How Can You Improve Your Team’s Performance?

Would you like to improve your company’s performance and create an effective team? How about a more appropriate management style? Yes, with the right management approach, you can encourage collaboration, develop each member’s potential and gain in competitiveness. Discover how to improve team performance with 7 proven strategies!

1. Establish a genuine corporate culture

Have you ever heard of Great Place to Work? This barometer highlights the companies that offer the best quality of life at work. And all these organisations have one thing in common: a strong corporate culture. Values, mission, raison d’être, history… These are the codes and particularities that influence well-being at work (“If I’m in tune with my company’s values, I feel good about myself and find meaning in my work”) and organisational performance (“If I’m in tune with my company’s values, I’m more involved in its success”).

Yet, according to a study by LinkHumans, only 14% of employees feel aligned with their organisation’s messages, while 88% of millennials feel it’s essential to be in tune with corporate culture. The room for improvement therefore seems immense… and necessary!

2. Define clear, achievable objectives

A high-performance team needs a clear course to steer its collective efforts and keep it focused. That’s why you need to set concrete, achievable objectives. In management, these are known as SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound).

Involving team members in defining these objectives also seems to be a good idea. This is because co-construction makes everyone feel involved, which increases motivation and commitment. A well-known collaborative methodology for this is OKR (Objectives and Key Results).

Finally, achieving these objectives requires regular monitoring. Using performance management software makes this easier. Complement this assessment with regular feedback sessions to readjust priorities if necessary and maintain motivation.

3. Promoting inspirational leadership

Leadership is the key to improving team performance. Today’s managers can no longer be content with being supervisors who monitor results. They must take on the role of coach, accompanying employees in the development of their skills and potential. This type of leadership creates a climate of trust where everyone feels encouraged to excel.

Transformational leadership, in particular, plays a crucial role in motivating teams. This management style relies on the leader’s ability to inspire a clear vision, mobilise employees around a common goal and stimulate their commitment. A transformational leader sets an example through his or her attitude, energy and ability to rise to challenges, while remaining accessible and empathetic.

4. Encourage autonomy and empowerment

For a team to reach its full potential, it needs to feel valued and empowered. An effective talent manager must therefore practice management by trust. This means inspiring confidence, but above all trusting your employees. Always assume that they are competent and that they want to do their job well! If you trust them, you’ll empower them and make them more independent.

There are several strategies to follow to strengthen this empowerment:

• Flexible delegation: Assign responsibility while giving employees the freedom to experiment and take initiative. This not only strengthens autonomy, but also creativity and problem-solving skills.
• Positive feedback: Value efforts and results achieved while identifying areas for improvement. Non-violent communication helps employees to improve while feeling supported.
• Genuine recognition: Celebrate successes, whether individual or collective, to reinforce a sense of belonging and self-confidence. A simple word of thanks can have a big impact on motivation.

5. Strengthen cohesion and interpersonal relations

While everyone needs to be valued individually, it’s just as important to promote collective efficiency. Celebrating successes – big or small – is essential to ensure a positive dynamic. Whether marking the end of a project or highlighting collective progress, these gestures encourage motivation. And a team that’s valued and motivated is a team that’s ready to rise to any challenge.

Team-building activities also play a key role in creating interpersonal bonds. Whether seminars, workshops or informal events, these initiatives help to improve communication, strengthen team spirit and even create affinities. The result? Better day-to-day collaboration.

6. Integrating well-being as a performance driver

Well-being at work is no longer just a “plus”, but a genuine performance driver. A study conducted by Oxford University shows that happy employees are 13% more productive than others. Companies must therefore strive to create a working environment that supports employee well-being.

Several strategies to promote quality of life at work (QWL):

• Flexibility: Offer adaptable working hours or telecommuting options to help balance work and personal life.
• Pleasant workspaces: provide an ergonomic, bright and welcoming environment that promotes well-being and concentration.
• Recognition and respect: Value diversity and inclusion so that everyone feels listened to and valued.
• Stress management and burn-out prevention: Implement simple actions, such as stress management programmes, regular breaks or coaching sessions, to prevent burn-out.

7. Identify and develop key skills

A high-performance team relies on skilled talent. To increase everyone’s potential, start by assessing existing skills. Talent mapping helps to visualise the team’s strengths, but also to identify gaps and anticipate future needs. Individual diagnostics, such as skills assessments or self-assessments, are also invaluable for understanding the aspirations of each employee and guiding their development.

Investing in a training plan is then essential to transform this diagnosis into concrete action. Conventional training enables participants to enhance their technical skills through advice and solutions. Professional coaching, on the other hand, develops essential soft skills such as stress management, leadership and decision-making. All this while strengthening commitment and self-confidence.

Training and coaching are undergoing a strong digital evolution, and are increasingly moving towards what is known as digitalised on-demand learning. This dematerialised approach overcomes geographical barriers, offering simplified access to skills development programmes.

Improving team performance, conclusion

Improving team performance means above all adopting the right team management and effective HR processes. This includes a strong corporate culture, clear objectives and inspiring leadership. But it also means fostering autonomy, group cohesion, individual well-being and skills development.

At CoachHub, we are convinced that coaching is a powerful activator of collective performance. Our digital coaching programmes offer tailor-made support to help your teams develop their skills, improve their well-being and flourish in their role. Find out more about how we can help you create high-performance teams!