High Performance Operating Teams

High Performance Operating Teams are a logical extension of high performance teams. When a High Performance Team fulfills the objectives of it charter and its initial time frame, the team may continue life as an operational team. A High Performance Operating Team has responsibility for the operation and performance of a process. Typically such processes are cross-functional, that is, the processes extent across and through two or more functional areas or departments in an organization.

Depending on the scope and objectives of the original High Performance Team charter, a new or modified charter may need to be developed to define the responsibilities and authorities of the High Performance Operating Team. By now performance measures have been developed and refined and an on-going process has been implemented for monitoring the operating team's results. The High Performance Operating Team should be working together well with leaders identified and a natural level of management support in place.

As time goes by, old team members will depart and new team members will arrive. Remaining team members should stop to recognize and celebrate the contributions made by the departing team members. Newly arriving team members should be adopted by individual team members as team mentors. A team mentor would explain the norms and conventions used by the team and would actively seek to discover the new team members strengths, skills, and knowledge. A good mentor will promote the new team member to the other team members thereby speeding the new members acceptance by the overall team.

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