tuckman, edison, modelo de estados del desempeño de los equipos, Patrick Lencioni “[Las Cinco Disfunciones de un Equipo]” John Kotter, “Leading Change” Daniel Goleman ”[inteligencia emocional]” Byron reeves, Thomas malone y tony o'driscoll ,Harvard Business Review ,liderazgo dinámico Em Campbell-pretty, Tribal Unity, auto-seleccion David logan, ["tribal leadership"] Seth godin, [“tribus’]
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