In their book SuperTeams, workplace performance experts Dr. Paul Marciano & Clinton Wingrove share how organizations can build “SuperTeams“, which constantly fulfill expectations and raise the bar of what they can accomplish. The authors have conceptualized a SuperTeam as one in which members are actively engaged with the work of other team members, in addition, to obviously their own work. Marciano and Wingrove also add that high engagement on a team implies that members are not disheartened by challenges; they are proactive and accountable. They will collaborate to work in synergy. This is indeed a new approach to Employee Engagement.
The authors specifically focus on RESPECT model to transform a team into a SuperTeam. The RESPECT model comprises Recognition, Empowerment, Supportive feedback, Partnering, Expectations, Consideration, and Trust.
Elaborating on the RESPECT model:
Recognition helps in reinforcing behaviors which led to positive outcomes. A culture of recognition encourages employees to go beyond their comfort zone when it comes to working hard. Recognition also brings respect & validation which eventually lead to a secure state of mind.
Empowerment is brought by autonomy. It fosters initiative as the employee feels in control of their niche area of work. Autonomy also maximizes potential & opportunities for success. Empowerment can be enhanced by setting the right context as to ‘why’ things are done a certain way.
Supportive feedback implies sharing straightforward perspectives & constructive advice to help people get better at what they do. The right way of giving feedback means being impersonal, specific & actionable. At the very core of supportive feedback, there is a concern for the recipient to improve.
Partnering involves having a shared vision as well as values. Employees should collaborate not only to complete tasks but to support each other in overall growth. Partnerships become powerful when employees have each other’s interests at heart.
Expectations must be set clearly; this includes making sure that the tasks & success criteria are understood properly. Apart from this, expectations related to the importance of the task with respect to the mission have to be set as well.
Consideration to members of the team is a great way of building meaningful relationships & boosting engagement. Team members should know each other on a personal level as this means having support at the workplace in times of personal crises.
Trust is the very foundation of a SuperTeam. In presence of trust, effectiveness & efficiency of work increase. Team members don’t need to communicate to check on small things every time. Trust ensures that there is no fear of competition; feedback is given & accepted with openness.
How can a digital pinboard like CircleYard support the RESPECT model in organizations?
CircleYard is a digital pinboard for organizations. It is like an attractive billboard & a real-time information board all clubbed into one. CircleYard allows customization of categories for organizing posts.
A category idea can be ‘Task Feedback‘ or ‘Task Rating‘ where employees can be rated in real-time on their tasks. A practice of Recognition & Supportive feedback can be implemented using such a category. Anyone in the organization can give rating & feedback to anyone regarding a specific task or behaviour. The critical rating can be kept between the two employees, while positive feedback can be made public resulting in recognition.
Empowerment & Expectations can be set effectively by the management using a well-planned branding initiative through CircleYard. Setting context related to mission, tasks & decisions through images, videos & audios can prove to be immensely rewarding in the long run. A category like ‘Context‘ can help for which such posts can be planned.
Partnering & Consideration will happen when employees start knowing each other personally. Employees can be encouraged to interact with each other through fun surveys & questions. They can also be encouraged to ask for reviews & post requirements without hesitation. These can be posted in categories like ‘Surveys‘, ‘Reviews‘ and ‘Q&A‘, specially created for such posts. An environment for healthy interaction fosters relationships.
Management can ensure that employees’ reactions are taken after a change in policies or implementation of new ones through surveys. Surveys can also help in understanding what employees want in the workplace for being more productive. All such efforts will cumulatively lead to Trust – trust in leadership as well as each other.
CircleYard can be immensely helpful in supporting the RESPECT model in organizations to transform teams into SuperTeams.