How to Build a High-Performing Team?

Building a high-performing team is crucial for any business owner as it’s essential for business growth.

But for South African entrepreneurs navigating the complexities of scaling a business, especially in a resource-constrained environment, team performance isn’t just about productivity. It’s about building a culture that can adapt, innovate, and thrive.

In this guide, we unpack the strategies that you can use to build a high-performing team.

Hire for Alignment, Not Just Skill

Too often, employers focus solely on skill and experience, forgetting that high-performing teams are built on shared values and purpose. According to a LinkedIn study, 64,7% of job seekers said that misalignment with a company’s mission, values, or purpose can be a deal-breaker in weighing options for a future employer.

Hiring someone who can do the job is one thing, but hiring the right person who believes in your mission is another. When there’s alignment between personal values and company vision, it naturally results in ownership, creativity and loyalty.

Prioritise Mental Health in Your Work Culture

A high-performing team isn’t just about output. It’s about creating a space where people feel safe by being in an environment that takes care of their mental health.

You can achieve this in your business by ensuring your team has a healthy work-life balance. This allows you to ensure your team doesn’t burn out, which would have an incredibly negative impact on productivity and performance.

Psychological safety is the foundation of innovation and accountability. When people feel that their voice matters, they offer better solutions, speak up when things go wrong and take initiative.

Define Roles Clearly

For SMEs, team members wear multiple hats. This is mainly because there isn’t enough manpower to go around. However, without clear role definitions, it can lead to confusion, duplication of effort, and tasks falling through the cracks. High-performing teams operate from a position of clarity.

Understanding talent management in your business means that when everyone joins the business, they not only qualify for the role but are also aware of what they’re accountable for and how their work fits into the bigger picture, which increases productivity. This doesn’t mean your team members won’t be flexible; it means they can be comfortable in their roles, but understand when there’s a need to stretch themselves into other roles.

Conduct Regular Reviews and Encourage Accountability

Acknowledging your team’s strengths as well as identifying areas for improvement encourages a sense of accountability in your team. When everyone is aware of their strengths, they can amplify those strengths and work on the areas that need improvement.

Be transparent with your team about projects and tasks. When your team understands the “why” behind tasks, they’ll naturally take initiative. Clear expectations, regular feedback loops, and follow-through from leadership are all critical in employee productivity.

Invest in Continuous Learning

A team that stops learning is a team that stops growing. In the SME space, where teams often have to be multifunctional, continuous learning is a competitive advantage. Encouraging learning in the workplace allows employees to gain knowledge and build skills in multiple areas, making them even more beneficial to the business.

When founders commit to investing in their people, they nurture innovation, retain talent and build internal leadership capacity. This applies just as much to technical skills as it does to emotional intelligence and communication.

Introduce Team Building Activities

Team building not only hypes up your team and boosts morale but also helps teams resolve conflicts and understand each other better. Additionally, that builds trust and strengthens collaboration.

Team building activities don’t have to cost a fortune, you can introduce affordable team building exercises for the office. This includes games like scavenger hunts or Two Truths and a Lie. For example, a scavenger hunt can involve your employees breaking into teams and searching for specific items or completing tasks based on clues, which encourages collaboration amongst employees who might not interact much.

Two truths and a lie is a simple icebreaker where individuals share three “facts” about themselves, two true and one false, and the rest of the team guesses which statement is the lie, fostering interaction and getting to know each other better.

Lead with Empathy and Vision

Leadership is the make-or-break factor in team performance. Empathetic leaders create the space for others to thrive, while visionary leaders provide the direction that channels effort and creativity.

As the founder of the business, you might feel the need to have a stern persona; however, in times of uncertainty, people look for leaders they can relate to, who listen, take action and care about their team.