Simple Techniques for Transforming to a High-Performing Agile Team

Incorporating team values, especially in Agile teams, is critical to creating a work culture that is collaborative in the first place. It forms the bigger roof that brings together all team members and fosters unity. 

What is a high-performing Agile team? 

Do you know how to build a high-performance agile team and how it works? A high-performing Agile team is a cohesive group of individuals who collaborate seamlessly, demonstrate strong Agile principles and practices, and consistently deliver high-quality results.

They embody the Agile values of transparency, adaptability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Such teams embrace self-organization, have clear goals, and leverage their collective skills and expertise to achieve exceptional outcomes. 

Building high-performing Agile teams requires effort, dedication, and the implementation of various techniques and strategies. By promoting a culture of serving one another, creating a positive environment, fostering psychological safety, and embracing feedback, teams can enhance their collaboration, productivity, and overall success.  

Moreover, such teams project the following characteristics: 

• Efficient roles and responsibilities 
• Effective communication skills 
• Team collaboration and empowerment 
• An iterative approach for managing tasks 
• High focus on quality 
• Self-organization and management skills 

So, a high-performing Agile team combines effective teamwork, Agile principles, and iterative processes to consistently deliver value, adapt to change, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. 
In an Agile teamwork environment: 

• People realize that thinking, planning, decisions, and actions are most effective when done in a cooperative manner. 
• People strongly support the notion- “none of us is as good as all of us."
• Everyone on the team takes care of each other’s needs
• Members plan better things to make the team superior
• Individuals keep the needs of others ahead of theirs.
• The culture of the team can be transformed completely
• Each team member can help in making the team better.

Organizations spend on sending teams to Team building events and expect greater results from the team by sponsoring the team-building events, which is not true.

Benefits of a Building High Performing Agile Team  

Building a high-performing Agile team offers numerous benefits for the team and the organization. Here are some key advantages: 

• Increased Productivity: High-performing Agile teams are highly productive and efficient. They optimize their workflow, eliminate bottlenecks, and focus on delivering value quickly. This leads to faster project completion and a higher output of quality work. 
• Improved Quality: Agile teams prioritizing collaboration, continuous feedback, and technical excellence consistently deliver high-quality results. By emphasizing testing, refactoring, and peer reviews, they reduce defects and ensure that the final product meets or exceeds customer expectations. 
• Enhanced Adaptability: Agile high-performance teams are known for their adaptability and flexibility. They can respond quickly to changes in customer requirements, market conditions, or project priorities. This lets the team stay aligned with business goals and deliver the most valuable outcomes. 
• Increased Innovation: A high-performing Agile team encourages creativity and innovation. By fostering a safe environment for experimentation, open communication, and diverse perspectives, team members feel empowered to propose new ideas, challenge the status quo, and explore innovative solutions.

Tips for Teams to Become High-performing Teams

Here are few shares a few simple techniques from my experience which do help teams become high-performing teams (which is a goal of a Scrum Master or an Agile Coach).

Technique 1 – Serving each other in the team
In one of the Agile teams I coached, there was an individual who always used to ask the question, “How can I help you?” very frequently. The question kind of became viral in the team, and as a result, there was a massive change in the behavior of the team.

Industry-wide research has revealed that when team members are supportive and motivated enough to help their peers, such teams are automatically high-performing. It has also been observed that the members stay in such teams for longer periods. 

The act of serving others is further strengthened by persistent cooperation among team members and eventually transforms into a productivity cult. It is the role of the management to build positive relationships amongst the team members, and serving each other in the team helps in building positive relationships. The role of an Agile servant leader is worth mentioning in this context. 

This serving cult leads to an effective collaboration of roles, which benefits Agile teams in the long run. 

How to build a culture of serving each other in a Team?
When teammates serve one another, the level of caring and trust in teams increases dramatically. As an Agile lead, there are two important questions you need to ask to gauge this potential in your team. 
What are you currently doing to serve others in your team? 
Who in your team can you serve at this moment?

STEP 1 – DISCUSS

• If we all started actively serving each other, what kind of difference would it make in our team?
• What does or would service look like in our team?
• How does service affect others? 

STEP 2 – ACT

• Start getting your team to serve each other. Challenge them to do one nice thing today for a teammate. Give them a few minutes to reflect on what they might do after giving them the challenge.

STEP 3 – PLAN

Have your team create a service plan.
In the table below, create a “Service Plan.” List each of your teammates that you can serve now. Next to each name, write an act of service they would appreciate. Include the date on which you will complete the service. 

STEP 4 – FOLLOW UP
In your meetings to follow, set a few minutes aside to talk about what the service looked like that week in your team.

Note: Without follow up you won’t keep the momentum you have gained through the service effect. So, it is important that you ensure this becomes a regular part of your meetings.

