The X Factor of The Highest Performance Teams

'Any team with a clear sense of purpose deeply connected to important social issues; crystal clear vision over both the short and long-term AND goals that have been stretched towards the impossible will maximise it's X Factor.'

Over recent years I’ve been on a quest of sorts – looking for the ‘holy grail’ of High Performance Teams. Trying to discover the ‘X Factor’ that sits beneath the Highest Performance Teams. The ‘X Factor’ is of course the creation of extraordinary Value and unlike the popular TV show of the same name, the X Factor of High Performance Teams has nothing to do with musical talent. However, the X Factor of the Highest Performance Teams does have a lot to do with purpose, vision and goals – which can apply to teams in any industry – including pop music!

In this article I want to share with you 3 key things I have learnt about helping teams create their highest possible X Factor and in doing so turning their jobs into one big ‘adventure challenge race’which massively increases the positive difference they are making in the world!

The X Factor: Value Creation in High Performance Teams

The use of ‘X Factor’ as a term in organisational performance was first coined decades ago to describe the difference between the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ engineers. Where the ‘best’ engineers were 10 times (10x) as ‘productive’ as the worst. As the concept was applied into other fields the outcome measure of ‘Productivity’ (producing the most outputs per input) was refocused towards ‘Value Creation’ (producing the most valuable outputs per input). 

When we think about X Factor and High Performance Teams, the highest X of value creation is achieved by combining two strategies: (1) Efficiency of Inputs (i.e., finding new ways to complete a process faster or with less inputs – think about solving a Rubik’s cube puzzle with the minimum number of movements in the fastest possible time), OR (2) Reach of Outputs (finding new ways to share products and services with others who can leverage this to benefit a much wider audience).

To help teams get their highest possible X Factor over the longer term there are three critical success factors: (1) At the foundational level teams need to link their core purpose to wider meaningful issues in society; (2) Then they need to increase not only the clarity of their vision over the short to medium term, but also their range of vision towards a much longer horizon which may well outlast their tenure; and finally, (3) Use their enhanced sense of purpose and vision to set powerful goals and then apply the two value creation questions to ‘stretch’ these goals towards the realm of the impossible… 

Success Factor 1: Their Core Purpose is Linked to Solving 5% Problems of Society

When you're surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose anything is possible. Howard Schultz

It is a truism to say ‘It all begins with why’ and there is a widebody of research which shows that having a deep sense of purpose in work and life increases both your motivation and satisfaction. The highest performance teams revel in the deep sense of purpose they feel towards their work and have a genuine belief about the important contribution they are making to society. 

Regardless of whether or not outsiders view their work as important or trivial, these amazing teams have (a) a clear understanding of their core purpose by understanding the three circles of Jim Collin’s ‘hedgehog’ core purpose concept AND (b) connect this purpose to a bigger challenge related to the 5% challenges of solving the unsolvable (risks) or changing the world (opportunities). 

The widely used example of street cleaners in Disneyland who believe their work helps make people happy, improving the quality of family experiences, and strengthening society is a great illustration of teams connecting their core purpose with a much bigger cause. 

Conversely, many teams who provide more obviously purposeful and meaningful services to society in fields such as health and education often ignore these important links and in turn miss out on the benefits of consciously reflecting on, and taking pride in, their contribution to society. Instead they grumble and complain – blocking their ability to Level Up to higher team performance.

The highest performance teams all have a very clear understanding of their core purpose and link this purpose to deeper more meaningful causes.

Success Factor 2: Their Vision is Crystal Clear AND Outlasts Their Tenure…

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” Nelson Henderson

In 1961 US President John F Kennedy sent his country boldly into the space race when he declared, “Before the end of this decade we will have put a man on the moon”. Then just 6 months prior to the end of the decade Neil Armstrong walked upon the surface of the moon! 

Once JFK left the stage at the end of his famous speech, the clock was set. NASA had a 9-year window to succeed by turning what seemed like an impossible dream into reality. The only problem was, much of the ‘how to’ was still unknown. The NASA team urgently needed to begin to map out the unknown to (1) quantify the work that needed to be done, (2) determine the knowledge that needed to be gained, and (3) establish the timeframes for the completion of inter-related activities so the long-term vision could be achieved. This extraordinarily complex sequence of activities needed to be broken down and envisioned across shorter, stage-based time horizons to help people remain completely focused on their role in the short-term whilst not losing sight of the long-term. 

This is perhaps one of the coolest examples of the power of setting an audacious long-term vision (and also focusing the core purpose of an organisation) – a grand vision that outlasted the tenure of many NASA employees who retired or changed jobs prior to the moon landings (and of course Kennedy himself who tragically died before the fruition of his vision).

