itSMF Bulletin itSMF Bulletin - December 2017 | Page 8

research suggests that working in teams can increase individual productivity by up to 62%

ignores the reality we live in. The rate of change in ICT continues to increase, so even if you “get there” quickly, you won’t “stay there” for long before you have to gather the troops once again and embark on yet another change journey.

The future of work

The successful businesses of the future equip their staff with the skills and environment required to learn, improve and adapt continuously.

These businesses don’t go on a change journey, they create teams of explorers and journey(wo-)men connected through common values and purpose, and defined by explicit, shared boundaries. Enter the combination of "High Performing Teams” and a delivery framework supporting “emerging processes” to create organisations that learn and adapt continuously to stay ahead of the competition.

What are High performing teams?

There are some great resources on High

Performing Teams (HPTs) available today,

most of which would vastly exceed the scope of this article (and most likely bore you to tears). So here’s a quick summary of the key components of HPTs derived from Larson and LaFasto (1989):

1 .HPTs are goal-oriented and deploy their

skills in a way that achieves desired

outcomes

2. HPTs seek unified commitment to the

goal, and team member buy-in is

paramount

3. HPTs create a psychologically safe

environment for effective collaboration

4. HPTs manage conflict openly and

honestly to arrive at the best possible

outcomes

5. HPTs care for the quality of their output

and hold each other accountable to high

standards

So far, so awesome, right? And if all of that doesn’t have you chomping at the bit then let’s go straight for the business jugular -

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