Five things you can learn about high-performing teams from a group of daredevils

Want to know the secret of what makes a high-performing team? Then here’s a team that might give you the insight you’re looking for.

I recently saw the Red Arrows fly their display sequence at an airshow, and it totally blew my mind. If you haven't heard of them before, the Red Arrows are a display team of 10 jet planes flying as one unit. If you want to examine a team that encapsulates high performance, then this is it.

There are five critical insights about high-performing teams that I identified from watching the Red Arrows:

1. They trust each other completely – flying head to head at speeds of up to 645mph, you have to trust the person coming towards you to move at the right moment! 
2. They work in a synchronised way towards a common goal – they don’t all do the same things; they don’t all need the same strengths. But their objective is shared and they all pursue its successful completion as a single unit. 
3. They WORK at communication – They clarify call signs and meanings ahead of time, so that communication in the heat of the moment is slick, succinct and understood. For them, a misunderstanding could be fatal. 
4. Practice, practice, practice – This was not the first time these guys have done a display together. Private rehearsal is key to public acclaim. 
5. No egos – the success of an individual is less important than the success of the whole team. Each member of the team has thousands of hours of flight time, and has worked tirelessly on perfecting their craft, but they each give their individual strength for the success of the team.

What an outcome it creates! 

These are the top five critical factors that I noticed in this high-performing team of daredevils. Are there any others that you would add?

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If these are characteristics that you want to see more of in your teams, and you want to hear more about how we help teams like yours to achieve high-flying high performance, then drop me a message.

#leadership #teams #innovation #highperformingteams