Myth #5: Once a team is performing, it will continue to perform

By Charley Morrow

In this final post in our myths of teams series, we take a look at what happens when teams overcome obstacles and start hitting peak performance. Does the team live happily ever after? Not quite. Hence, Myth #5: Once a team is performing, it will continue to perform.

Nothing is forever, including team performance.

Once the team hits its stride, you can’t just sit back and relax. That makes teams fat, dumb, and happy, and that’s a recipe for failure. We don’t live in a static world, so status quo simply won’t do. Organizations evolve, priorities shift, resources change–and your team will have to adjust accordingly.

You need constructive paranoia.

Rather than resting on the laurels of initial success, teams need to revisit how they will continue to be set up for success on an ongoing basis. This includes reviewing goals to make sure they are still focused, reassessing individual roles to ensure they are fulfilling expectations, and auditing team processes to confirm alignment.

The Five Myths of Teams

To recap, here are the five myths of teams:

1. Teams have a common goal.
2. Any goal can be achieved as long as you have teamwork.
3. High-performing teams are conflict-free.
4. Self-managed teams are effective.
5. Once a team is performing, it will continue to perform.

And, if you haven’t yet taken our free Team Effectiveness Quiz, be sure to check it out–you’ll get your results instantly via email to see where your team’s strengths and weaknesses are.

How do you keep your team from becoming fat, dumb, and happy? Share your insights in the comments below.

Charley Morrow is Vice President of Assessments at Linkage. He has over 20 years of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating training, individual assessment, and organizational-transformation interventions. He’s also an expert in developing assessments and methodologies for individual, team, and organizational motivation and performance. Follow him on Twitter @CharleyMorrow.