The 3 R’s of Building a Team of Top Performers

What Does It Take to Be a Top Performer?
A team of top performers achieves their business goals consistently and seemingly without effort.  We witness and envy their success.  Their abilities are a near perfect match for their job function; they are a seamless fit for the culture in which they operate; and they are in a position to make a significant positive difference.

The 3 R’s of Building a Team of Top Performers
In other words, top performers are the Right people with the Right capabilities in the Right job.

1. The Right People
   In order to build a team of top performers, you first need to determine the specific characteristics that “A” players have that help them succeed in their unique situation.  What are the personal traits that support their success?For a salesperson, it might be their mindset, activity level, aptitude, and ability to consistently live and advocate for your brand promise.  For someone in a research job, it could be their attention to detail.  For a customer service rep, it could be their empathy and desire to solve customer problems gracefully.

2. The Right Capabilities
   Once you have a list of personal characteristics, you should identify the critical few skills that matter most.  What are your top performers doing better and more often than the rest of your teamAre your top salespeople experts at asking the questions that lead them to a customer’s greatest need?  Are your researchers methodical in the way they process and test information?  Do your service reps know how to build trustOnce you determine which skills your “A” players have mastered and depend upon for their success, then you can identify gaps within the rest of your team to indicate where you should focus further development

   Your mission to build a high performing team requires that you develop your talent in the best way to meet your short- and long-term goals. But training alone won’t do the trick.  You need frequent, consistent, and quality coaching to reinforce the desired skills and behaviors into the daily pattern of your team’s behaviors and activities.

3. The Right Job
   The closer you can match personality and skills to the job and the culture around the job, the more likely you are to build a team of top performers.  Make sure that the way work gets done aligns with how your people think, behave, and act.  If you do, you will find that success breeds success.

The Bottom Line
According to Bain & Company, about 15% of all employees on average are what you could consider both high performing and high potential.  And these employees, according to a study published in Personnel Psychology, produce 400 percent more than an average performer.  Why wouldn’t you do all you can to build a team of top performers?

To learn more about how to build a team of top performers, download 3 Must-Have Ingredients of High Performing Teams for New Managers