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High-performing leaders don\u2019t automatically create high-performing teams. Even the most impressive executive teams on paper can struggle with alignment, trust, and collective execution. When a team isn\u2019t functioning, a leader\u2019s instinct is to blame individual performance, skill gaps, or the strategy. More often the underlying issue is that the team doesn\u2019t know how to operate together.<\/p>\n
In the earlier stages of a leader\u2019s career, they are often rewarded for what they produce. There is far less emphasis on how leaders can drive team performance. As they move up in the organization, leaders find themselves in more team environments. Yet what makes leaders successful individually can limit team effectiveness.<\/p>\n
Through coaching hundreds of executive teams across various industries, I\u2019ve seen five patterns emerge again and again that if not addressed will lead teams to fail.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While teams communicate constantly with each other, too often they aren\u2019t saying what needs to be said. They act overly polite, saying things like, \u201ceverything looks great\u201d and \u201call milestones are on track\u201d at every meeting, even though it\u2019s not true. No one talks about problems or has tough conversations. This communication culture of toxic positivity can create false harmony and impede progress.<\/p>\n
High-performing teams engage in conflict skillfully and constructively. They challenge with care, speak the truth, and build an environment of psychological safety. They understand that honest, open communication means saying what needs to be said.<\/p>\n
Leaders are skilled at and rewarded for driving results for their teams. On the surface, achieving their department\u2019s goals looks like success. However, there\u2019s a hidden risk when leaders optimize only for their own department: fragmentation.<\/p>\n
Fragmented teams operate in silos, with rampant competition between departments and resource hoarding. No one is focused on what\u2019s best for the organization as a whole.<\/p>\n
High-performing teams move out of a \u201cmy department” mindset and into an \u201cour organization\u201d mindset. They define success collectively and collaborate to drive outcomes that move the entire business forward.<\/p>\n
Teams can\u2019t hit a target they can\u2019t see. Lack of clarity is one of the fastest ways to erode trust, hinder momentum, and create unnecessary rework. When the goals and roles are unclear, team members duplicate efforts, step on each other\u2019s toes, and experience avoidable conflict. Over time, this creates frustration and a sense that time and energy are being wasted.<\/p>\n
High-performing teams prioritize getting clear on their goals, priorities, roles, and how to get work done effectively, creating an environment where members lean in and support one another, stepping in where it matters most.<\/p>\n
When teams keep accumulating more open decisions, they have what I\u2019ve termed decision debt. This shows up in three ways: no decision made, delayed decision, or decision made but not clearly communicated. The costs to the team are high. Teams constantly spend their valuable mental energy revisiting the same topics and gathering more data, stalling progress instead of moving forward.<\/p>\n
High-performing teams are intentional about how they make decisions. They determine when they need more data versus when they have enough information. By prioritizing making clear and timely decisions, teams create momentum, moving the system forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Connection is often undervalued on teams and considered a nice-to-have versus a key driver of performance. As leaders are busy and focused on their own results, connection gets relegated to occasional off-sites or optional social events. But when connection is lacking, performance suffers. People feel isolated and disconnected from each other, trust erodes, and teams fall short of what they\u2019re capable of delivering.<\/p>\n