Having a long-term vision is one of the key differentiators of the Highest Performance Teams. The other key differentiator is their ability to vision-cast through various time horizons – short-, medium- and longer-term. Having clarity over multiple time horizons is the missing link because once clarity is obtained, plans can be made to turn vision into reality – to move from vision to action. 

We recommend the use of ‘Y Charts’ as a simple technique to get a team to ‘vision cast’ across various time horizons. When team members can describe what their ‘ideal world’ would ‘look like’, ‘feel like’ and ‘sound like’ if they delivered fully on their core purpose by the time point in focus it become quite easy to create a simple and meaningful vision statement for each time horizon which becomes a natural catalyst for goal setting and more detailed planning.

Vision casting over shorter and longer time horizons is a powerful way to help teams ‘pace’ themselves when expectations about the speed of progress are mis-matched, allowing all team members at the very least to align their expectations to match what is required to deliver the short-term vision. Without long-term vision great leaps forward do not happen BUT without breaking down long-term vision into short and medium horizons people can either ‘sprint’ too far too soon and burnout or ‘give up’ before starting, and become increasingly cynical and resistant to change over the longer-term. 

Success Factor 3: Their goals stretch towards the impossible….

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Anthony Robbins

Goals are the concrete and specific objectives of how teams turn their vision into reality. High Performance Teams set goals using the S.M.A.R.T. criteria. SMART stands for: Specific – target a specific area for achievement; Measurable – quantify, or at least suggest an indicator of progress;Attainable – state what results can realistically be attained; Relevant – link to wider objectives; and finally Time-bound – specify when the result(s) can be achieved.”

Stretch Goals for The Highest Performance Teams

The Highest Performance Teams are easy to identify based on the Stretch Goals they set for themselves. A Stretch Goal is a “Goal that cannot be achieved by incremental or small improvements but requires extending oneself to the limit to be actualised”. This has been expressed in the saying, “You cannot cross a chasm in two steps.”Stretch Goals also had their origins in company management principles and practice. Setting a “Stretch Goal” describes the process of asking for “the almost impossible” as a method to get teams “to reach beyond what they had previously thought possible to achieve outstanding results.”

I love the saying: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll still land among the stars” (Norman Vincent Peale). Stretch Goals that are ultimately not achieved can still trigger additional growth and new levels of performance, discipline and excitement – things we might never have experienced had we not been pursuing the additional stretch. 

The process of setting stretch goals in the Highest Performance Teams is simple (but not easy): Firstly, they set SMART Goals which are somewhat obvious objectives that need to be completed in order to fulfil the crystal clear vision that the team has established that is connected to its deeper core purpose. Then they need to reflect on the two important value creation questions (Efficiency of Inputs and Reach of Outputs) and ask, ‘How can I stretch that Goal to it’s maximum value?’ 

After the team has brainstormed all the possible stretch options they need to ‘lock in’ the almost impossible version of the goal and repeat the process with all the mission critical goals that need to be set to fulfil the vision. Then as action plans are developed they enable both the goals and the stretch goals to be planned into existence and often to everyone’s surprise the impossible becomes possible – and in doing so literally changes the world!

Increase Your Team’s X Factor Now!

Any team can massively increase their X Factor by exploring and enhancing their current activity through the lens of the 3 factors of: purpose, vision and goals.  They can take a step back and consider how their work directly or indirectly contributes to making the world a better place. They can explore in greater detail their vision of their ideal future state. And, they can take the time to apply value creation questions to their goals to stretch them towards the impossible.

By ensuring your team has a clear sense of purpose deeply connected to important social issues; crystal clear vision over both the short and long-term AND goals that have been stretched towards the impossible you can massively increase your team's X Factor and rapidly become one of the Highest Performance Teams possible.  

What’s your Teams X factor right now and how can you Level Up towards maximum performance?

Dr Pete Stebbins PhD

Dr Pete Stebbins, PhD, is a workplace psychologist, executive coach & author of the recently released book: "Level Up! Building The Highest Performance Teams". Pete has many years of research and professional practice behind him and is the director of the High Performance Schools Program working with a large number of schools to maximise staff and student outcomes. 

High Performance Teams In Schools...

• Kay Kirkman on Mentoring Principals & Building High Performance Schools
• Samantha Donovan on School Culture & High Performance Teaching Teams 
• Dr David Turner on Leading High Performance Schools Into The Future
• Roselynne Anderson on The Power of Feedback in High Performance Schools
• Phillip Carleton on Building Explicit & Consistent School Culture
• Sharon Barker on Building High School Culture From Start Up
• Katrina Jones on A Team Approach to Quality Teaching and Learning
• Kurt Goodwin on The School Transformation Change Journey
• Judi Newman on Middle Leadership Capability in Large High Schools