Back to Webinars
    WebinarSystemic Collaboration 2014 60 min

    Building Leadership and Culture to Drive Growth at Broadridge Financial

    Teams may be the #1 preferred method of getting things done in most organizations today. Due to their focus on performance, teams motivate, challenge, reward, and support individuals who are working to change the way they do things. This is especially important in an era when individuals are stretched wearing many hats, and companies are demanding superior performance, innovation, and breakthrough results from diverse teams spread out across global and cultural boundaries. Project teams, product development teams, task teams, my team, your team – wherever two or more are assembled we are tempted to call it a team. Real teams, not just groups that someone simply calls “a team” may be the most effective unit of performance for any enterprise Groups of people call themselves “teams” even though they lack the fundamental ingredients for team performance and effective team behavior – which can doom them to failure. Have you been on a “team” where • People get frustrated and would rather just do it themselves • Morale descends to all-time lows • Expectations are not met and may not even be known to all team members • Deadlines get missed • Goals are not reached • Good performance of well-intentioned, hardworking people is squandered? So what Makes a Team, a Team? A team is a group of individuals (at least two) who: • United by a common purpose (task and outcome expectations) • Sharing a common methodology that requires interdependent activities to achieve outcomes • With clearly-defined roles and responsibilities. And how do we make it High Performing Team? High performance teams do not develop without a significant performance challenge that is meaningful to those involved. Good personal chemistry or the desire to “become a team” can foster teamwork values and practices, but teamwork is not the same as a team. Despite the hope and effort of many people, a team that out performs all others is difficult to create, personally demanding for the members, and can be viewed as threatening to conventional organizations. A high performance team is required to build an unusual degree of mutual trust, “straight talk” and personal commitment. A real team with disciplined, directed action tied to a known and endorsed desired outcome with a process for feedback on accomplishments, will deliver results well beyond what an individual acting alone or acting with others in a non–team situation could achieve. In the 45 minute session we will engage in a fast cycle exchange of information, tools, and discussion around the topic of creating a high performance team. Questions will be formulated for the High Performance Organization Learning Group, discussion threads will begin, and a learning circle community will form around this important topic.

    Presenter

    PP

    Paul Plotczyk

    • 3 Key Steps to Creating High Performance Teams
    • Core Elements of a Project Team Charter
    • 4 Characteristics of a High Performance Team
    • Current Research and Findings

    Key Takeaways

    • 1.A 'real team' is united by a common purpose, a shared methodology, and clear roles, unlike a simple group of people.
    • 2.High-performing teams develop in response to a significant and meaningful performance challenge.
    • 3.Teamwork values alone are not sufficient to create a high-performing team; disciplined, directed action is required.
    • 4.Building a high-performance team requires an unusual degree of mutual trust, open communication, and personal commitment from its members.
    • 5.Effective teams deliver results far beyond what individuals acting alone or in non-team situations can achieve.
    • 6.Many groups are called "teams" but fail because they lack the fundamental ingredients for team performance and behavior.

    The Problem with "Pseudo-Teams"

    Many organizations label groups of people as "teams" without establishing the necessary foundations for success. This often leads to significant issues, including member frustration, low morale, and a failure to meet expectations or deadlines. When groups lack the core ingredients of a real team, the performance of even well-intentioned, hardworking people can be squandered.

    Symptoms of a Failing Team

    • Team members get frustrated and prefer to work alone.
    • Morale drops to all-time lows.
    • Expectations are unclear or unknown to team members.
    • Deadlines are frequently missed.
    • Organizational goals are not reached.

    What Defines a Real Team?

    A team is more than just a collection of individuals. According to insights from Paul Plotczyk, a true team is a group of two or more people who are structured by specific, interdependent elements that drive performance.

    Core Components of a Real Team

    • A Common Purpose: All members are united by a shared understanding of the task and the desired outcomes.
    • A Shared Methodology: The team uses a common approach that requires members to perform interdependent activities to achieve their goals.
    • Clearly-Defined Roles: Each member has specific roles and responsibilities, ensuring clarity and accountability.

    Elevating to a High-Performing Team

    Simply forming a "real team" is not the final step. Creating a high-performing team that delivers breakthrough results is a demanding process that requires specific conditions. These teams are often threatening to conventional organizational structures because they require a unique level of commitment.

