7 Characteristics of High Performing Teams
What is a high performing team?
A high performing team consistently exceeds expectations, collaborates effectively under pressure, and maintains trust, accountability, and psychological safety even when things get difficult. The difference isn't talent — it's culture, and culture is shaped by leadership.
The 7 Characteristics of High Performing Teams
- Trust
- Psychological Safety
- Clear Communication
- Constructive Feedback
- Accountability
- Shared Goals and Purpose
- Resilience and Growth Mindset
1. Trust
What the research says
Paul Zak's research on the neuroscience of trust found that people in high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, and 76% more engagement than those in low-trust environments. They also experience 40% less burnout and 29% more satisfaction with their lives.
Trust isn't a bonus. It's the foundation everything else is built on.
According to research by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, trust has three elements: positive relationships, good judgement and expertise, and consistency. Building these requires emotional intelligence training—particularly self-awareness and relationship management skills. Miss any one of these and trust erodes.
What leaders experience
When we ask leaders to reflect on trust in their teams, the patterns are consistent. They recognise trust matters, but struggle with how to build it deliberately.
Where leaders get stuck
Many leaders underestimate how closely they're watched. Team members notice when you take credit for others' work, when you gossip, when you say one thing and do another. The leaders who build trust fastest are the ones who hold themselves to the same standards they expect from their team — visibly and consistently.
2. Psychological Safety
What the research says
Psychological safety is the belief that you won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. Amy Edmondson's research, along with Google's Project Aristotle, identified it as the single most important factor in team effectiveness.
Key Insight
Without psychological safety, diverse perspectives stay hidden. Problems go unraised until they're too big to ignore. People play it safe instead of taking the risks that lead to innovation.
What leaders experience
Leaders often assume their team feels safe because no one has complained. But silence isn't safety.
Where leaders get stuck
Psychological safety is fragile. One dismissive response to a question, one public criticism, one instance of shooting the messenger — and it takes months to rebuild.
3. Clear Communication
What the research says
Leaders spend up to 80% of their day communicating. Yet poor communication remains one of the main reasons people disengage from work. It's also the root cause of most interpersonal conflict.
What leaders experience
Our data shows that communication challenges aren't usually about clarity — they're about listening. Leaders reflect on conversations where they assumed they knew what the other person meant, only to discover they'd missed something critical.
Where leaders get stuck
The biggest barrier to clear communication is the assumption that you already understand. Leaders who actively listen — who put their own agenda aside and focus on the other person's perspective — consistently build stronger teams.
4. Constructive Feedback
What the research says
Feedback isn't compliments. It's communication about actions or behaviours that affect individual, team, or organisational performance. The challenge is that feedback often triggers threat responses.
Key Insight
Many leaders avoid corrective feedback because they fear damaging the relationship. But avoiding feedback damages the relationship too — it just does it slowly.
What leaders experience
Leaders consistently tell us that giving feedback is one of the hardest parts of their role. Leda's methodology uses the concept of "connection credits" — the positive interactions that build the trust needed for corrective feedback to land.
Where leaders get stuck
The skill isn't avoiding difficult conversations. It's having them in a way that strengthens rather than threatens.
5. Accountability
What the research says
Accountability means walking your own talk. Research on team culture shows that organisations with strong accountability see significant increases in performance metrics.
What leaders experience
Leda's accountability framework identifies six requirements for individual accountability to exist.
Where leaders get stuck
Leaders often confuse accountability with blame. They create fear rather than clarity.
6. Shared Goals and Purpose
What the research says
Goals motivate. They give direction. But goals alone aren't enough.
What leaders experience
The leaders who build alignment go beyond SMART goals. They help team members see how their work matters.
Where leaders get stuck
Many leaders set goals once and assume alignment persists. It doesn't.
7. Resilience and Growth Mindset
What the research says
Resilience is the ability to resist, recover from, and adapt to challenges. Carol Dweck's research shows that people who believe they can learn and improve through effort — a growth mindset — are more resilient than those who believe ability is fixed.
Key Insight
Leaders who neglect sleep, exercise, nutrition, and social support eventually burn out — and so do their teams.
What leaders experience
Leaders who build resilience share certain practices. They reframe stress as challenge rather than threat.
Where leaders get stuck
Resilience isn't about toughening up or pushing through. It's about recovery.
How These Characteristics Are Built
These seven characteristics share something in common: none of them can be installed in a workshop.
Why most training fails
The forgetting curve shows that learners forget 50-70% of new material within 24 hours. You cannot build lasting skills in a single session.
How the Emerging Leaders Program develops these capabilities
At MYOB, 264 leaders have completed Leda's Emerging Leaders Program over five years. Fifty percent of the 2020 cohort were promoted.
At Supagas, more than 150 participants across four years led to a substantial increase in program applications.
At Camp Quality, the organisation's engagement score increased from 84% to 89% following the program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What's the difference between a team and a high performing team?
A: A high performing team consistently exceeds expectations, collaborates effectively under pressure, and maintains trust, accountability, and psychological safety.
Q: Can you train a team to be high performing?
A: Not directly. You can train individuals to develop the skills that build high performing teams.
Q: How long does it take to build a high performing team?
A: There's no fixed timeline, but meaningful culture change typically takes 6-12 months of consistent effort.
Q: What role does the leader play in team performance?
A: The leader is the single biggest influence on team culture. How they respond to failure shapes how the team operates.