How to Unlock Team Performance
In manufacturing, we often focus on machines, processes, and output. But the real differentiator—especially in mid-sized organizations—is how well your people work together. Strong teams, agile skills, and aligned leadership can help your business move faster, solve problems sooner, and retain good people longer. In this month’s article, I am sharing three insights that offer practical takeaways for building your dream team.
Team Trust = Performance
Korn Ferry reminds us that effective teamwork isn’t “nice to have”—it’s essential. High-performing teams understand their purpose, trust one another, and stay aligned even when stress levels run high. This will show up as faster troubleshooting, fewer communication gaps, and smoother handoffs between operations, maintenance, quality, and engineering. “Picture all of us in the same boat. I know my success is in my teammates’ hands—and their success is in my hands. Owning our weaknesses, strengthening our strengths—and constantly asking ourselves what we can do better.” This is how former competitive rower Adam Wood describes a high-functioning team in Passing the Teamwork Test from Korn Ferry. A leader’s role is to foster that cohesion. Clear purpose + clear roles + trust = stronger teams and more consistent performance.
Move Skills Like Pieces on a Chessboard
Unum created a real-time “skills heat map” and redeployed nearly 400 employees into new roles during the major business disruption caused by the beginning of the pandemic. Companies can learn from this approach. Instead of seeing employees as fixed to a job title, think of them as skills assets that can shift as needs change—especially useful during high-demand seasons, equipment changes, or new product introductions.
HR Executive’s blog, The Skills Chess Game: How Unum Is Redeploying Talent in Real Time provides a case study of how this worked. “You can move [employees with needed skills] like on a chess board so that you maximize productivity… and drive your business strategy forward.” Our lesson here is to stop viewing talent as static. Build visibility into your workforce’s skills so you can redeploy faster, smarter, and internally—before turning to outside hiring.
Leadership Teams Matter (More Than You Think)
McKinsey’s research shows that leadership teams need more than operational experience—they need alignment, healthy conflict skills, clear decision processes, and the ability to adapt. One counterintuitive finding is that sometimes the “harmonious” leadership team may actually be underperforming because conflict resolution skills are absent. In their Demystifying Top Team Performance, another key finding is that “ For CEOs who are early in their tenure, having clear role definition and leveraging both external and internal perspectives are the standout predictors of top-team performance, while innovative thinking, communication, and psychological safety become more important as the CEO settles into the role.”
Instead of one-off team retreats, having a continuous improvement mindset proves to be better at predicting positive financial impact for teams. When leadership teams focus on learning together, issues get solved earlier, change lands cleaner, and communication becomes clearer across your business.
Wrap Up
So our goals should be to continuously strengthen your teams, make your skills deployment more agile, and invest in leadership that shifts with your strategy. If you’d like help assessing or improving your team dynamics or hiring strategy, feel free to reach out. I’m always glad to help. Let’s connect! Sign up for my twice-monthly newsletter. I share recruiting practices, professional and leadership development tips, and our latest opportunities. Are you (or someone you know) ready to take the next step in your career? Take a look at our complete listing of available opportunities.
