Leading High-Performing Teams: Building Resilient Cultures in the New Normal
By Ryan Fattini, Vice President Data Analytics & AI, CITY Furniture
As pressure mounts to perform in a post-COVID workforce, many leaders are struggling to find an effective path forward. Generational blaming, remote vs. in-office tribalism, and panicky micromanagement are everywhere—but unsurprisingly, these tactics aren’t working. In response, social media has become a feedback loop for a growing rebellion of disconnected employees, with trends like quiet quitting and lazy-girl jobs sparking counter-trends like quiet firing. Together, they’re converging into one of the most toxic work environments in recent memory.
Unfortunately, leaders respond to these dynamics with heavy handed decisions, often based on where they think the balance of power lies. This approach is deeply flawed, as most of these factors are beyond a leader’s control, similar to attempts at controlling a weather variable in a marketing model. Instead, leaders need to focus on what they can control. Here are five areas within a leader’s reach that will drive high performance.
Leadership isn’t just about delegating tasks; it’s about embodying the standards you expect. Take inspiration from a well-known principle: ‘Don’t ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.’
1. Map Individual Career Goals to Business Objectives
Executive leaders should have a clear vision translated to an executable roadmap that drives them toward the enterprise goal for their department and team. But what about those doing the driving? What does their personal direction look like?
A high-performing team operates best when personal ambitions align with company goals. Leaders should take time to understand each team member’s career goals and develop a growth plan that fuels organizational success. As an example, there was an analyst (let’s call him Jay) who presented an idea by holding up a napkin with what looked like scribbles in pen on it. Squinting into the zoom camera, I realized this was a mathematical optimization problem. Jay had an idea to optimize DC transfers and the formula was the initial argument. However, Jay wasn’t on the data science team or part of the Supply Chain modernization initiative. Through conversations, I learned that he was studying advanced optimization and aspired to be part of the data science initiative. So, we quickly realigned Jay’s direction within the organization and mapped his ambitions to the current initiatives. The results were remarkable.
2. Empower Personal Branding and Growth
A key piece of aligning individual career goals and enterprise objectives is encouraging team members to build their individual brands. This means leaders are helping individuals grow their influence by boosting their digital footprints, content sharing, volunteering, networking, and skill building. This creates a more resilient career for the employee and a far more engaged employee for the enterprise. Everyone has a story to tell. From the intern to the Principle, everyone has an experience worth sharing that others will relate to and find value in. Leaders should encourage them to tell it.
Jay’s napkin presentation worked because that specific technical audience understood the scribbling, but this was not an effective communication medium. As technical leaders, it is our job to translate these types of gory details into simple business outcomes, but this is also an opportunity. In Jay’s case, it helped him develop a communication skill set. This meant putting Jay into uncomfortable situations to communicate his ideas to a broader audience while looping in feedback to improve. The results were that a more confident and well-rounded analyst enthusiastically drove outcomes for the business.
3. Complimentary Errors: Building Chemistry with Diverse Strengths
Who a leader brings to the team may be one of the most important decisions they make. Team chemistry isn’t about homogeneity; it’s about balancing diverse strengths. The concept of “complementary errors” shows that when individuals with different strengths work together, they cover each other’s gaps. Teams that understand and embrace each other’s skills and weaknesses can tackle complex challenges with agility.
When we moved Jay to the data science team, the first thing he asked me was, ‘what are your expectations’. I told him I expected him to fail. He seemed confused naturally. I explained he constantly hits every bullseye from a thousand yards away. His intense focus and discipline made him one of the best closers. Now I wanted him to take a shot three thousand yards out. We had a machine learning engineer (let’s call her Ruby) on the team who was a risk taking disrupter, and that persona complimented nicely with Jay’s. When coaching Jay, I would explain that he needs to incorporate some of Ruby’s risk-taking into his toolset, and when talking to Ruby, I would explain that she needs to learn how to dial back and hyperfocus like Jay. This strategy results in a multiplicative effect on the team that accelerates performance to new heights.
4. Lead By Example
Leadership isn’t just about delegating tasks; it’s about embodying the standards you expect. Take inspiration from Sonny in A Bronx Tale: “I won’t ask any of my men to do something I wouldn’t do myself.” This model of leading by example builds trust and loyalty, setting a standard that team members respect and follow. This doesn’t mean consistently digging into the weeds of every problem, it means to share in the sacrifice. Work life balance is arguably the most important consideration for any leader. However, there are times when an extra push is needed, and some grit is applied to get a critical project over the finish line. A leader needs to step in in those instances and commit to the objective at least as much- if not more- than the team.
This meant, at times, whiteboarding late into the blurry hours of the night with Jay and the team to break through a tough problem. When the team is under the most stress the leader should be the most available.
5. Optimal Delegation: Recognize Expertise and Share Credit
True delegation is more than just passing tasks along; it’s knowing who’s best suited for a job and empowering them to excel. Consider the example from a scene in the movie Oppenheimer. During a physics lecture, Oppenheimer concisely laid out a revolutionary concept for black holes, but he knew one of his students could handle complex calculations better. By delegating to the student, he didn’t just leverage his student’s strengths, he recognized them publicly, sharing in the success. Leaders who acknowledge contributions foster a sense of ownership and pride that fuels high performance. And this wasn’t just an example of optimal delegation, or even an example of team recognition. This was more than just a pat on the back. The power here was Oppenheimer’s ability to elevate the student to a new standing. Delegation is a way to elevate people and position them to achieve their goals, and they, in turn, will be happy to give their all.
Each of these principles represents a controllable, timeless approach to team performance that goes beyond surface debates. Leaders who embrace them not only create resilient teams but also inspire a lasting loyalty and commitment to success in any environment. Jay went on to complete the optimization model, and with assistance from Ruby, it was deployed with great success, contributing to his growth and the business.