CHAPTER 10 

TEAM STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE

I. Standards for Teams

 Carl E. Larson and Frank M. J. Lafasto  first explain in Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong   that standards create the "pressure to perform".  This is because qualitative individual excellence leads to team success.  Individual efforts also lead to team success.  Exerted pressure to perform creates a "tailwind" behind individual efforts.

Where does the pressure to perform come from?  Larson and LaFasto give five "ways and sources" of standards of excellence: 1)  individual standards;  2)  team pressure; 3)  consequences of success or failure; 4)  external pressure from organization or society or other unit outside of the team; and 5) pressure from team leader.

Standards of excellence do make a difference.  They are, however, hard work. This is because standards must be set and met.  Expectations of standards include a concrete understanding of performance requirements, and   discipline.   Discipline is required because standards require effort and hard work, and because standards are easy to ignore.

Larson and LaFasto give a series of steps to implementing standards of excellence. First, they recommend establishing a set of standards.  These should be clearly and concretely articulated.  Standards of this type create individual commitment, motivation, self-esteem, and higher performance.  Second, individual team members should require one another to perform according to the established standards of excellence.  Third, the team should make changes constantly to improve performance standards.

II. Team Rules and Norms

Many manuals for team development give tips for creating team rules.  Scholtes in The Team Handbook writes that the team ideally should have open discussions regarding ground rules, where they openly state or acknowledge norms (6).

Norms are the rules of behavior that team members have agreed to follow (Hoevenmeyer 71). Francis and Young define "team norm" as "a convention, habit, or standard" (Improving Work Groups: A Practical Manual for Team Building 96).  It is important to work as a team," write Francis and Young," to define standards (norms) so that performance levels are set above the acceptable level, thus ensuring that the team constantly will strive to achieve excellence" (Improving Work Groups: A Practical Manual for Team Building 97).

In 1964, Chris Argyris gave examples of norms for groups (139-140):

1.  To be candid about ideas and feelings

2.  To be open

3.  To experiment

4.  To help others to be open

5.  To help others to experiment

6.  Individuality

7.  Thought

9   Concern

10. Internal commitment (Parker 28)

Scholtes in The Team Handbook gives eleven "Team Rules" (4): 1)  attendance; 2) promptness; 3) meeting place and time, and  how to notify other members of this information; 4) monthly meeting with guidance team; 5) participation by everyone; 6)  basic conversational courtesies; 7) Assignments - completed and on time; 8) breaks; 9) interruptions; 10) rotation of routine chores; 11) agendas, minutes, and records

Many authors about team building suggest writing a "Team Constitution" or "Team Rulebook".  Maginn's "Team Constitution"  consists of four parts  (26):  1) decide on operational procedures; 2) define team rules and policies ;  3)  visualize team success - What will it take to reach success?; 4) create new rules, review rules, enforce rules. Joy and Joy write that the team should write a "playbook" with these componenets: 1)  team rules - what and when; 2) team leader responsibilities; and 3)  a short and simple format (155).  Joy and Joy point out that  unwritten rules are unenforceable (209), and that the team should set standards and post results (155).  Standards, write Joy and Joy, are clear and visible, and are not open for further debate.   Sanborn, Teambuilt: Making Teamwork Work, says that their are three benefits of creating a team manual: 1) it reinforces and clarifies verbal commitments, 2) use in recruiting members, 3) to bring new team members up to speed (Sanborn Teambuilt: Making Teamwork Work)

III. Key Business Indicators

In an article titled "Winning Teams Know Their Score,"  Sullivan and Lynch  give Key Business Indicators, KBI, which they call an "instrument panel of team performance"(20).  Steps to determine these standards are:

1.  Review mission, vision statement, goals

2.  Identify team mission

3.  Identify team's internal and external customers

4.  Identify key success factors;  "Our success depends on ______."

5.  Brainstorm for KBIs.

6.  Pick 5 to 7 KBIs.

7.  Agree on way to measure KBIs.

8.  Establish a tracking system for KBIs.

IV. Standards

Maddux calls a standard an "ongoing performance criteria that must be met time and time again" (36).  It is usually expressed quantitatively (e.g. attendance, production rates) (36).  Similar to standard is the word norm.