Building and managing high performing teams

In the early stages of my professional journey, I engaged in a project where the client remarked on the team's low output. They expressed concerns about issues being raised late, missing feature launches, and prolonged delays in triaging and debugging bugs. This led me to ponder the root cause, given that the engineers displayed high intelligence and technical brilliance. It became evident that skills were not the issue; there must be other factors at play. As I advanced in my career, I identified several underlying issues that contributed to these challenges. Building and sustaining a high-performing team involves implementing a few different strategies, some of which you may have encountered. 

The first step is getting the foundation right and that starts with hiring and interview practices. As they say, there are times when you have to nip things in the bud and if you want to build and manage high performing teams, you need to standardize hiring and interview practices.

Whether or not this comes as a surprise, a pivotal aspect of team recruitment revolves around the standardization of interview practices. Ensuring a consistent talent caliber across the organization at a specific level is a primary rationale for this approach. Conducting interviews at scale can be a monumental task for some companies, and the most effective solution involves standardizing interview questions, documenting them, and pre-selecting a specific panel. The panel can be composed of people from various cross functional teams across the organization and not necessarily from the team there is an opening. An additional advantage of a general panel removes any sort of bias. A streamlined process for both the interviewer and interviewee reflects the efficiency of the company.

Bringing a new team member onboard only to struggle with their tasks serves no purpose. When scaling hiring efforts, certain essential components of an onboarding program are universally applicable.

One effective method I have used in the past is setting up an onboarding document and using a simple template from a project management tool (like trello).The trello board would have tasks broken down for the first three to five days as shown below in the screenshot (template only with instances of tasks could look like): 

In addition to traditional onboarding, we've discovered successful outcomes by pairing new team members with an onboarding buddy as they integrate into the product team. This dedicated individual typically assists for about from a couple of weeks to about a month, helping the newcomer acclimate by addressing questions and directing them to the appropriate resources or contacts as needed.

According to author Mohsen Zargaran (of Mid-Term Goals Suck: The Five Secrets to Goal Setting for Success) - it’s important to set myriad short-term goals so that you have “constant tangible targets to meet.”

When hiring, I typically know the needs of the team and the organization. To ensure optimal performance from new hires, providing direction and guidance tailored to their skills is essential. The initial 30 days are pivotal for them to grasp the team and organizational culture, familiarize themselves with processes, and get up to speed on product features. I typically establish SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Some examples of these goals set for new hires include:

The first 30 Days of a new hire’s time is spent on orientation and integration into the day-to-day aspect of the job. 

In the first 60 Days, employees should then focus on Skill Enhancement and Initial Contributions to the project. 

Once an employee is done with onboarding and training and kicked off with their initial project, then it is time to establish independence and add value in the first 90 days:

These goals not only guide a new hire through the crucial initial phase of their employment but also provide measurable achievements that contribute to their sense of accomplishment and integration into the company.

Author Patrick Lencioni explores absence of trust in depth in the book “The five dysfunctions of a team”. Teams who lack trust conceal weaknesses and mistakes, hesitate to ask for help, jump to conclusions about the intentions of others, hold grudges and dread meetings. 

Therefore, prioritizing trust-building measures is paramount for me. This includes cultivating a culture of trust and nurturing relationships within the team. Work environments should be inclusive and safe, devoid of toxicity. Research indicates that when employees feel happy and secure in their roles, their productivity can increase by a significant percentage. Building trust can take various forms, such as supporting engineers, offering career guidance, delivering constructive feedback promptly, and acknowledging their contributions and achievements.

It might be unexpected to learn that a salary increase or promotion isn't the sole driver of motivation for many employees. While this realization is indeed positive, genuine motivation varies from person to person. For some, it could mean assuming greater responsibilities in their role, tackling challenging or novel tasks for personal growth, having more autonomy in decision-making, or engaging in greenfield projects. Understanding what truly motivates individuals is crucial, highlighting the importance of establishing trust as outlined earlier. A common source of motivation for teams can involve demonstrating the impact of their projects or features. This may entail sharing revenue generated, improvements in key performance indicators (KPIs), and other metrics that reflect the team's efforts.

In my belief, by prioritizing trust, communication, and understanding individual motivations, leaders can cultivate an environment where teams thrive. However, it doesn't end there. Building and maintaining high-performance requires continuous effort, adaptation, and a willingness to evolve with changing dynamics. By embracing these principles, organizations can not only achieve their goals but also create a culture of excellence that propels them towards sustained success.