Unlocking the Potential of High Performing Teams

I’ve always believed that a team’s potential is greater than the sum of its parts, but unlocking that potential isn’t always so simple! Years ago, I was part of a project that built a brand-new business unit inside a law firm. Expectations were sky-high, and the stakes were substantial. And yet, somehow, it all just clicked. People collaborated with ease, energy levels were high, and the sense of purpose was unmistakable.  We were doing something new and extraordinary; something that some people told us couldn’t be done! It felt like magic, but it wasn’t magic. It was what happens when a team performs at its very best.

That experience showed me what’s possible when everything comes together. Over the years, and especially at HR180, I’ve seen the same dynamic time and again; teams that work with trust, clarity, and energy can achieve extraordinary results. Research backs this up too. Studies show that teams with high psychological safety are about 50 percent more likely to outperform others. After 25 years in HR, I want to share what I’ve learned so that you can build it too!

In this article, I’ll explore what it really takes to build a high-performing team. We’ll look at vision, leadership, communication, trust, inclusion, accountability, and continuous learning. We’ll cover what great teams have in common and how you can start making those same changes, even in small steps. If you’ve ever wondered what makes one team fly and another flounder, this is for you.

Start With a Clear, Shared Vision

One of the first projects I worked on after setting up HR180 was with a Manchester start-up and involved a brilliantly talented but completely chaotic team. They had energy, skill, and drive but no direction. One of the first things I did was sit down with the two co-founders and help them get clear on their purpose. That vision then became the anchor for the whole team. Of course, it didn’t change everything overnight, but it was the starting point. Clarity allowed everyone to focus, arguments over little things started to fade, and we began to create something more cohesive.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to say, “We want to succeed.” That’s too vague. Your team needs something specific and tangible. Maybe it’s growing market share by 10 percent, improving client retention, or launching a new product within the next six months. Even more importantly, you need to explain the “why” behind that vision, because that’s what makes the work feel meaningful.

Too often, leaders assume that everyone understands the bigger picture. But what started as a shared mission between four or five founders can get lost once the team doubles in size. By the time ten more people have joined, that original energy may have vanished altogether unless it’s regularly revisited and reinforced.

Leadership Makes or Breaks the Team

Over the years, I’ve worked with all sorts of leaders, from deeply empowering and collaborative to utterly dictatorial and, in a few rare cases, downright terrifying! The worst leaders I’ve seen have been those who micromanage every detail (and that coming from a control freak!). They usually mean well, but the effect is the same; people shut down, stop thinking for themselves, and creativity gets crushed.

Great leaders create space. They give guidance, not instructions. They let their team make decisions and back them up when they do. They model accountability and aren’t afraid to say, “That was my mistake.” When a leader owns their errors, it gives the team permission to be honest too. That’s where the real connection begins.

It’s not about being perfect; it’s about setting the tone. A high-performing team takes its cues from the top. If the leader is confident, open, and respectful, the team usually is too.

Trust and Communication Are Non-Negotiable

One of the most consistent themes I’ve seen in high-performing teams is this: they talk to each other. They don’t just exchange updates, they communicate properly. They listen, they ask (even when uncomfortable about it), they admit when they don’t know something, and they’re not afraid to challenge ideas.

That kind of open communication creates trust, and trust unlocks everything else. At HR180, we’ve always placed a huge emphasis on creating environments (for us and clients) where people feel safe to be honest.  It is THE biggest thing I value in our team members. I remember a time early in my career when I made a mistake on a training event I was organising. I was young but really admired my Director and so just blurted out my mistake in a team meeting, expecting some form of dire punishment! Instead, she thanked me for flagging it, and we used it as a learning moment for everyone. That one experience stayed with me, not just because it was kind, but because it created a culture where people weren’t afraid to speak up.

You can’t build trust if your team feels like they’re being judged or left in the dark. Transparency, even when things are difficult, is always better than secrecy. If decisions are made without explanation, people start to fill in the gaps and usually not in a helpful way. A lack of information creates suspicion, not loyalty.

Regular check-ins, both one-on-one and as a group, are essential. They provide space to talk about what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change. It’s not about meetings for the sake of meetings; it’s about building connections and creating alignment.

