High Performance vs. High Value Teams What Leaders Need to Know
- Jerome Dickey
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Is Your Leadership Team Just Performing—Or Creating Value That Lasts?
Imagine two leadership teams.
Both have smart people at the table. Both meet regularly. Both achieve their quarterly KPIs.
But only one will still be relevant—and thriving—five years from now.
What makes the difference?
It’s not intelligence. It’s not collaboration. It’s not even performance.
The difference is value creation.
The Quiet Risk of Being High-Performing
Most executive teams are built to perform. They track metrics. Often they make tough decisions. Sometimes they collaborate well and communicate effectively.
But in a world defined by constant change, global complexity, and rising stakeholder expectations, high performance is no longer the goal—it’s the baseline.
This is the insight that Peter Hawkins, one of the world’s leading voices in systemic team coaching, has brought to hundreds of leadership teams across the globe:
“The ultimate purpose of a leadership team is not to serve itself, nor even just the organization—but to serve the future of the system it is part of.”
The Problem Most Teams Don’t See
Too many senior teams become inward-focused. They solve internal problems, smooth over interpersonal tension, and optimize for the short term. All while the world around them—markets, customers, technology, policy, environment—is changing at a pace they can’t control.
They might feel productive. But they’re no longer creating value.
And they don’t realize it until it’s too late.
The Shift: From High-Performing to High-Value Teams
What’s the alternative?
A high-value creating team doesn’t just operate efficiently. It lifts its eyes to the horizon. It listens intently to the system it serves—customers, partners, regulators, communities. It adjusts and evolves. And it generates lasting, measurable value well beyond the boardroom.
It’s not about abandoning performance. It’s about anchoring it in purpose and broadening your field of impact.
Real Example: A Tale of Two Teams
Let’s look at two real-world examples.
Team A is a high-functioning executive team in a well-known tech firm. They track their OKRs religiously. Their meetings are on time, structured, and efficient. But they rarely engage with external stakeholders. They focus mostly on internal alignment.
Team B, in a similar company, does something different. Every quarter, they bring in customer voices. They make time to talk with regulators, suppliers, and front-line employees. They use that insight to shape strategy and innovation. They still perform—but with a wider lens.
Three years later, Team A is dealing with declining relevance and talent turnover. Team B has become known as an industry leader—adaptable, purpose-driven, and resilient.
What Makes a High-Value Team?
According to Hawkins, high-value teams develop across five key disciplines:
Commissioning – Know why the team exists and who it serves (beyond internal KPIs).
Clarifying – Define goals, roles, and team agreements.
Co-Creating – Build high levels of trust and shared responsibility.
Connecting – Actively engage external stakeholders and align with system needs.
Core Learning – Continually reflect and improve.
Most teams stop at discipline #3.
4. Connecting – Actively engage external stakeholders and align with system needs. | 5. Core Learning – Continually reflect and improve. |
Why This Matters to Boards and CEOs
In Hawkins’ research and practice, leadership teams that consistently engage with their broader ecosystem and align with a shared purpose:
Outperform their peers by up to 30% over the long term
Navigate disruption more effectively
Attract and retain better talent
Build deeper stakeholder trust
In other words: this is not just a nice idea—it’s your future competitive advantage.
So… What Can You Do About It?
Here’s where it gets practical. Below are five real-world practices that can begin shifting your team from inwardly focused to outwardly impactful.
🛠️ 1. Revisit Your Team’s Purpose
Ask your executive team:
“Why do we exist as a team?”
“Who do we serve beyond this organization?”
“If we disappeared tomorrow, who would miss us—and why?”
Write your team’s purpose in one sentence. If it doesn’t include stakeholders or a systemic goal, you’re not yet playing at the value level.
🗺️ 2. Map Your Stakeholders—and Engage Them
Every leadership team should have a living stakeholder map.
Identify your top 10 stakeholders (internal and external).
Rate your current relationship and level of engagement with each.
Choose two to build deeper partnerships with this quarter.
Bonus: Invite one of them to your next strategy session.
🔍 3. Audit Your Strategic Focus
Take a look at your last 5 major leadership team meetings. Ask:
How much of our time was focused on internal performance vs. external value?
Did we hear any stakeholder voices?
Were we solving today’s problem—or designing for tomorrow?
🧭 4. Use the “Future-Back” Lens
In your next strategy retreat, ask:
“It’s 2030. Our customers and communities are thriving. What did we do between now and then to make that possible?”
Now work backward.
This future-back thinking helps uncover blind spots and clarify investments that matter now.
🤝 5. Work With a Systemic Team Coach
A skilled systemic team coach will:
Help your team surface unspoken patterns
Challenge assumptions
Strengthen your collective intelligence
Support you in aligning with long-term, stakeholder-driven value
They won’t just improve your team’s behavior—they’ll help you transform your leadership impact.
The Hard Truth: Efficiency Is Not Enough
In the words of Peter Hawkins:
“The leadership team must lead beyond the team—it must be a catalyst for transformation, not just for itself, but for the whole organization and the wider ecosystem.”
As an executive and leadership coach, I see many leaders I work with being too focused on their team, minimizing leadership self-development and the organizational system when all are pieces to move from high performing to high value.
You’re not being asked to abandon high performance.
You’re being invited to amplify it—by creating value where it matters most.
What Kind of Leadership Team Will You Be?
If you’re a CEO, founder, or board member, this is the moment to ask:
Are we meeting performance metrics—or building something that will truly matter five years from now?
High-performing is good.
High-value is where the future lives.
Jerome Dickey
Comments