There are a variety of characteristics involved in a team of high-performing people, regardless of the industry or sector you work within. But why do some teams perform better than others? What sets elite teams apart from the rest of the pack?
Getting the right mix of people for a high-performing team is like making a cake, first, you need a great recipe to create it from, a cooking blueprint if you like. This materialises itself in planning a strong and well-established company ethos, a philosophy for the project and a focused goal to work towards. Then you need the right ingredients in the right amounts. The ingredients are usually a mix of individuals that are highly driven experts and want to achieve outstanding results, they also have complementary skills that help strengthen a team. Goal-oriented yes, totally focused on achieving, yes, but not to the detriment of the team. Together they collaborate and innovate to produce work at the highest levels. Lastly you need a great cook, someone that understands how to bring it all together cohesively. The crucial roles of the right leadership cannot be understated to produce a successful team, a winning philosophy comes from the top and trickles down.
Let's take a look at a very high-performing team. There is no better place to look than Formula One, only the best win consistently and to be the best team you have to fill it full of highly motivated people. They have to be skilful in their work and driven to be the best for themselves and more importantly for the team.
If you've watched anything to do with Formula One you will know Mercedes typifies an amazing team. You can see they all pull together for each other, they are all individuals who are highly talented but it is the collective team ethos that counts. They must all be the best to succeed at this high level. Mercedes have dominated over the last few years with an amazing group of individuals who make a cohesive team. This has led them to 8 consecutive constructors championships and 9 driver championships in total, truly an outstanding feat in this intensively competitive sport. In 2022 they have struggled at the beginning of the season but you can see the relentless drive and focus they have to change this direction. From the outside looking in it is obvious this success all starts with the Mercedes philosophy. With this in mind we hopped over to their career philosophy web page, just to see what their thoughts are on building a winning team and the type of people they are looking for to join their top-tier, this is what we found, we think you will find it interesting!
Mercedes Careers Philosophy
"Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future success. We are constantly aware of our competitors and we are restless for more speed.”
"While we’re proud of our past we will never succumb to complacency. Instead, we are looking to the future: remaining at the pinnacle of our sport with unmatched performance, reliability and quality. Whilst we compete in the uncompromising environment of Formula One, we do so with trust and respect for each other and our competitors, upholding Mercedes value of fairness in competition.
We invest in our greatest asset: people. We have experienced leaders to guide us, supported by a world-class operations team and the best new talent and craftspeople in the industry. They embody our values: Passion, Respect, Innovation, Determination and Excellence. And together, we are a formidable team, tasked with building the best Formula One cars and winning races. But it’s just the start. We are on a mission to win every championship and ultimately, to become the greatest champions in Formula One history.
We’ll succeed when everyone delivers their tenth of a second. No matter which area of the team you work in, you will determine how we perform, on and off the track. It’s why every person here takes immense pride in playing their part to the highest standards. Each and every day. Working here is fast. It demands technical excellence and teamwork. And it calls for great reserves of motivation and resilience."
Now, the definition of a high-performing team may vary depending on the responsibilities and expectations of you and your company. However, in general, many of the qualities of high-performing teams are similar. We have dissected the Mercedes philosophy, spliced it together with our thoughts on a good company ethos and added some research to produce a shopping list for the essential ingredients to make the tasty cake of high-performing teams. Let's take a look……..
The 8 Ingredients That Make The Tasty Cake of High Performing Teams
1- Finding The Best To Be The Best
Mercedes: "We invest in our greatest asset: people. We have experienced leaders to guide us, supported by a world-class operations team and the best new talent and craftspeople in the industry.
Let's start from the beginning, to have an amazing team you've got to have amazing people within that team. Finding the best talent and putting them in the position to excel is where all this starts. Now we know this is not an easy task, after all, we live our lives in recruitment, so we understand this! But it is a guiding principle that investing in your HR procedures and making sure that your HR team is full of talent is important. Look at the following points in this article and make sure your HR department embodies these principles. A great recruiting process with constant investment in training, support and systems is essential in getting this first phase right. After all, it's your foundation that you will be building on, so get it right with recruiting high-achieving team players. Alternatively, use a recruitment company that holds your ethical values and the 'high achieving team' principle, one that takes time to understand your goals and can deliver for you. One of the most important characteristics of high-performing teams is recognising individual strengths. Great teams are built with people who have an abundance of talent and skills.
2- Collective Vision And Company Culture
Mercedes: "They embody our values: Passion, Respect, Innovation, Determination and Excellence. And together, We are a formidable team."
High-performing teams are focused on clearly defined goals, objectives and a shared vision that the whole team works to achieve. This has to come from the top, with a framework of structured company culture and positive directives that support this. This allows the team to run on the principles of common ethical communication that is part of the individual, team and company vernacular. A shared vision between directors, management and all levels of employees is embedded into the team psyche. Everyone knows exactly what their performance needs to be and the cultural framework needed to reach the team goal, ensuring everyone has a steely focus to get there!
