The Secret to High-Performance Technology Teams
Let me cut to the chase. There is a secret to high-performance technology teams. It’s not because everyone is a team player. It isn’t because individual IQ’s hit the ceiling because they are so high. The secret lies in how team members treat one another and whether female team members are held in high regard and occupy senior positions. Let’s take a look at each of these two criteria individually.
Female team members are held in high regard and occupy senior positions.
Dianne Crampton, the founder of TIGERS Success Series, a management consulting company founded in 1987, recently spoke about a Harvard Business study on team composition that just concluded collective IQ is not an indicator of high-performance teams. The study conducted by Professors Woolley and Malone, along with Christopher Chabris, Sandy Pentland, and Nada Hashmi, observed teams made up of people from age 18 to 60. Team members were randomly assigned and were given standard intelligence tests. Then they were given a complex problem to solve. The teams made up of people with the highest IQ’s did not outperform other teams. Those teams that did out-perform the others had more women in them.
You are probably wondering, “Why is that?”
Crampton adds that women, on the other hand, drew everyone into the conversation and were better listeners.
The Harvard study concluded that, social sensitivity is a key skill for group maintenance and that women consistently score higher than men on the social sensitivity scale. The teams composed of men also displayed more team dysfunction, such as dominating group decision making with singular or individual opinions. Crampton adds that women, on the other hand, drew everyone into the conversation and were better listeners. As a result, complex problem solving was more successful. Team members were more engaged and committed to outcomes. They also understood their own roles better and how their individual performance impacted other members of the team.
For IT teams, this means that projects are more on target when women in leadership positions are on them. This also means from a bottom line business perspective that projects roll out with the potential of completion ahead of schedule and under budget.
Perhaps you already knew this. If you are the CEO of a technology company, then another statistic should alarm you, says Crampton.
One more study of 500 Tech Companies found that companies with a good mix of women earn more. They make more sales. They keep their customers. Yet mid-level female technology executives are leaving companies because of poor working environments. The women love their jobs but not the way they are treated by male co-workers in the workforce.
What is most alarming for the bottom line of IT companies is that the women who are leaving generally hold mid-executive positions. When they leave, there is a noticeable brain drain in the organization. They take organizational history, their stellar performance and experience with them.
What’s the solution? This leads us to condition number two.
How team members treat one another, the company and customers.
Dianne Crampton says, “Not everyone needs to be a team player on technology teams.” This means that leadership style and personality inventories are good to a point. Team members learn that how individual team members think, process information and communicate can be different. This is OK. Taken a step further, there is awareness that people come to the table with different strengths when solving problems and achieving goals. They also become defensive in different ways when egos are challenged.
What corrals this diversity is a behavior agreement that outlines and dictates how people are expected to treat one another in the company and on project teams. Behavior agreements form a very important step in sound organizational development called group norms.
Group norms are shared expectations on behavior. When left to develop on their own, group norms form the underground current and unspoken way things are done in the organization. An example of unproductive and harmful unspoken group norms is that women are treated poorly even when they hold mid-level executive positions. Women are paid at a lower rate than men to perform comparable work. Other unproductive group norms are when hostility, gender put downs and sexual harassment are tolerated.
So, what are examples of positive group norms that are measurable and easy to track asks Dianne Crampton?
Recently Crampton made available a sample assessment report of six principles required for high performance work culture and work teams. The six principles are trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk resolution and success. The six principles form the acronym, TIGERS® and are anchored by behaviors that are easily seen in how employees treat one another, your organization and customers on a daily basis. Founded by work culture, change agent and team development consultant, Dianne Crampton, the TIGERS six principles were based on 5 years of group dynamic research and validation. And, if you want to see how your organization lines up with the six principles, there is an assessment called the TIGERS Workforce Behavioral Profile™ that is available for you to run on your own and with your own human resource personnel.
From my interview with Crampton, let’s look at each of the six TIGERS principles. Let’s also look at some behaviors you might consider incorporating into your own behavioral group norms.
Trust
Trust is the belief and confidence in the integrity, reliability, competency, predictability and fairness of a person or organization. Trust is an essential human requirement. It is required for people to form positive and cooperative relationships. As a group norm, it reduces group friction when conflict or problems arise. It forms over time and, if abused, takes time to rebuild. According to Crampton, people become nervous and defensive with one another if any of the following occur:
- Decisions are perceived to be unfair.
- Behavior is inconsistent and unpredictable.
- Leaders or team members fail to follow through on commitments.
- Leaders or team members lack transparency, misrepresent what is true or lie to cover up mistakes.
Crampton adds that trust is so important to group relationships that both work culture and department performance suffer if trust is damaged. It also has an impact on group problem- solving. In low trust work groups, problem solving actually breaks down. She shared some examples of group norms that keep trust high. They include:
- Everyone shares needed information freely.
- We discuss ideas and disappointments freely.
- We expect high levels of give-and-take in our work assignments.
- We support one another.
- We respect one another.
- We are committed and accountable to group goals.
- We are committed to maintaining good team relationships.
- We tell the truth.
Interdependence
Interdependence is based on the idea that successful team performance is based on the collective contributions of everyone involved. Therefore, this principle requires self-awareness, time for reflection, the desire to cooperate with others and appreciation for the different skills, strengths and talents each team member brings to a project. It requires effective communication, goal clarity and accountability for maintaining positive team relationships to accomplish goals on time and with quality. According to Crampton, the core of Interdependence is cooperation and accountability. This means team members assume responsibility for improving their own technical, communication and relationship maintenance skills. Therefore, interdependence is necessary for:
- Effective communication between team members;
- Individual role accountability;
- Individual skill improvement;
- Teamwork and collaboration; and,
- Sharing and exchanging leadership roles based on task assignments.
Here are some examples Crampton shares of group norms that keep Interdependent behavior high.
- We cooperate with other another rather than compete to get things done.
- We do more with less.
- We base role assignments on the strengths individual team members bring to the team.
- We request training when we believe skills are lacking.
Genuineness
Genuineness promotes sincere, honest, respectful and direct communication in an open and responsible way. One way to encourage genuine behavior is to openly promote critical thinking. Another way is to engage a system for effective problem solving. An effective system would take into consideration both negative and positive consequences before choosing a resolution. This gives team members the opportunity to bring their contrary insights and perspectives to the table for consideration within the framework of good problem-solving design. Crampton says there are obstacles that diminish genuineness on teams and in the workplace. They include:
- Fear of being forthright about one’s thoughts and perspectives because of potential repercussions.
- Avoidance of reality.
- Desire to conceal ulterior motives.
- Performance anxiety.
- Lack of skill in giving a receiving clear, constructive feedback.
- Lack of skill in coaching performance.
Some examples of group norms are:
- We honestly and respectfully clear up misunderstandings we have with one another face-to-face.
- We do not gossip about one another.
- We welcome controversy and different view-points and use these for effective problem solving, planning and decision-making.
- We communicate our honest perspectives even when our perspective goes against how things are currently done.
- We bring solutions to problem-solving rather than complaints.
- If we see a problem, we bring it to attention right away.
According to Crampton, relationship conflict impacts productivity and undermines team performance. The permission to share perceptions, thoughts and insights within the framework of positive inquiry actually builds relationships and accentuates team member strengths. Therefore, Genuineness is essential for high-performance work culture and team success.
