Building a High Performance Team 
     Executive Summary:
       High-performing teams can provide businesses with a significant  
       competitive advantage and function as an engine of innovation within 
       the organization. 
       Building and sustaining such a team requires strong leadership 
       capabilities, good communication skills and a willingness to foster an 
       environment of collaboration and openness. 
       The payoffs associated with high-performing teams results to 
       significantly higher ROI, greater productivity and higher retention rates 
       of key employees.
                                    Leading a Developing Team's Relationship
                          It starts with the leader
                                              Behind every great team is a strong and visionary 
                                              leader. A leader whose job is not to control, but to 
                                              teach, encourage, and organize when necessary.
       •  Bonding
           –  Set shared goals to establish a common purpose and vision to unify the team.
           –  Provide team activities other than working on the task at hand
           –  Establish more familiarity as a group by creating fun traditions for the team to participate.
       •  Building Trust
           –  Confidence
           –  Manage performance problems
           –  Make yourself available to the group when they need you
       •  Communicating
           –  Constant communication about goals, tasks and the team mission are important. 
           –  Don't limit communication to work-related goals; seek feedback and input on the team's developing 
              relationship. 
           –  Develop the team needs, clear expectations, defined roles, and specific responsibilities.
       •  Managing Conflict
           –  Established teams know the strengths and weaknesses of each participant 
           –  The leader must step up to manage conflicts as early in the process as possible
           –  Active conflict management by the leader requires much more hands-on management in the early stages.
      Introduction: The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of its Parts
                         Effective decision-making
                         Conflict resolution practices that focus 
                          on positive outcomes
                         Skill at recognizing and correcting 
                          errors
                         Culture of mutual support
                                       Building a High Performance Team 
         •    Cultivating Peak Performance
               – A well-oiled and disciplined team, one in which the whole is greater than 
                   the sum of its parts allows members to achieve results far beyond their 
                   individual abilities.
               – Building a high performance team takes a lot of hard work and skill, to 
                   blend the different personalities, abilities, and agendas into a cohesive 
                   unit willing to work for a common goal. 
                                                   Define the need.
        •    Define the need. As a leader, you must establish the broad, compelling purpose for 
             the team. What is the large, desired outcome? What do you want to improve? 
             Eliminate? Change? Don't be afraid to dream big. But resist the temptation to 
             handcuff the team by writing a detailed prescription in advance of the diagnosis. Your 
             vision, properly articulated, will be the engine that drives and inspires your team. It 
             will determine who should be on the team, what resources are needed, how quickly a 
             conclusion must be reached, what falls within the scope of the team, and how 
             success will be measured and rewarded.