leadership

1. Building High-Performing Teams:
STRATEGIES FOR
IDENTIFYING AND
DEVELOPING TOP
TALENT

2. 2
3
5
7
10
13

3. INTRODUCTION
Teamwork v/s Individual Work
- Which is better?
Much though history has always glorified lone-wolf entrepreneurs,
it is great teams which contribute significantly in the success
stories of modern conglomerates. Consider pioneers like Apple,
Etsy, Google - they all thrive on teamwork. New age technologies
are transforming the modern workplace making the work
environment more connected, digital, and flexible. Anyone who
assumed hybrid work systems would have caused the downfall of
teamwork must have changed their views by now.
3

4. Each individual brings their own unique gifts,
talents, and skills to the table. When these
people work in collaboration towards a
common goal, they become invincible and
gain a real competitive advantage. Though
high performing teams are valued by leaders
and investors alike, it is quite a task to build
them.
4
‘No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy
is, if you are playing a solo game you will
surely lose out to a team’
- Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn

5. WHAT IS THE HYPE SURROUNDING
HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS?
Before we delve into how we build better teams, it is important to understand why some teams perform
better than others. If all it took was a group of talented people with right skills to build better team, many
more organizations across the world would have been in the Fortune 500 group.
Why are high-performing teams well-regarded?
● They offer varied skill-sets and diverse range of talents
● They are a bunch of innovative thinkers who enhance each work day with their ideas and suggestions
● They require minimum input from the management’s end
● They encourage positive employee morale
● Lastly, owing to all of the above, they have enhanced productivity
5

6. Fortunately, characteristics that go into making high-performing
teams have been researched upon for ages and it’s interesting, the
methodologies used during the study varied from one another but
the conclusions turned out to be quite similar. They all had one thing
in common - social capital. Though all teams are different, some
values of high-performing teams are common. They all have -
● Collaborative culture
● Effective work practices
● Open communication
● Mutual respect among team members
● Committed towards the team, their mission, and the
organization
6

7. WHAT MAKES SOME TEAMS
HIGH-PERFORMING?
Effective Work Practices
A good plan of action is a must. Without proper planning
and resource allocation, high-performance teams cannot
be
successful. This is the very foundation of high-performance
teams. Ineffective work rules will cause problems in the
long run leading to decline in risk-taking attitudes,
creativity, and
Innovation.
7

8. Mutual Respect Among Leaders and Team
Members
All team members respect and recognize each
other’s strengths and working methods. This helps
to create strong bonds among team members, they
function as a single entity and produce exceptional
results.
Committed to their team, mission and the
organization
With shared values and vision, high performing
team members work together towards a common
objective without losing sight of results.
8

9. Open Communicators
Open channels of communication are always present
between team members which leads to creating an
environment of constructive criticism and feedback.
Collaboration is Key
They are experts in their work who thrive on collaboration
and encourage participation from all team members
including introverts.
‘If everyone is moving forward together,
then success takes care of itself’ - Henry Ford
9

10. BUILD BETTER TEAMS
But there are certain rules to building them. Amid the myriad
sources that hint upon how to build a top team, below are some
ideas which have long proved their worth.
Team Composition
Team composition is the starting point. How should you
choose your employees? And how many members should
there be in your dream team?
For starters, you can opt for assessment softwares like the
ones from Talent Titan which assess candidates on multiple criteria,
helping you choose the ones that fit the bill.
10

11. As far as the team size is concerned, here’s what the e-commerce
pioneer, Jeff Bezos of Amazon states -
‘No matter how large your organization is, if you can’t feed your
team with two pizzas, it’s too large. The reason is simple. There is
no strength in numbers.’
More People = More Chaos
Researchers state that the team’s effectiveness begins to drop if there
are more than 10 people on it. People form sub-teams. Although a
congenial, ‘here for the team’ face is forever present in the meetings,
however things change drastically outside the meeting room.
11

12. Another research conducted by Professor Ina
Toegel, IMD Business School concludes that high-
performing teams shouldn’t contain more than 8
people. She insists too many people translate to
having -
● Reduced Productivity
● Increased Challenges in Coordination
● More Tension
Furthermore, she concluded existing team members
should have a say on the selection of their future
peers.
12

13. Conclusion
Real-Time Recognition
Another important factor to build and scale a high performing
team is to celebrate their wins, regularly. By highlighting their
achievements, you foster a culture of recognition and
appreciation. It not only boosts employee morale but motivates
them to pursue excellence, at all times.
Always remember a golden rule while giving feedback, ‘be
generous with praise and sparing with criticism.’
13

14. Continuous Learning
The only constant in life is change. So, it is important to
address skill gaps to stay relevant in these ever- evolving
times. So, organizations are stressing on the team’s ability
to regularly skill up. Though quite a lot of learning
happens on the job, it is important to upgrade the team
via regular training sessions. You can simplify your L&D
with Talent Titan's LMS solution which transforms your
training materials into personalized micro- learning
modules and inspire employees with automated badges
and certificates upon completion.
14

15. Embrace Feedback
It is important to create a culture of continuous feedback for the
growth and development of your team. A feedback-driven approach
helps the team to continuously learn, adapt, and excel but can
backfire if not done correctly. Feedback giving is indeed an art.
Succession Planning
Sustaining a high performing team is as critical as developing it. Top
performers need reasons to stay and that can happen only if you
facilitate their growth and development. Build a leadership pipeline by
identifying the skills and competencies of your top talent who
eventually would assume key positions.
15

16. Learn how! Shoot an email to us at
sales@talenttitan.com
These changes will help you lay the foundation of a happy and high-
performing team and technology can help you achieve it. Put together
a team that will work and grow together with solutions from Talent
Titan
15