Back in 2013, I drafted a model called “Go Forward High-Performance Team.” At the time, it was recognized as one of LinkedIn’s “Big Ideas.” My website exploded. Shame I wasn’t in the coaching and consulting business back then!
Over the last 12 years, the model has held true. High-performing teams work harder, smarter, and go further. They have the talent and the right people in the right positions. As we explored in Article 1, they align their energy and contributions to where they can have the greatest collective impact. France, whom I had the honor of competing against once in 2004, is one of the best in the world at this.
The model developed in equal parts from my rugby experience and from building an organization—creating, growing, and coaching teams along the way.
Interestingly, my five original roles—Creators, Planners, Doers, Reviewers, and Culture Keepers—map almost exactly to The GC Index’s five proclivities: Game Changer, Strategist, Implementer, Polisher, and Play Maker. Now, I’ve adopted that language since it provides a validated assessment, model, data, and terminology that enable us to develop each of these into more effective ways of working together as a team. I believe in that model so much that I’ve gained a Master-level certification in it.
With that foundation for identifying the right roles and their impact on the team, today, we’re focusing on how the highest-performing teams embody the values that activate their purpose and drive them toward their vision.
I’ve used this model multiple times since 2013 and recently refined and simplified it under “PurposeFused Teams.” I’ll share the full model and visual in my final article later this month. In the meantime, I’ve consolidated the original seven values into three complementary areas of focus:
1. Aligned Purpose (Values: Clarity + Common Purpose)
High-performing teams start with a clear mission and ensure everyone understands their role, goals, and impact in achieving it. Without alignment, teams lose direction.
Purpose plays several roles:
- “Little p” purpose clarifies objectives and focus for any given project.
- “Big P” Purpose defines the team’s essence at its best and the impact it seeks to create together. It transcends individual engagements and provides the foundation for sustained team performance.
- The most powerful approach is understanding each individual’s “Big P” purpose and then creating a shared purpose for the team. This is the optimal way to drive personal motivation toward a collective mission.
We use a One-Page Purpose framework for both individuals and teams to articulate and align these.
Key Leadership Insight: When people understand the why and how of their work—with clarity on the impact they want to create—their engagement and execution improve dramatically, becoming generative.
2. Collaborative Culture (Values: Open + Collaborative + Lead Together)
A trust-first culture enables open dialogue, risk-taking, and collective problem-solving. Each team member must:
- Be transparent about their capabilities.
- Show they care.
- Be consistent in their approach.
- Demonstrate good character—aligning behaviors with values and following through on commitments.
Being open, vulnerable, seeking feedback, and demonstrating these Four Cs strengthen trustworthiness, which in turn builds trust. This is intentionality in action, compared to teams where trust is just assumed.
Effective collaboration requires:
- Aligning motivations
- Being intentional about contributions
- Understanding how to deliver value together
When these elements are in place, teams blend their strengths, minimize blind spots, and drive disproportionate value beyond the sum of their parts.
This leverage is elevated further with a sense of shared leadership, where each team member owns not just their individual contributions, behaviors, and outcomes but also takes responsibility for the collective success of the team.
Openness to giving and receiving feedback—and the confidence to challenge and improve—keeps teams at the edge of their capabilities. The best teams (and individuals) challenge themselves, fail, learn, improve, grow, and succeed.
Key Leadership Insight: Teams thrive when members feel safe to communicate, contribute, and step up with new leadership perspectives when needed.
3. Agile Ownership (Values: Commitment + Adaptability)
Commitment is about more than just buy-in—it means taking full ownership and increasing discretionary effort toward the mission and results along the way.
Adaptability ensures resilience in a fast-changing environment. It means playing what we see—stepping, swerving, and powering forward based on what’s in front of us while always aligning with the mission and activating the purpose.
This allows top-performing teams to stay ahead of challenges, embrace innovation, and succeed in the face of adversity.
Key Leadership Insight: When teams are committed, accountable, and adaptable, they don’t just react to change—they create their desired future.
This PurposeFused Teams framework ensures that teams are:
- Purpose-driven
- Culturally strong
- Built for sustained impact
Teams that follow this framework don’t just perform better under pressure—they relish it, converting pressure into points.
Want to learn more about how to embed this framework with your team?
Let’s chat.