We now turn our attention to a conversation that teams need to have when first formed and then checked in on from time to time. The Performance conversation deals with the standards that guide the team in their work. These include the criteria of the final product that the team’s customer is looking for, as well as the standards of action and behavior that the team will operate by.

Performance Standards

Whereas the Alignment conversation is designed to help the team agree on the overall direction, the Performance conversation gets into the specifics by which success will be measured. This guides the team’s work to ensure that the objectives will be met.

The best teams thrive on having diverse talent, but this brings to the foreground the different ways in which people work and behave. For some people turning up to a meeting ten minutes late is no big deal, for others it is a deal breaker. Some people will hog a discussion, that if left unchecked results in other potentially valuable ideas being missed. The problem is that when we don’t agree our behavioral expectations or assumptions, we will each be operating to a different (hidden) set of standards.

The way that the team works affects the chances of delivering customer satisfaction, as well as the satisfaction of the team members themselves. Leaving this to chance is a recipe for disaster, especially in a diverse team where people come from different backgrounds and with different ideas.

We deal with this by having a conversation up front – ideally before the work of the team begins – to agree the standards by which the team will operate. This is often done by agreeing a set of team values, reconciling any different values, and then translating the values into a set of norms and observable behaviors. For example, if I am unable to attend a team meeting, I will let the team leader know in advance and send a deputy. Once the norms or examples of the value in action have been agreed, then it is time to codify them for the team as performance standards.

Successful teams work to consistently high standards that they set for themselves and continually evaluate how successful they are in meeting those standards. Standards relate to teamwork, the performance level of each team member – including the team leader – and the outcome or delivery of the project. They can be thought of as a code of practice.

Monitoring the Standards

Having a set of Performance standards is a good first step, but without some way to monitor how well the standards are working they are worse than useless. I once visited a client site, where meeting guidelines were posted on each meeting room door by some well-meaning task force. No one paid them any attention in the meetings. After a while people stopped even seeing the guidelines and the considerable time developing them was wasted.

I also worked on a team that at the end of each meeting spent a few minutes checking in by asking “How well did we live our values today?”. They acted on the feedback and reset for future meetings.

Signs that the Performance Conversation might be Missing on a Team

When teams haven’t taken the time to set out their performance standards, then they deal with each issue as it arises – or not!

Here are some of the signs that a lack of clear performance standards might be an issue for your team:

• The team’s customer isn’t clear as to what will be delivered.
• Different team members have different assessments of the progress of the project.
• Team members don’t know what is expected of them.
• The team doesn’t regularly review how well it is doing.
• Team members are frustrated with the performance and behaviors of their colleagues.
• Unhelpful behaviors go unchecked.

What might you do?
If you notice any of these signs on your team, it is time to open up the performance conversation. Agreeing how to deal with problems before they arise always helps address the problem when it eventually shows up.

If for example as a team you value participation, engagement and clear communication you could start with a few standards related to those value and made visible to everyone. For example:

• All meetings will have an agenda, published at least 24 hours before the meeting.
• Board members are expected to attend at least 80% of Board meetings.
• Disagreements with other team members are to be addressed directly with that person.
• Silence in a meeting indicates agreement
• And so on.

Benefits of the Performance Conversation

Having clear performance standards for the team helps everyone be clear where they stand, what is expected and how to address things when (as they surely will!) go wrong.

They help build trust and a sense of belonging. This in turn boosts teamwork and team performance, ultimately resulting in more satisfied customers and happy team members.

Learn more

Richard works with leaders and teams seeking a performance edge. He can be reached at: richard@pathwaysofgrowth.com.

To get started on improving your team’s conversations, view Pathways of Growth’s current offerings.