High performance is very critical to the survival of any organization or individual. And when we talk about organizational performance, teams (human beings) are catalysts for its realization. I have decided to review this text titled “Ten Commitments for Building High Performance Teams” as a guide on how to achieve organizational performance through effective teams. It is written by Dr. Tom Massey, a corporate leadership trainer and coach with over 20 years of experience optimizing individual and organizational performance.

Team performance, according to Massey, is only as strong as the collective performance of the members. This consultant says that when committed and collaborative people with complementary skills work together, there is a synergistic effect because the total performance is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Massey adds that, in other words, one plus one no longer equals two; instead, it equates to three or even more in a high-performance team environment.

He says the ten commitments outlined in this text will help you get the right people in the right jobs to build a focused, values-driven, high-performing team. The author advises that he learn how to give each member personal ownership of their team’s success by creating shared strategic goals, values, and purpose.

Massey says that through this text, you’ll be able to learn how to set up profit sharing, set work standards and correct performance problems, as well as create a learning organization that can adapt to the challenges of the next century.

He adds that through this text, he will be better informed on how to build a team environment where people have fun and play to win. Massey says he, too, will be able to create a team environment with increased employee retention, job satisfaction, engagement, and productivity that will propel his team to championship performance.

This text is segmented into ten chapters. Chapter one is titled “Committing to Getting the Right People ‘On the Bus’.” According to the author, when you have the right people on the bus, with the right skills and high-level commitment, whether you’re a business manager or a sports team coach, you’ll succeed. Massey says the first thing to start when choosing the right people for your team is to develop job descriptions based on success factors for each position.

“Great coaches and directors develop each position as if it were the most important on the team, and it is. Remember the adage: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” he says.

Massey teaches that success factors can be defined as the skills and behaviors necessary to perform a job successfully within the culture operated by the team. He explains that these factors include more than just skill requirements. Skill requirements are essential characteristics or experiences that team members must have to qualify for their respective positions, Massey says. He adds that, however, other standards of behavior are required to ensure team success.

Massey teaches that when defining a job, you must first determine what the primary purpose of that job is and how it fits into the overall purpose of the team. The author explains that each member of the team must see her position as a personal mission that contributes to the success of the team.

He says that based on the results of a recent national study involving more than 20,000 employees across various industries, only 37 percent of employees said they had a clear understanding of what their team or organization was trying to accomplish and why. ; only 20 percent were passionate about their team’s goals; and only 20 percent said they had a clear “line of sight” between their jobs and their team’s goals.

Massey emphasizes that to ensure team members understand how their jobs contribute to the overall success of the team or organization, they need to know the purpose of the jobs, the reward for a job well done, and so on.

Chapter two is titled “Commit to Greeting Everyone ‘On the Same Page.'” According to the author here, established rules provide structure and people know what is expected of them and how they will engage each other in day-to-day interactions.

Massey says that conflicts often arise in teams due to failed expectations caused by the assumptions of one or more people. These assumptions often result from implicit agreements or standards of behavior that have not been clarified because people do not understand the rules of engagement, Massey explains.

He discusses the topic of creating a team charter and says that a team charter is a written document that is used to define the team’s purpose/vision, values ​​and goals. Massey adds that the letter will also help serve as a contract between the team and the organization it represents.

In his words, “Bylaws can be developed by senior management and then presented to team members, or teams can create their own bylaws and present them to senior management. Regardless of who creates the charter, it is absolutely imperative that the top management give their full support in providing the team with the direction and authority it needs to be successful.

Additionally, Massey discusses the issues involved in developing a statement of purpose; identify team values ​​and ground rules; develop specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based (SMART) strategic goals, etc.

In chapters three through six, the author analytically analyzes concepts such as the commitment to create a learning environment; agreeing to share profits and losses; commit to reversing poor performance; and commit to dance with ‘those who brought you’.

Chapter seven builds on the theme of committing to win. According to Massey, if you want your team to reach high performance levels, you must transform those moments of fear and uncertainty into opportunities for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results.

He says the late John Wooden, Hall of Fame coaching legend, once told his UCLA basketball team, “Guys, the team that makes the most mistakes tonight is going to win the game!” Massey adds that Wooden encouraged his players to take risks and make more mistakes because he knew you miss 100 percent of the shots you never make.

According to Massey, never give naysayers a foothold on your team by allowing them to perpetuate a history of negativity. She says that the story heard is the story told. Massey advises him to tell a different story, one that perpetuates the ‘play to win’ mentality that will allow him to create whatever he wants. Playing to win requires a commitment that even if you fail, you will never give up and you will never let your goals and dreams die, explains the author.

The author insists that playing to win means advancing no matter what. “And that’s possible when people don’t take mistakes personally,” he adds.

In chapters eight through ten, Massey discusses concepts such as committing to growth through adversity; commit to having fun; and commit to playing big.

Style-wise, this text is fine. Apart from the simplicity of the language, the mode of presentation is logical and very didactic. In addition, Massey employs classic allusions, beginning each chapter with a quote from a legendary figure, just for conceptual reinforcement and to ensure easy comprehension for readers.

Adds a “Practical Application” segment at the end of each chapter offering additional tips to ensure readers’ practical engagement.

However, the phrase “High Performance” in the title must have a hyphen (“High Performance”) in order to become a compound modifier of the noun “Teams”. Also the uncountable noun “Behavior” is pluralized in chapter two.

Overall, Massey’s intellectual efforts in this text are commendable. If you want your organization to surpass previous achievements by building highly effective teams, you should read this text and the advice should apply to you.