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Ask your teammates about their goals for themselves and for the team.
- Agree on the goals
- Discuss what actions they intend to take
- Ask how you can help
- Schedule a follow-up meeting
- Do this quarterly
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Share your vision and focus with the team and facilitate a discussion.
- Agree on the objectives to meet the goal
- Define measures for performance
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At your quarterly meeting with each team member, ask how things are going.
- Listen and learn
- Always do what you say and say what you will do
- Follow-up… even if the answer is “no”
- Inventory your knowledge of each teammate. This will reap huge benefits when the stress related to due dates hits.
- Tell the hard workers that they are doing good work; share specific examples.
- Offer to coach people who need it and provide compassionate, honest feedback. Tell them what you see and what you think it means. Ask your teammates for a suggestion for new approaches.
- Remember people’s birthdays. Send them a note or a card.
- Write notes of appreciation for special contributions people make.
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Gather feedback from customers and share the comments with the team.
- Invite a customer into a team meeting for appreciation and dialogue.
- Delegate your leadership responsibilities with coaching and support.
- Remember that there are many ways to achieve a goal and the people you delegate to may do things differently than you would. If you are concerned, ask them about their thinking on it.
- Be kind to yourself and others.
- Avoid anger–forgive–understand–stick to your values.
- Develop your sense of humor—laugh, care, be considerate.
- Remember, ultimately every team member is responsible for themselves.
- Be clear on the kind of role model you want to be and do your best to be it. Your behavior impacts the team more than you know.
- Enjoy your work and look for ways to keep getting better.
- Appreciate your contribution to building people, teams, and service to customers and your organization.
- Keep working your vision; it tends to get clearer over time.
- Develop a confidant with whom you can test out your ideas, share your frustrations, and get support. A true friend also knows when and how to challenge your thinking.
- Take 15 minutes at the beginning or end of your day to review where you have been and where you want to go.
I hope these tips help you build a high-performance team. Let me know which ones worked best for you!



