Forvis Mazars is partnering with the Royal Irish Academy of Music on Thursday 23 April to host a unique event bringing together leading figures from sport, music and business to explore what truly underpins high performance and how leaders can apply these lessons to unlock and sustain it within their own organisations.
What are the unique characteristics of high-performance teams?
- A clear and shared purpose
Teams perform better when members are all aligned around a compelling objective that is understood and owned by everyone. Research consistently shows that clarity of purpose improves focus, coordination and commitment, particularly in complex environments. - High levels of trust and psychological safety
Psychological safety – the ability to speak up, ask questions and admit mistakes without fear – is particularly important. Professor Amy Edmondson’s work – who coined the term “psychological safety” in the 1990s – shows employees feel empowered to take risks and experiment when they feel psychologically safe, resulting in better team performance. High performing teams do not make fewer mistakes, but they learn from them faster because they surface and address issues openly. Psychological safety has been identified as a critical predictor of team effectiveness, enabling faster learning and higher-quality decision-making. - Leadership that enables rather than controls
Effective leaders provide direction and clear boundaries while empowering teams to take ownership. This balance supports accountability without stifling initiative and allows expertise, rather than hierarchy, to shape decisions. - Complementary skills and diversity of thinking
High performing teams bring together varied capabilities, backgrounds and perspectives. Evidence shows that such diversity improves problem-solving and adaptability, particularly when challenges are novel or ambiguous. - A commitment to learning and adaptation
High performing teams treat setbacks as opportunities to learn. Structured and frequent reflection enables continuous improvement and sustained performance over time. - Team resilience
Resilience distinguishes good teams from great ones. In sport and high-risk environments, pressure is not an exception – it is expected. Research consistently shows that resilience is a core capability that allows teams to sustain high performance under pressure. Furthermore, it is team resilience, rather than individual resilience, that impacts this performance.
What is the difference between high performance teams and high-performance individuals?
- Collective outcomes over personal achievement
While high performing individuals may excel in isolation, high performing teams succeed by focusing on shared objectives rather than individual metrics. - Interdependence and trust over autonomy
Individual performance values independence, whereas team performance depends on coordination, timing and mutual reliance. In high pressure situations, team members depend on one another to complete their tasks as expected and provide support, creating an environment where open communication and mutual accountability are essential. This trust has been found to be particularly important for teams that operate virtually. - Greater resilience and sustainability
Teams can absorb pressure, change and absence more effectively than individuals. Performance is therefore less fragile and more repeatable over time. - Enhanced capacity for complexity and innovation
Teams integrate multiple perspectives simultaneously, enabling more robust decision-making than the most capable individual can achieve alone. - Leadership shifts from supervision to orchestration
Leading individuals often focuses on managing output. Leading teams requires shaping conditions, culture and relationships to enable performance.
What are the similarities across business, music and sport?
- Rigorous preparation behind apparently effortless performance
Exceptional outcomes are underpinned by discipline, rehearsal and continuous practice long before performance is visible. - Deep trust in leadership and peers
High performing teams rely on confidence in leadership direction and in the competence of fellow members, enabling rapid coordination under pressure. - Relentless commitment to standards
Across domains, excellence is normalised. Performance expectations remain high regardless of external conditions. - A strong sense of shared identity and purpose
Emotional connection to the team’s mission fuels discretionary effort and resilience in demanding situations.
Conclusion
While individual talent is an important contributor to team performance, it is not sufficient on its own. Sustained high performance is shaped by intentional leadership, thoughtful team design and environments that enable people to perform at their best.