3- Commitment To Constant Re-evaluation
Mercedes: "Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future success. While we’re proud of our past we will never succumb to complacency."
Regular reviews of work strategies and how these processes can be improved are paramount. The constant moving forward and re-evaluation of your company's best practices can be a key asset here. High-performing teams value a feedback loop in which they learn from their mistakes. A positive feedback culture on the constant moving target of being the best is the only way to hit the heights of team success, supported by ongoing employee development and training, is a magical ingredient a lot of people leave out of their strategy. There is a need for curated reinvention and continuous personal growth, it keeps teams moving forward and aspiring for higher achievements. If constant reinvention worked for David Bowie, it can work for your team!
4- Trust and Respect
Mercedes: "Whilst we compete in the uncompromising environment of Formula One, we do so with trust and respect for each other and our competitors, upholding Mercedes-Benz value of fairness in competition."
The team understands that trust and respect have a direct impact on the business and the overall working of themselves and the team dynamic. Trust, integrity, collaboration and teamwork are all required for high achievement, both individually and collectively. Taking risks, sharing ideas and innovating together are all made easy with trust and mutual respect. Although top teams are usually built up of very driven people, this should not be at the expense of collective trust and respect.
5- Clear Concise Goals
Mercedes: "We are on a mission to win every championship and ultimately, to become the greatest champions in Formula One history."
Clear goals closely aligned to the team and organisational priorities are a must. High-performing teams like a clear focus, setting team and individual goals that support this shared vision is important for driving achievement. A clear defined vision lets people understand exactly what they need to do and how to get there. This promotes a culture of accountability aligned with the company goal, engaging individual participation in the team effort of achievement. When employees understand how their job role fits with the overall goals of the organisation, they are then more engaged to work together and support a shared vision.
6- Fast To React To Deadlines Based On Priorities
Mercedes: "We’ll succeed when everyone delivers their tenth of a second. No matter which area of the team you work in, you will determine how we perform on and off the track"
High-performing teams focus on what matters most and spend their time efficiently going about the tasks that work toward this. They understand that not all work has equal urgency and that the priority may change, and change fast! This is why people who embrace change as a positive challenge and stay motivated can be natural high team achievers. Managing projects based on what tasks have the highest impact and priority are all strengths of great team players.
7- Individual Ownership of Achievement
Mercedes: "It’s why every person here takes immense pride in playing their part to the highest standards."
High-performance teams tend to take a more decentralised approach to leadership. The goals, company culture and ethos framework have been set, but leadership is pushed down the chain of command so there is more ownership by the individual. They all know their part is important and that they have to make their own decisions to deliver on this. Operating under personal deadlines, seamless communication, planning and self-managing are all part of this approach. Great communication and personal conflict resolution can all be part of high-performing teams that are trusted with a more decentralised approach. This also can make the team more open to the responsibility of managing itself by highlighting and filling in any weak spots within the workflow of the business.
8- Recognising Contributions And Celebrating Success Together
Now, there is no quote from Mercedes on this one but I know this to be at the core of their ethos, Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton quite regularly say we all lose together but we all win and celebrate together too! It's quite obvious in statements from the hierarchy within Mercedes that everybody is included in a celebration when they win. It is always mentioned that it's a team collective that has achieved the win, not just one person. High-performing teams know that success results from a collective team effort. They celebrate wins together and show their appreciation for each employee’s contributions. This builds a strong culture of collaboration and helps everyone feel valued as part of the team.
No matter how large or small your employee's role is, they need to feel they are contributing to the larger success of your project, everyone needs to feel they are important in the outcome of your success. When the entire team embraces this attitude and belief system, incredible things can happen. During a visit to the NASA space centre in 1962, President John F. Kennedy noticed a janitor carrying a broom. He interrupted his tour, walked over to the man and said, "Hi, I'm Jack Kennedy. What are you doing?" "Well, Mr. President," the janitor responded, "I'm helping put a man on the moon.”
The Conclusion
We think this is a good basis for the well-rounded and iced cake of high-performing teams. Sure, the ingredients are hard to get right at first, but when you take it out of the oven and it looks and tastes amazing, it is all worthwhile!
From our point of view, we know people have different strengths and qualities that make them unique. In order to be a successful company, we invest in our staff and their uniqueness with support, training and constant feedback loops. A clear directional vision together with working goals are something we focus on heavily within the company, which allows our employees to thoroughly flourish. Sometimes, reaching these goals may be difficult and we count ourselves fortunate to have an amazing team that rises to the challenge.
Here we have an interview with Hannah Knight, who in the words of one of our Directors is a ‘one-in-a-million, quirky and creative individual.’ Hannah is one part of our high performing team who is very driven in nature, but she is also a great team player. She embodies our company culture as do all of our team which we feel gives us great strength in depth.