As we travel to the different regions we are constantly meeting unit-based teams that are truly high performing. These teams have made the commitment to do things differently and get everyone involved in the decision making process. But how does a team know when they have hit and are sustaining their peak performance? Is it the same from department to department? Facility to facility? Region to region?
The partnership developed a tool to help teams understand where they are on a rating scale. This tool defines seven characteristics of teams at the five stages of development. It is called “The Path to Performance.” Take a look at and get familiar with it. The tool will be used by teams to assess themselves and get their sponsor’s agreement. It can be very helpful in considering ways to help your team become higher performing.
Know your levels
The 5 levels of development are:
Level 1, Pre Team Climate. This is where the co-leads are getting identified along with the sponsors. Basic trainings are completed or scheduled.
Level 2 is a Foundational UBT. Some criteria for level 2 teams is that they have completed their charter, co-leads are working together on planning and leading meetings, basic training for the team members has been scheduled or completed-- like RIM+, and the team is understanding partnership processes.
Level 3 is called Transitional UBT. Some characteristics of this level are that co-leads are seen as jointly leading the team, team members are actively participating in meetings and contributing to team progress and decision making, team members are using RIM+ to help achieve their performance targets, which are aligned with the Value Compass, department and Regional priorities.
Level 4 is called Operational UBT. This level is characterized by the co-leads jointly facilitating team meetings using outcome focused agendas, the team is engaged and involved in discussion and decision making, huddles are part of the routine, data is used for measurement of progress on goals, the team has completed several PDSA (Plan Do Study Act) cycles and the team has achieved one of their target goals.
Level 5 is called a High Performing UBT. This level is characterized by the team operating as a “self-managed team” with most day to day decisions made by the team. Teams can move from project to project effectively making changes to improve outcomes and the team is sustaining performance on multiple measures. Level 3-5 teams are using more specific training to help them with their specific needs.
We hope this gives you some insight into how your team can to move along the continuum. We look forward to hearing how your UBT is doing, and remember the road to get to high performing contains some bumps!
Find out more about the Path to Performance [PDF]
