Building High-Performing Teams: Lessons from the Field

Creating high-performing teams doesn’t happen by chance—it’s the result of intentional strategy, clear communication, and ongoing development. Through years of experience, particularly drawing from my military background, I’ve learned that building and leading high-performing teams requires aligning individual strengths, fostering accountability, and continuously iterating on performance.

1. Trust is the Foundation

The cornerstone of any high-performing team is trust. If a team doesn’t trust their leader or each other, high performance is virtually impossible. Trust is built through consistent actions—actively listening to your team, providing support, and making sure that each member feels their needs are being met. When trust is present, collaboration thrives, and the team can tackle challenges with confidence.

As Patrick Lencioni, a renowned expert in organisational health, argues in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, trust is the essential building block of a cohesive team. Without trust, team members are less likely to be open, less willing to give feedback, and reluctant to ask for help. Without that openness, high performance simply can’t occur.

2. Clear Roles and Defined Expectations

Every high-performing team needs clarity. Each individual must know exactly what is expected of them, what their role entails, and how their contributions fit into the bigger picture. Clear roles and responsibilities reduce confusion and create alignment, helping everyone move in the same direction at the same pace.

Peter Drucker famously said, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” High-performing teams rely on clear expectations to ensure that everyone is doing the right things, with clarity around their individual contributions.

When everyone understands their role, it fosters a shared sense of ownership, and each member can contribute their best effort. This is critical to maintaining high performance and reducing potential misalignment.

3. Accountability and Ownership

In high-performing teams, accountability is non-negotiable, but it goes beyond simply enforcing standards—it’s about setting clear expectations and supporting team members to meet them. When someone underperforms, it’s essential to identify whether the issue is a skills gap or a lack of commitment. If it’s a skills gap, we provide the necessary support, training, or resources. However, if it’s a matter of will or alignment with team goals, there needs to be a transparent, fair approach to addressing it.

This approach to accountability aligns with Jocko Willink’s principle of Extreme Ownership, which emphasises that leaders should take responsibility for the team’s outcomes while holding each member accountable for their performance. Willink argues that leaders should create an environment where accountability is a shared value. By fostering this kind of positive accountability, team members understand that while they’re responsible for their results, their leader is committed to supporting them.

When accountability is enforced in a transparent and fair manner, it not only leads to greater commitment but also helps the team trust in the process, knowing that high standards are consistently upheld.

4. Involving the Team in the Journey

In order to maintain high performance, the team must feel involved in the process. I ensure that team members are part of the journey—whether it’s developing a new reward system, gathering feedback, or fine-tuning KPIs. When they have a stake in the decisions, they feel more accountable to the goals and more motivated to achieve them.

This is rooted in the concept of participative leadership, a leadership style that engages team members in the decision-making process, fostering a deeper commitment to the team’s objectives. As Daniel Pink writes in Drive, autonomy, mastery, and purpose are key drivers of motivation. By involving the team in the journey, we build a culture where each member feels that their contributions matter.

5. Continuous Improvement: Kaizen Mindset

In high-performing teams, there’s a relentless focus on improvement. Everyone in the team should be looking for ways to optimise their own performance, while also driving team performance forward. This is where the Kaizen philosophy comes in—a continuous improvement mindset that encourages small, incremental changes.

Toyota’s success with Kaizen is legendary. By embedding this philosophy into their culture, Toyota ensured that every team member, no matter their role, was committed to constant improvement. When team members are focused on their own growth, they naturally contribute to the success of the team as a whole.

Applying Kaizen to our teams means that performance is not static—it’s an ongoing process of iteration and innovation. This mindset ensures that team members are always looking for ways to improve their own output and the collective effort.

6. Adjusting Rewards and KPIs to Reflect Growth

As teams evolve and improve, so too should the metrics and rewards systems. If the team is performing better and becoming more efficient, the KPIs and targets should be adjusted to reflect that progress. Conversely, if there are new challenges or bottlenecks, the goals should be recalibrated to help the team overcome them.

This flexibility in adjusting rewards and recognition ensures that the team remains motivated and engaged. As Simon Sinek explains in his book Start with Why, when team members feel that their efforts are aligned with a larger purpose, they are more likely to stay committed to achieving the team’s goals. By regularly assessing and adjusting rewards and KPIs, we keep the team aligned with evolving objectives.

The Key to Sustained Performance

Building and maintaining high performance is not a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process. By focusing on trust, clear roles, accountability, continuous improvement, and adjusting strategies as needed, teams can sustain high performance over time. As the saying goes, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link,” and in high-performing teams, there are no weak links—just a relentless drive to improve, together.