High Performing Teams - Highly Conditional

The Characteristics of High Performing Teams - Part 1

There are conditions to being a part of an elite team. There are established standards that everyone has to live up to, and just as importantly everyone has to enforce. There are no free rides. Everyone is expendable if they refuse to live up to the standards.

I’ve talked a lot about how we use the word family. Just about every team, every school, every organization uses the word, and I don’t really like it. I think being a part of a TEAM is really special, and a lot of ways that gets lost or isn’t celebrated enough. My love for my family is unconditional. Being a part of a high performing team is HIGHLY conditional. There are conditions. There are standards. Everyone knows what they are, and everyone has to meet them.

I love everyone in my family, and when they are late for Thanksgiving dinner, there are no consequences. They didn’t let us down. They just showed up late. I’m happy to have a beer with them on Thanksgiving and watch some football with them, and we’ll have a great time. But I’m not trying to win with them.

If somebody shows up late for practice, we have a problem. High performing teams have a problem. It doesn’t mean they are getting kicked off the team. But whether or not we can count on you, that really matters. It’s not just one guy being a few minutes late. It’s that we aren’t sure we can count on you. That’s why there are standards. If you don’t live up to our standards, trust starts to erode. And that’s a big problem for high performing teams.

Teams are different. They aren’t families. These aren’t your co-workers. Teammate really means something. Not only are we investing in one another and counting on one another to live up to a high standard, we are literally investing sweat, energy and effort - physical effort - to make it work. Law firms don’t get up in the morning and run sprints together. Hospital staffs don’t lift weights together during the summer instead of going to the beach. Teams are different. They are different than any other group or “team” you will be a part of. Teams are special, because the investment is both mental and physical, and you have to give everything you’ve got.

Being a part of a team is conditional. Your membership depends on your approach - as do your teammates. High performing teams have high standards, and the conditions are not easy. That’s part of the deal. The standards are set and every detail matters. The head coach may lay them out, but the players are the true gatekeepers. They embrace the conditions and hold each other accountable to the standards.

Membership on a high performing team is exclusive. It’s incredibly challenging but also incredibly rewarding. Understand that being a part of a team is special, and there is nothing else like it. Embrace the fact that the standards are high and the conditions are tough.