Quick reality check :: Your team has different definitions of “great”
I want to tell you something I’ve seen in boardrooms, on pit road, and in leadership workshops from Charlotte to Chicago.
Your team isn’t struggling because they lack talent.
They’re struggling because they’re playing the same game, and often, by completely different rules.
Picture this.
Twelve leaders. One brand. One mission.
And zero behavioral alignment.
When I walked into the first session of a workshop with a recently merged leadership team, every person in that room believed they were operating from the same playbook because they were aligned to the objectives.
They’d sat in the same meetings. Heard the same vision. Nodded at the same slides.
But when I asked one simple question – “What does exceptional execution actually look, sound, and feel like on your team?” guess what I got? Yup, different answers.
That was the moment where I was able to shine a light on their Performance Assumption gap.
Interestingly, most leaders I work with aren’t struggling with objective, strategy, nor tactics alignment.
Their teams know the what. They believe in the why. They have named the who.
Where execution breaks down – every single time – is the how.
The unspoken expectations. The invisible standards we hold ourselves to and often project on to our colleagues. The unwritten rules about how we actually work together when the pressure is on.
I call these Performance Assumptions and they’re hiding on nearly every leadership and functional team I’ve ever encountered. Maybe you can relate??
A Performance Assumption is any unspoken expectation about how someone on your team should show up – that you’ve never actually agreed upon together.
Things like:
- “I assume we’re all fully prepared before we walk into a meeting.”
- “I assume your definition of timely is the same as mine.”
- “I assume when things get hard, we communicate proactively.”
- “I assume we have the same definition of excellent work.”
Everyone assumes. No one agrees because we rarely have this level of conversation on teams.
And in high-stakes moments such as acquisitions, leadership transitions, rapid growth, that gap between assumption and agreement is exactly where execution collapses.
In fact, McKinsey research shows fewer than 25% of executives feel their organizations are effectively aligned.
In racing, we never assumed the pit crew knew the strategy. The crew chief built alignment before the green flag dropped. Every strategy, every role, every contingency – agreed upon, out loud, on purpose, and, in some cases, even rehearsed back at the shop!
When your job is measured in seconds, you don’t have time to “hope” that your teammate is aligned on what each of you have to do and how you do it!
That’s the difference between Performance Assumptions and Performance Alignment.
Performance Alignment isn’t a values poster on a wall. It’s a behavioral agreement – a shared, specific, explicit framework for how your team will show up together.
Here’s a challenge I’d love for you to take on for yourself and/or your team:
⚡ ACTION STEP 1 – Individual Review:
Grab a notepad. Set a timer for five minutes.
Write down your answers to this question – without overthinking it:
1. If someone shadowed me for a full week, what behaviors would tell them I’m operating at my best?
⚡ ACTION STEP 2 – Team Exercise This Week:
Pull your team together for 20 minutes.
Ask them this one question:
“If someone were observing our team performing at our absolute best – what would they see? What would they hear? What would they feel?”
Let everyone write down their answers. Then, let them share (and, don’t correct anyone!).
Just listen for the gaps between their answers.
That’s where your Performance Assumptions are living. And that conversation alone will reveal more about your team’s alignment than any strategy document ever will.
This foundation is what I help leadership teams build through my E.P.I.C. Performance Alignment System – a four-part alignment model rooted in the four pillars – Excellence, Presence, Intentionality, Curiosity – that determine whether a team wins or stalls.
More on E.P.I.C. in the weeks ahead.
BONUS QUESTION :: What’s one assumption your team is operating on right now – that no one has ever said out loud?
Drop it below. I’d genuinely love to hear what surfaces for you.
Be E.P.I.C. 🏁