Context

External factors like customer demands, market shifts, and internal politics impact team performance. Yet many teams lack a shared understanding of these influences, especially in new or restructured teams, leading to misalignment that leaders often overlook.

Mission

Defines why a team exists, what it must achieve, and how success is measured, making it a core driver of team structure, roles, and motivation. High-performing teams align on purpose, goals, action plans, and regularly review progress; low-performing teams often lack clarity in one or more of these areas.

Talent

High-performing teams have the right people in the right roles, with a strong team mindset and mutual understanding of each other's expertise. Leaders must set clear expectations, develop talent, and avoid role confusion. Professional familiarity, knowing what teammates can do, is more important than simply knowing their personalities.

Norms

Are the formal and informal rules that guide how teams operate, how they communicate, make decisions, and hold each other accountable. While many norms are unspoken, they have a powerful impact on team performance and can either support or hinder effectiveness.

Buy-In

Refers to the motivation and commitment team members have toward achieving shared goals. It’s driven by clear purpose, realistic goals, role clarity, team identity, and leader support. Teams with strong buy-in are optimistic, persistent, and willing to go the extra mile to succeed.

Resources

Include the tools, information, and authority teams need to achieve their goals. Effective teams align resources with their objectives and make smart use of what they have, rather than simply asking for more. Removing obstacles and granting sufficient authority are often more impactful than adding new resources.

Courage

Refers to the levels of trust and psychological safety within a team. Trust is built on ability, benevolence, and integrity, and takes time but can be lost quickly through poor behavior. Psychological safety allows team members to speak up, challenge ideas, and manage conflict productively. High-performing teams need both: trust to rely on each other, and safety to engage in constructive dialogue.

Results

Are the ultimate measure of team success, how well teams meet goals, serve customers, and improve over time. Without clear goals, teams often mistake activity for progress. High-performing teams track outcomes, benchmark against others, and adjust plans as needed. Leaders play a key role by setting goals, monitoring progress, and driving accountability.