To stay competitive, business owners everywhere are increasingly recognizing that their greatest asset isn’t their products, services, or even their strategic plans…
It’s their people.
And a key driver of your people’s performance is your culture.
It’s critical for driving their engagement in your business. (Gallup 2025)
Interestingly, but not surprisingly, a McKinsey study revealed that 90% of employees research an organization’s culture before joining….
So these findings underscore a crucial truth – Your culture isn’t just important; it’s essential.
Essential for attracting and retaining top talent and enabling them to perform at their highest potential for you.
But what exactly does it take to grow a high-performance team culture?
After years of working with businesses across various industries—from elite sports teams to family businesses and major corporations—we’ve identified three fundamental pillars that form the foundation of any thriving team culture.
Let’s dive in!
1. Empowerment: Making Your People Stronger and More Confident
True empowerment goes beyond simply delegating tasks.
It involves creating an environment where team members feel both the freedom and the capability to make decisions, take initiative, and drive projects forward.
When leaders genuinely empower their teams, they’re essentially saying, “I trust your judgment and abilities.”
To empower your people, you need to begin with clear expectations.
Each team member needs to understand:
- Their specific responsibilities within the broader vision
- The thinking and behaviors expected in their role
- The performance outcomes they’re working toward
When these expectations are clearly communicated, team members gain the confidence to act autonomously while remaining aligned with your business goals. They no longer need constant direction or approval, allowing you to focus on strategic priorities rather than day-to-day operations.
The result? A team that takes ownership, innovates more freely, and responds more quickly to challenges and opportunities.
One Leadership Dynamics client reported that after implementing empowerment strategies, their team began proactively solving problems that previously would have escalated to management, saving countless hours and accelerating project timelines.
How are you at empowering your people?
How could you improve?
2. “Countability”: The Greatest Compliment Is Being Counted On
We use the term “Countability” (not accountability) deliberately, as coined by leadership guru, John Maxwell.
While traditional accountability often has negative connotations—what happens when expectations aren’t met, “Countability” focuses on the positive aspect: being someone others can count on.
And in a team, this is what gives it the edge.
In high-performance cultures, team members understand that reliability isn’t just about meeting deadlines or hitting targets. It’s about:
- Following through on commitments, large and small
- Communicating proactively when challenges arise
- Supporting colleagues to ensure collective success
- Maintaining consistent performance standards
When “countability” becomes embedded in a culture, something remarkable happens: teams begin to self-regulate.
They hold each other to high standards, not out of fear or obligation, but because they understand the impact of their work on the broader team.
As one business owner we work with observed, “The shift was subtle but profound. People started asking different questions—not ‘What do I need to do?’ but ‘What does the team need from me?’ That’s when I knew our culture had transformed.”
What would you score the level of “countability” in your business out of 10?
1 = It’s every man/woman for themselves. No one can be counted on. There is so much disunity and the business isn’t a nice place to be.
10 = My team is on fire! Everyone is 100% committed and gets things done well and on time and my team is always looking for ways to support the team.
3. Edification: You Can Promote Anyone But Yourself
The third pillar of high-performance cultures might be the most powerful yet often the most overlooked: Edification.
This principle recognizes that in the best teams, members actively build each other up, celebrate successes, and promote one another’s contributions, not their own.
Edification creates a glorious cycle of positive reinforcement. When team members consistently highlight each other’s strengths and accomplishments, amazing things happen:
- Confidence and morale improve across the business
- Collaboration increases as people seek opportunities to work together
- Silos break down as cross-functional appreciation grows
- Knowledge sharing accelerates, driving innovation
- Overall engagement and retention improve
One of our clients has implemented structured Edification practices during team meetings. The results were so positive that they expanded the practice to all departments, reporting significant improvements in cross-functional collaboration and overall team spirit.
How are you at edifying your people, either publicly or privately?
The Interconnected Nature of the Three Pillars
While each pillar is powerful on its own, the true magic happens when all three work together.
Empowerment without “Countability” can lead to chaos.
“Countability” without Edification can create a high-pressure environment without the emotional support needed for sustainable performance.
And Edification without the other elements can feel hollow or inauthentic.
Together, however, these pillars create a self-reinforcing system:
- Empowerment gives team members the autonomy to excel
- “Countability” ensures that this freedom is channeled productively
- Edification provides the positive reinforcement that motivates continued growth
Implementing the Three Pillars in Your Business
Building a high-performance culture doesn’t happen overnight. It requires deliberate effort, consistent reinforcement, and leadership commitment.
Here are some practical steps to begin embedding these pillars into your culture:
- Assess your current state: Honestly evaluate where your business stands relative to each pillar. Survey team members anonymously to get unfiltered feedback.
- Start with leadership alignment: Ensure your leadership team understands and commits to exemplifying the three pillars in their daily behaviors (and remember you as the business owner, need to lead these first and foremost by your actions)
- Create visible reminders: Develop simple visual cues or frameworks that keep these concepts top of mind for all team members.
- Incorporate into regular rhythms: Build practices around the three pillars into team meetings, one-on-one discussions, and performance reviews.
- Celebrate progress: Publicly recognize individuals and teams who exemplify these principles, creating positive momentum.
As John Maxwell wisely noted, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”
By intentionally building a culture founded on Empowerment, “Countability,” and Edification, leaders create an environment where teams don’t just perform—they thrive.
In a business landscape where attracting and retaining top talent is increasingly challenging, businesses that master these three pillars gain a significant competitive advantage.
They become places where people want to work, grow, contribute their best efforts, and stay for the long term.
Remember: what doesn’t get inspected doesn’t get respected.
Building a high-performance culture requires ongoing attention and reinforcement.
But the results—engaged teams, improved performance, and sustainable growth—make it one of the most valuable investments you can make.