STEP 5 – ENJOY and WATCH
Enjoy watching the service effect take place. It is an amazing thing!

Technique 2 – Appreciating, Encouraging and Complimenting Each Other in the Team  

Too many times a perfectly good day is ruined by someone else’s negativity . You wake up in a great mood because you get to spend me entire day a a job that you absolutely love and then
 BOOM you walk into the office and you get an uneasy feeling. You may start feeling drained, unproductive, and unhappy in that job you love so much 

- Nicole Tinkham

How to Create a Positive Environment in the Team?

• Take the time to get to know your teammates personally
• Work through problems together
• Recognize when personal problems are impacting the work culture and talk them through
• Be generous when rewarding merit but don’t give it out for everything
• Take time to explain any changes you implement to avoid anxiety
• Appreciate each other’s contribution to the work
• Remain positive (You always have a choice, develop the mindset required to remain positive)
• Always Smile
• Don’t become the problem
• Show gratitude

The following activity can be used in building the Positive Environment within the team (either Co-located or Distributed (by making little modifications)) 

• Give everyone on the team an index card and a piece of masking tape.
• Instruct the team to tape the card to each other’s backs.
• Once everyone has a card taped to their back, instruct them to think about something they really like or admire about each person, and write it on the index card taped to that person’s back. What you write needs to be something that is genuine and thoughtful.
• When everyone is done, have each team member find their own space and read what is written on their card.
• Bring the team back together when done.

When you have the team back together, ask the following questions:

• How did it feel to read positive things from your teammates?
• Going forward, what can we do to be more positive and encouraging to each other?

Note: For Distributed Teams, use Email instead of Index Card for the same activity

In the preceding sections we have already seen the significance of “How teammates treated one another” has great impact on team becoming a high-performing team.
Following are few more techniques, which can help the team in transforming to a high-performing team - 
Technique 3 – Giving and Receiving Feedback in a Team

The wrong reasons to give feedback :	The right reason to give feedback:
Defend / excuse your own behaviour To demoralize / condemn You're in a bad mood To  appease a third  party. To make  yourself seem superior / powerful.	Commitment / concern for another. Sense of responsibility. To guide / mentor. To support / enhance.

While giving the feedback –

• Reflect on the purpose of feedback being given
• Focus on the behaviour, not the person
• Lead with questions
• Intent Positivity

How to give Feedback?
One well known strategy for feedback is the “criticism sandwich,” popularized by Mary Kay Ash.

For preparing to receive the feedback –

• Ask for feedback often
• Ask for time to reflect on what you’ve heard, one element at a time
• Cultivate a growth mindset 
• Take credit for your mistakes and grow

Feedback is truly a gift. You can’t become a great teammate without it. Your teammates have the combination for unlocking personal performance barriers you aren’t even aware of. All you have to do is ask, listen, acknowledge, act, follow up, and repeat.

Following activity can be used in creating the culture of giving and receiving Feedback within the team-

Create an action plan for getting honest feedback from the members of your team in the next month. The action plan should include your approach to scheduling your one-on-one meetings and follow-up on the feedback you receive.

Technique 4 – Establishing Psychological Safety
Helping the team succeed is the most meaningful work I’ve ever done.  You need a psychological safety for getting people to open up and discuss anything that is critical for a team to be transformed to a high-performing team. Conversational turn-taking and empathy are the behaviours that create psychological safety. 

In some of the best teams, the team members are sensitive and empathetic about their teammates. This fosters an environment of psychological safety. It allows for moderate risk-taking, speaking one’s mind fearlessly and most important- “sticking out your neck without fear of having it cut off”. These are nothing but the types of behaviour that result in major market breakthroughs. 

How can you increase psychological safety for your own team?

• When team members think that their expertise is valued, good things happen
• Make everyone feel included and important
• Encourage failure
• Allow people to ask a lot of questions and think about new ways of working 
• Everyone on the team isn’t scared to speak their mind or do things like take time off if they need it.
• Make sure the team is working towards a common goal
• Share your experiences (mostly the project mistakes you committed in the past) and help people understand that it is safe to talk about mistakes and learn from them
• Support your team in a manner so that they can rely on you for their problems 

An activity called “Johari Window” can be used to increase psychological safety on your own team. 

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Closing thoughts

A high-performing team takes time and effort to build. The most difficult part is to maintain the productivity level in such teams. It comes through team engagement and collaboration. Establishing psychological safety is the key to success in every high-performing team, not just the Agile teams discussed in this article. It is essential on the part of the team members as well as the leads and project managers to instill positivity and encourage reflective thoughts, which are the productivity fuels that help a team grow endlessly. 

Transform your Agile teams today!