    The Role of a Performance Challenge

    High-performance teams do not develop without a significant performance challenge that is meaningful and motivating to those involved. The desire to "become a team" or good personal chemistry can foster teamwork, but it is the challenge that ignites exceptional performance.

    Building Trust and Commitment

    To achieve top-tier results, a team must cultivate an unusual degree of mutual trust, which allows for "straight talk" and open communication. This environment, combined with deep personal commitment from every member, enables the team to tackle its challenges with disciplined and directed action.

    How Leaders Can Apply These Principles

    Leaders can transform underperforming groups into high-performing teams by moving beyond labels and focusing on cultivation. This involves:

    • Defining and communicating a compelling common purpose for the team.
    • Establishing clear methodologies that require interdependent work.
    • Ensuring every member has a well-defined role and responsibilities.
    • Creating an environment that fosters trust, open dialogue, and personal commitment.
    • Presenting the team with significant, meaningful challenges to drive extraordinary results.

    This session, featuring insights from Paul Plotczyk, explores the foundational elements required to cultivate high-performing teams within an organization. It delves into the crucial distinction between mere groups and actual teams, emphasizing how true teams, characterized by shared purpose and interdependent activities, are essential for driving growth and achieving exceptional results. The principles discussed remain highly relevant for leaders navigating complex organizational structures today.

    What you'll learn

    • The fundamental definition of a real team versus a group of individuals.
    • Key ingredients for creating effective team performance and behavior.
    • How to foster a common purpose and methodology within a team.
    • The role of clearly defined roles and responsibilities in team success.
    • Why significant performance challenges are crucial for developing high-performance teams.
    • Strategies for building mutual trust and open communication within teams.

    Who this webinar is for

    This webinar is ideal for:

    • Leaders and managers looking to enhance team effectiveness.
    • HR professionals focused on organizational development and team building.
    • Individuals striving to transform their work groups into truly high-performing teams.
    • Anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of successful team collaboration.

    Why it matters now

    In today's fast-paced and globally distributed work environments, the ability to form and lead high-performing teams is more critical than ever. Organizations constantly demand superior performance, innovation, and breakthrough results from diverse teams. Understanding how to build and nurture these teams can be the differentiator between stagnation and sustained growth, ensuring that collective effort translates into tangible success rather than frustration and missed objectives.

    How leaders can apply this

    Leaders can apply these principles by consciously moving beyond simply assembling groups and instead focusing on cultivating genuine teams. This involves:

    • Defining and communicating a compelling common purpose and shared outcome expectations for their teams.
    • Establishing clear methodologies that necessitate interdependent activities among team members.
    • Ensuring each team member has clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
    • Creating an environment that encourages trust, 'straight talk,' and personal commitment.
    • Providing significant, meaningful challenges that motivate the team to achieve extraordinary results, fostering a culture where feedback on accomplishments is a standard practice.

    About this session

    Key takeaways

    Watching this webinar gives you grounded, practical perspective on Contribution. Expect ideas you can use in leadership conversations, not abstract theory, drawn from Paul Plotczyk's direct experience.

    Who this is for

    CHROs, HR business partners, talent leaders, executive coaches, organizational development practitioners, and senior leaders who are responsible for systemic collaboration inside their organization.

    Why it matters now

    Workforce expectations, hybrid work patterns, and AI-driven change keep raising the bar on culture and leadership. Sessions like this help leaders make smarter, more evidence-informed decisions about Contribution.

    How to apply it

    Use the ideas here to challenge a current assumption on your team, design a single concrete experiment in the next 30 days, and bring one finding back to your leadership group for discussion.

    Frequently asked questions

    Topics

    Contribution

    Best Practice Institute

    Best Practice Institute is the research organization behind Most Loved Workplace® certification, the SPARK Model, the Love of Workplace Index™ (LOWI™), and The Workplace Report.

    The Workplace Report

    The Workplace Report is BPI's original workplace culture research and editorial briefing series for CEOs, CHROs, people leaders, talent leaders, and employer-brand teams. It turns BPI's 25 years of research, Most Loved Workplace® certification data, SPARK findings, and current workforce signals into practical analysis leaders can use.

    The report format includes executive summaries, research-backed articles, company examples, methodology notes, and practical implications for retention, hiring, culture, leadership, and employee experience. New research and analysis is published on an ongoing editorial cadence at /workplace-report.