What High-Performing Teams Actually Look Like

There’s a certain energy that comes with a great team. You can feel it in the way people talk to each other, the way they solve problems, and the way they celebrate wins; big and small.

At that Manchester start-up, every sprint ended with some sort of celebration. It wasn’t about free drinks or big rewards, it was music, laughter, and a shared sense of pride. People recognised each other’s contributions and made time to enjoy what they’d achieved.

Great teams deliver results because they’re focused on outcomes, not just activity. They spend time thinking about how to work better, not just faster. They challenge inefficient processes and come up with smarter ways of doing things.

They also respect each other. That doesn’t mean they always agree. But they admire one another’s abilities, and that admiration builds mutual trust.

Here are some of the patterns I see most often in high-performing teams:

• High engagement.  People care, and they’re not afraid to show it

• Clear, consistent delivery where targets are met and often exceeded

• Resilience from setbacks are seen as learning opportunities, not reasons to give up

• Open collaboration where ideas are shared freely, and conflict is handled constructively

By contrast, I’ve seen teams fail not because of lack of talent, but because of poor leadership with a blame culture, favouritism, dismissal of new ideas, or punishing people for mistakes. A good team can easily be brought to its knees by a bad leader. But with the right conditions, any team can become something super special.

Diversity and Inclusion Matter More Than Ever

I’ve said this many times before, and I’ll keep saying it (although I wish I didn’t have to!); diverse teams are stronger, more creative, and more innovative. McKinsey’s research shows that companies with diverse leadership are significantly more likely to outperform financially. I’ve seen this in action with countless clients.

But diversity is only the start. Inclusion is what makes diversity work. It’s not enough to have a mix of people in the room, you’ve got to make sure everyone is heard and valued. I’ve seen teams with brilliant minds and broad perspectives fail to innovate because only the loudest voices were listened to.

Creating an inclusive culture means actively inviting contributions from quieter members, challenging unconscious bias, and making sure opportunities are available to everyone. Not just the most confident or visible.

I’ve worked with teams where quiet, highly capable individuals were overlooked again and again because they didn’t fit the mould of a “leader.” But when given the chance, they not only rose to the challenge, they quietly excelled and earned the trust of their colleagues through action, not noise.

Goal Setting, Clarity, and Shared Accountability

Without clear goals, people drift. Without shared accountability, teams splinter. I once worked with a team that had plenty of ambition but no agreed targets. As soon as something went wrong, fingers were pointed and blame took over.

I’ve written before about the importance of OKRs, KPIs, and setting meaningful objectives. But the takeaway is simple; make sure everyone knows what success looks like, and that it’s the same picture for everyone.

Accountability isn’t about catching people out. It’s about ownership. High-performing teams balance individual responsibility with team-wide success. Everyone understands how their piece fits into the whole. That alignment reduces competition and encourages collaboration. People stop worrying about whose fault something is and start asking how they can help fix it.

The Best Teams Never Stop Learning

Adaptability is one of the most underrated traits in a team. The best teams are constantly learning, whether through formal training, peer learning, or just honest reflection after things go wrong.

At the Manchester start-up, they introduced “tech talks” every other week, where different team members would share something new, perhaps tools, techniques or lessons from recent challenges. It created a culture where learning was simply part of the job, not an afterthought.

I’ve seen other teams stagnate because leaders thought training was unnecessary or “too expensive” and that short-term thinking always comes back to bite. If your team isn’t learning, it’s falling behind. And if your team isn’t adapting, it’s at risk.

Mentoring, training programmes, and feedback loops all support continuous growth. But more than anything, it’s about fostering a mindset that says, “we can always improve.”

Final Thoughts

Building a high-performing team isn’t about finding perfect people. It’s about creating the right conditions for your people to do their best work together. That means clarity of purpose, strong leadership, trust, communication, inclusion, clear goals, and a willingness to learn.

Start by asking yourself some honest questions. Do your team members understand the vision? Do they feel safe to speak up? Are you giving them space to grow? Pick one or two areas and begin there. Maybe it’s time to reset your goals, introduce regular feedback sessions, or hold a team meeting to re-establish the shared purpose.

I’ve seen teams turn around with just a few small changes. And I’ve seen great teams soar because they kept investing in what made them great.

Your team has the potential to do remarkable things. It’s up to you to help unlock it.

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