David Burkus

The debate over hybrid work and returning to the office keeps raging, and leaders’ plans for how to manage their team just keep changing. The desire for autonomy among employees is at an all-time high, while feelings of connection and belonging to the team are at all-time lows. It’s enough to make a leader cry “when are we going back to normal?”

Every leader wants to build a high-performing team, and nearly everyone wants to be on one. But most teams fail to perform at their optimal level. We try to recruit star players, improve compensation, give copious feedback, obsess over engagement surveys, and in the end, we still don’t have the results we want and often feel we’re out of options. But the secret to unlocking performance isn’t recruiting new teammates or designing the perfect incentive. The most effective teams became that way by building the habits and culture of the team that allows for optimal performance.

Collaboration is essential to teamwork. But it can be difficult to collaborate with people whose perspectives, preferences, and personalities are different from our own. It’s hard enough to build trust among the team and collaborate properly, but keeping that trust is even harder. That’s why high-performing teams don’t merely trust each other, they work to create a psychologically safe environment. An environment of trust and respect.

As the challenges organizations face seem to compound, we need innovative ideas more than ever. But many teams struggle to find and implement their brightest ideas. Much of this struggle comes from a common misconception: you can’t create an innovative company teaching individuals to be more creative. Instead, research reveals that “lone creators” are historically rare, and for most innovations, creativity is a team sport.