Are Healthy Teams also High performing Teams?
By: Ashanti Jayasena
Tags: Collaboration, Workplace Culture, Agile, Teamwork, Software Development

Photo: rawpixel.com / Freepik

Have you ever wondered whether team health is a factor in building stronger, high-performing teams?

The answers to this question might seem simple. As an Agile Team Lead for CBC Digital, I’ve been experimenting with different metrics and measurements to find an accurate answer for this question, rather than saying, “the team is doing great or they are performing well.”

The simplest logic is to think that if you’re sick or stressed out, you will not be able to perform as well. The same theory applies to your Agile teams. OKRs, KPIs, and velocity are good tools to measure performance, yet I’ve found “health and well-being” is the most important indicator of team performance.

Here’s how I apply the Agile mindset with my teams to ensure they work within a psychologically safe space, all while having a great time together:

Photo by Michael Kwan-Analytics & Search team, CBC

Understand the team culture

As a leader and a coach to your team, you need to know your team dynamics. These are some of the areas to probe:

How creative are they when it comes to problem-solving?

What areas do they need guidance to improve?

What have you learned through your 1:1s about their concerns and what makes them happy?

How safe do they feel within the team?

How accountable and committed are they?

2. Provide clear direction and have a proper team structure

Defining your team’s purpose and direction through a structured development/execution plan can help maintain focus and stability. Also, providing opportunities for employees to take on more leadership roles within the team helps teach shared responsibility and accountability. Your team will feel supported to pursue various avenues and to continue to grow in their career paths.

3. Encourage Teamwork

The foundation of a healthy team is to ensure that people trust one another and communicate openly. They should be:

Collaborating and freely participate in conversations

Listening willingly and actively

Engaging in constructive conflict resolution and problem-solving

4. Be a good listener

Understanding your team’s concerns is a proven way to keep your team motivated. A simple expression of appreciation helps to build a healthy team dynamic, which drives productivity. Be there to motivate and encourage them. Invite them to share their ideas. And support them in their training needs as they reach to achieve their career goals. Celebrating the wins together, and solving problems as a team will help to improve everyone.

5. Commit to team checkups

Having 1:1s with team members at least once a month helps to build safe and strong connections. A healthy rapport with your team is vital to having constructive conversations.

6. Abandon traditional retrospectives

Instead of trying to generate lessons learned for the next sprint/project, experimenting with new retrospective ideas can be an opportunity to identify what the team can do better and what can be improved to increase the team’s capacity for the future…

7. Establish team health metrics

The quarterly metrics I use include team-building exercises, team health checks, performance surveys to learn about loopholes in the product roadmap or objectives that were not discussed during a retro. It’s also important to introduce team best practices in order to provide guidance and to be referenced at will. Communication matrices can be useful in understanding how the team feels about rituals, meetings, experiments in place, etc.

Throughout the past few years in my role as an Agile Team Lead, through frequent experimentation, I discovered that having superstars on the team or having the best skill sets are not the only important factors in building a high performing team. What I’ve observed is that the secret lies in the more intangible factors, such as the bonds and trust forged within its members that make teams highly successful. Striving to build a psychologically safe environment and ensuring that team members are happy physically, mentally, and socially is what builds a healthy team, and consequently, a high performing product team.

To join our teams at CBC, check out our current openings here.