Leading Teams

High Performing Teams

High performing teams are not a matter of luck; they result from hard work.  Teams are not a panacea and they can have their pitfalls, but the upside potential for teams is great because a high performing team can outperform the best members of a group.  As a philosopher once said, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.  The power of a high performing team is the synergy created through cooperation and collaboration.  High performing teams have a multiplier effect within organizations.

Team Dynamics

Teams are a combination of seen and unseen processes which create unique team dynamics:

• Leadership – motivating, coaching, supporting, building trust
• Management – planning, facilitating, monitoring, evaluating
• Psychology – personality, perception, feeling, emotion
• Sociology – forming, storming, norming, performing

Team Environment – Culture & Climate

Team dynamics occur within a broader environmental context known as culture and climate.  Culture occurs at the organizational level and is rooted in anthropology.  Culture refers to the deep structure and systems of an organization, including its history, beliefs, customs, norms, values, and social behaviour.  Climate occurs at the group level and is rooted in psychology/sociology and refers to the individual/collective thoughts, emotions, feelings, and perceptions of a team by its members.  While climate is linked with culture, each is quite different.  Culture can be slow to change; organizational climate is like the weather – it’s always changing.

Eden Park Approach

At Eden Park, we believe that strong teams are built on positive team dynamics of cooperation, collaboration, and diversity within a healthy climate coupled with clear performance goals.  We help leaders understand team dynamics and climate conditions.  We help leaders improve climate by improving the interpersonal dynamics of teams.  When you improve interpersonal relationships in teams you improve organizational climate, employee engagement, and team performance.