The value of a high-performing team has long been recognized. It’s why savvy investors in start-ups often value the quality of the team and the interaction of the founding members more than the idea itself. It’s why 90 percent of investors think the quality of the management team is the single most important nonfinancial factor when evaluating an IPO. And it’s why there is a 1.9 times increased likelihood of having above-median financial performance when the top team is working together toward a common vision.

“No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team,” is the way Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn cofounder, sums it up. Basketball legend Michael Jordan slam dunks the same point: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

Building a Team of High Achievers

So what’s a team of high achievers actually like?

The real key to a team of high achievers is to make sure that these people don’t compete with one another for resources, energy and attention. In particular, they have to be excited by the potential of what they are building and how it will make a difference to the world.

A team of high achievers also has to keep things moving forward quickly. They are very focused on defining and delivering on the results they’re looking for. They give themselves a sense of urgency to keep moving, working through issues and hitting milestones. And they’re very supportive of each other, often identifying opportunities to give each other the kind of pat on the back that they might not otherwise receive.

The Process for Building Teammates

We all possess the very similar basic abilities to solve problems and to think creatively, to apply intuition, to reflect, to reflect, to reflect.

Despite the odds stacked against any one individual in business, the chances for that individual to become a high-performing team member increase if they have the opportunity to learn and grow with other people.

The more willing people are to open their minds to the ideas of their peers, the more productive the company will be.

Getting there is surprisingly simple. According to Steve Keating, Ph.D., team development expert, most organizations take the wrong approach to team building. They focus on individual skill-sets and capabilities without recognizing that people respond to teams.

What You Need to Achieve Together

Some characteristics of a high-performing team are clear. Many, however, are not. Thus, to deliver sustained superior performance, it is imperative to plan your team’s high-performance requirements ahead of time, and to hold your team accountable.

You must ask yourself: How can we build a high-performing team? How will it achieve more together than either of us could achieve alone? What systems and processes must we create, and what must we protect? What does this team have to do to live up to its potential? How will we measure the impact that it has? Will everyone who participates in the team earn what they’ve invested? Is it sustainable?

Every organization needs a highly skilled team, and an even greater need is to build a high-performing team.

How to Create an Environment Where People Want to Show Up

Recognizing that excellence in our teams and organizations is achieved through an interaction with those around us, many leaders today are striving to ensure that they are able to attract, engage and retain their best employees by creating an organizational environment where employees want to show up.

For the leader, this means ensuring that employees have the proper tools and technologies to be productive, an environment where all employees feel safe to speak up, and ways to move throughout the organization from one function to another with the necessary support and help to be successful. For employees, it means the freedom to bring their full self to the table, supported by a supportive leadership team, and a mission that pushes them to strive for greatness.