Building High Performing Teams for a Regional Financial Institution
Problem
A strategic initiatives team for a large financial institution wanted to elevate the performance of their own team while also learning how to create and lead high performing teams throughout the organization. As a collection of strategic leaders and change-makers for the company, there was a great deal of individual success and recognition, however, the group knew they could more effectively leverage the team’s power. They sought a strong team culture t leverage one another’s strengths, and in turn build and lead higher performing teams to successfully implement strategic initiatives throughout the organization.
Approach
Excelerate’s approach allowed the team to learn and grow together while simultaneously providing them the skills and frameworks to effectively transform other teams throughout the business. Excelerate started the project with an assessment phase aimed at understanding the individual competencies, motivations, and critical skills for success of the team. Utilizing Ken Blanchard’s model of high performing teams, Excelerate further assessed the team’s stage of development and trained the client on these processes. Utilizing the data provided from assessments, including the Harrison Assessment, the team received additional training and workshop opportunities designed to close the gap on skills identified as critical to success. The project culminated with a team chartering session focused not just on developing a team charter but also teaching the team the art of chartering, setting agreed upon behaviors and expectations.
Results
The assessment approach allowed the team to identify the top 5 skills necessary for success and to develop action plans during interactive workshops. The team agreed to employ several new strategies and set new behavioral norms and expectations with one another to drive improvement in the lower scoring characteristics of high performing teams.
The client further used what they had learned about high performing teams to identify stages of development and key considerations for improving team performance outside their own group. Lastly, the leadership within strategic initiatives created development plans for themselves and their team members focused on individual competencies and motivations discovered in the process. This process resulted in a self-aware group that knows how deliver more productive habits and working styles to improve their results.