Most leaders know teamwork is crucial to business success, but there’s a difference between knowing why it’s important and making it happen.
Improving teamwork isn’t about clichés like “having an open-door policy” or “organising team-building exercises.”
It’s about embedding systems, behaviours, and structures that fundamentally transform how your team works together—and it directly impacts your profitability.
High-performing employees can be up to 400% more productive than the average worker. For businesses with truly engaged teams, overall productivity can leap by 17%, boosting efficiency and profitability across the board. The gap between high and low-performing businesses often comes down to how well teams work together—not just as individuals but as a cohesive unit.
After three decades of working with CEOs and business owners, I’ve learned that the key to building effective teams lies in the details—the nuances that can be easily overlooked. Let’s dig into five powerful ways to improve teamwork.
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Transform Clarity into Action
Having clear goals is only half the battle—the real challenge is making sure they’re executed consistently and effectively.
Many teams fall short, not because they lack direction, but because they don’t know exactly what’s expected of them next. Saying, “We need to improve customer retention,” might sound clear, but without actionable clarity, your team won’t know where to start or how to align their efforts.
One tool I give my clients is a Goal Execution Framework. It’s designed to remove the guesswork by clarifying responsibilities, timelines, and how each task contributes to the bigger picture. This kind of structured clarity ensures everyone knows their role and how their work ties into the broader business goals.
When teams operate with this level of alignment, the “grey zones” where tasks get delayed or overlooked disappear. High-performing teams don’t just know the goal—they know exactly how to move toward it, consistently delivering results on time and with purpose.
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Balance Psychological Safety with Accountability
A strong team culture requires balance. On one side, people need to feel safe to share ideas, voice concerns, and admit mistakes without fear of judgment. On the other, they need to know there’s accountability for delivering results and following through on commitments.
Many leaders lean too far in one direction—either fostering a friendly but unproductive environment or creating a high-pressure atmosphere where mistakes are hidden, and collaboration suffers. The key is finding the middle ground.
When psychological safety and accountability work together, teams thrive. Regular, structured feedback loops can help. These are moments where team members reflect on what’s working, what’s not, and what can be improved—without fear of blame. At the same time, it’s clear that everyone is responsible for playing their part and hitting agreed targets.
This balance creates a culture where honesty and trust flourish, but high standards are maintained. It’s the hallmark of teams that consistently deliver results without burnout or unnecessary friction.
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Encourage Managers to Build Problem-Solvers, Not Dependents
One of the biggest barriers to teamwork is when managers act like task-issuers instead of mentors.
When managers focus on assigning tasks, team members become reactive and overly reliant, waiting for instructions instead of taking initiative. The key is to teach your managers how to guide and empower their teams to think critically and solve problems independently.
This involves encouraging managers to ask thoughtful questions, delegate responsibility for outcomes rather than specific tasks, and create an environment where team members feel confident to tackle challenges without fear of repercussions.
When managers lead this way, they transform their teams into proactive problem-solvers. This not only strengthens collaboration but also frees managers from constantly stepping in to handle issues—giving them more time to focus on strategic and profit generating priorities.
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Make Feedback Part of the Routine
Teams that grow together win together. But growth only happens when feedback flows freely.
Many teams treat feedback as a once-a-year activity tied to performance reviews, but by then, it’s too late to make meaningful changes. High-performing teams bake feedback into their day-to-day operations. This means regular, informal check-ins where team members can openly discuss progress, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
It’s not just about catching mistakes—it’s about creating a culture of continuous learning where everyone is committed to getting better every day.
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Simplify Communication to Amplify Results
Poor communication is one of the quickest ways to derail teamwork. Overloaded inboxes, meetings with too much discussion and not enough focus, and vague instructions.
High-performing teams don’t just communicate—they align. This goes beyond team meetings. It’s about ensuring every piece of communication ties back to your business goals and keeps the team moving in the same direction.
I use a Strategic Alignment Process with my clients to simplify communication and ensure everyone is clear on priorities, progress, and responsibilities. This method focuses on:
- Establishing a rhythm: Regular, focused updates that eliminate unnecessary repetitive discussions and keep everyone on track.
- Centralising key information: Ensuring updates, progress, and priorities are accessible to the entire team in one place.
- Connecting communication to outcomes: Every interaction is tied to achieving specific goals, so no time is wasted on low-value discussions.
When communication is part of a strategic alignment process, it eliminates confusion, reduces friction, and improves teamwork.
The Path to Better Teamwork and Higher Profitability
Improving teamwork isn’t just about making the workplace feel “nicer”—it’s a direct driver of business performance and profitability. When teams operate with clarity, trust, and alignment, they deliver more, faster, and with fewer errors.
But here’s the reality: these changes don’t happen overnight. They require a shift in how your managers lead, how your team communicates, and how you embed structures that allow everyone to perform at their best.
Ready to Get Your Team Performing and Driving Profitability?
Join my free masterclass: “How to Get Your Managers to Actually Manage and Save 8+ Hours of Firefighting Every Week.”
In this session, I’ll share my full model for creating high-performing, profit-focused teams and reveal the exact strategies I use to help businesses:
- Transform managers into proactive problem-solvers who take ownership of outcomes.
- Streamline team communication to eliminate confusion and wasted time.
- Build systems that ensure consistent execution of business goals.
Register now to discover how to unlock your team’s potential, improve performance, and boost profitability—all with less stress and more impact.
Because when your team is empowered, aligned, and effective, your business excels.
Register here now: https://go.leannebridges.com/highperformingteam