High Performance Team vs. High Performance Business

Last week I was lucky enough to be facilitating a workshop that I am extremely passionate about, ‘CREATING A HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAM’.’ As a recovering ‘Jock’ I find it easy to talk about the key ingredients required when working towards excellence, winning, performing at your optimal on the sporting field. I typically use examples of sporting team, sports professionals to validate my theories and industry experience. Both demand unwavering dedication, meticulous planning and exceptional teamwork. So, I am keen to touch on the similarities between sports teams & business, highlighting the strategies, dynamics & key factors that drive success & then ask you, what do you think is the KEY INGREDIENT?


Let’s start with the pursuit of excellence. For a sporting team this is reflected in winning & or breaking records. In the business sector high performance is measured by winning that tender, generating substantial profits, or being recognised as industry leaders.

The cornerstone of any high-performance team, is teamwork & collaboration. On the sports field athletes must understand each other strengths & weaknesses. Work together towards a common objective. Similarly, in business, employees must align their skills, leverage their collective knowledge & collaborate effectively to achieve organisational goals. The ability to communicate, cooperate & trust one another is paramount to success in both domains.

This takes me to leadership & vision. For me this is extremely important for both sports teams & businesses & I love Vince Lombardi’s quote, ‘The strength of the group is the strength of the leaders. In both the sporting and business world, effective leaders set the tone, establish goals & inspire others to go above & beyond.

Another key ingredient that allows for sustained success is the ability to adapt & change. In sports, teams must adjust their game plans in response to opponent tactics, changing weather conditions, or player injuries. The same could be said for businesses as they need to adapt to evolving market trends, customer demands & technological advancements. For those that make informed decisions & seize the opportunities quickly set apart the expectational from the average in both realms.

Similar to leadership, pressure & resilience is also extremely important. On the sporting field teams must perform under the watching eyes of fans, media, scrutiny & the weight of expectations. The same can be said of businesses, that must deal with highly competitive markets, financial challenges, market uncertainties & possibly demanding stakeholders. To be able to continually perform, both entities must cultivate resilience, mental fortitude & the ability to bounce back from setbacks.

Therefore, both require a commitment to excellence, effective teamwork, strong leadership, data-driven decision making, adaptability & resilience.

So what ingredient do you think is the most important….?