Everyone wants to say they work in a high-performing team. It’s the LinkedIn dream, right? Photos of post-it-filled walls, virtual high-fives, Slack emojis flying around. But the truth is, not everyone fits into these kinds of teams, and not every team is actually high-performing. Just because everyone’s busy doesn’t mean everyone’s aligned.
So how do you know if you’re the kind of person who thrives in a team that moves fast, pushes hard, and grows together?
This isn’t just about personality tests or job titles, it’s about self-awareness, shared values, and how you show up when things get uncomfortable. Whether you’re working in tech, media, education, or even within a social impact organization like Anutio, being on the right kind of team (and being the right kind of teammate) matters for everything from your mental health to your career trajectory.
What Makes a Team ‘High-Performing’?
Before you can figure out whether you belong, we need to first define what a high-performing team actually is. Spoiler: it’s not just about KPIs and deliverables.
According to MIT’s Human Dynamics Lab, high-performing teams have one thing in common: energy, engagement, and exploration. In other words, it’s about how people interact, not just what they do.
Here’s what usually shows up in these teams:
- Clarity of purpose. Everyone knows why they’re here.
- Mutual accountability. No hiding. Everyone owns their results.
- Psychological safety. People feel safe speaking up (see Google’s Project Aristotle).
- Healthy conflict and feedback loops. Disagreements happen, but they move the team forward.
Tools like Atlassian’s Team Health Monitor let you self-assess your team’s strengths and blind spots in areas like alignment, decision-making, and trust. And frameworks like Patrick Lencioni’s “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” are still gold for understanding why most teams fail.
If you’ve ever worked on a team where you actually looked forward to the Monday morning standup or had a teammate who pushed you to grow, you’ve probably tasted it.
Traits of People Who Thrive in These Teams
High-performing teams only work when they’re made up of people who are emotionally agile, curious, and self-managing.
You don’t have to be the loudest in the room, but you do need to bring the kind of energy that fuels momentum.
The kind of people who thrive in high-performing teams tend to have:
- A strong sense of self-awareness: They understand their triggers, their limits, and their unique value. As Tasha Eurich’s research shows, internal self-awareness changes the game for collaboration.
- A growth mindset: They don’t sulk when corrected, they listen, tweak, and try again. According to Carol Dweck’s work, this mindset leads to higher resilience and better performance over time.
- Excellent communication habits: They ask questions, seek clarity, and don’t avoid hard conversations. Tools like Crystal Knows can help you understand communication styles across your team.
- Emotional intelligence (EQ): The ability to regulate your emotions and empathize with others is more valuable than IQ in fast-moving teams. Daniel Goleman’s EQ framework breaks this down beautifully.
- Accountability without ego: They’re happy to celebrate wins, own their mistakes, and give credit generously. In fact, research from Gallup shows that accountability is one of the strongest predictors of engagement and performance.
You don’t need to tick every box, but if you read through that list and felt like “Yup, that’s me” or “I’m working on that”, you’re on the right path.
Red Flags: Signs You May Struggle in High-Performing Teams
Not everyone wants to be in a high-performing team and that’s okay. These environments aren’t for the faint-hearted. But if you’re constantly clashing with collaborative expectations, missing deadlines, or reacting defensively to feedback, it might be time to pause and reflect.
Here are a few signs you might find it hard to integrate:
- You avoid accountability or pass blame – A team is only as strong as its weakest accountability loop. If your instinct is to say “It wasn’t my fault,” you’ll slow everyone down.
- You find feedback threatening instead of helpful – According to Radical Candor, direct feedback given with care is essential for growth. If you shut down when challenged, that’s a roadblock.
- You need constant supervision or micromanagement – In high-performing teams, autonomy is sacred. Tools like Trello or Asana exist so everyone stays aligned without being hovered over.
- You often interrupt, dominate, or withhold info – Teams thrive on psychological safety and open communication. If your style shuts others down, you become the bottleneck.
If some of these feel familiar, don’t panic. Recognizing these patterns is the first step to unlearning them. High-performance isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being open to growth and change.
Can You Learn to Belong? Absolutely. Here’s How.
Let’s get this out of the way: you don’t need to be “born” for high-performing teams, you can grow into them. That’s the beauty of human potential. Most of the people you admire, the calm project manager, the collaborative designer and the visionary strategist learned how to show up like that over time.
Here’s how you can, too:
Start With Self-Reflection (and Honest Feedback)
Self-awareness is the foundation. Use tools like the Johari Window model to uncover the blind spots between how you see yourself and how others experience you. Even better? Ask for feedback through 360-degree reviews if your workplace offers it.
Ask questions like:
- What’s it like working with me when I’m under pressure?
- What’s one thing you wish I’d do more or less of?
Build Collaboration Skills Like a Muscle
Join cross-functional projects that push you to work with different people and personalities. Try low-stakes collaboration platforms like Slack’s huddle rooms, or lead a short sprint on Miro or Notion.
The more you build collaboration as a habit, the less intimidating it becomes. You’ll also learn how to communicate clearly, resolve tension, and co-create without drama.
Study People Who Thrive in Teams
Follow managers and culture designers who talk openly about team dynamics. I love what Julie Zhuo (former VP of Product Design at Facebook) shares about building teams, and how The Ready breaks down self-managing teams and team design in fast-paced companies.
You could also pick up “The Culture Map” by Erin Meyer, which breaks down why cross-cultural team friction happens and how to work through it.
Practice Small Acts of Psychological Safety
This doesn’t need to be dramatic. You build trust one conversation at a time:
- Admit when you’re confused.
- Ask a quieter teammate for their opinion.
- Say thank you for feedback, even when it stings.
According to Amy Edmondson’s research, these micro-moments are what make teams safe—and safety is the birthplace of performance.
Rewire How You Process Feedback
Let’s be honest. Getting feedback can feel like a personal attack if you weren’t raised in environments that encouraged it. But reframing feedback as a tool, not a threat, is key. Use the SBI method (Situation, Behavior, Impact) to deliver and receive feedback more objectively.
Even saying, “Can I sit with that for a bit?” is a professional and self-aware response that shows emotional maturity.
Why It Matters (and How to Find the Right Fit)
So… why go through all this reflection, rewiring, and work? Because the quality of the teams you belong to directly affects your career trajectory, your mental health, and your overall sense of meaning.
We spend a huge chunk of our lives working. The difference between dreading Monday and looking forward to it often comes down to team dynamics, not your actual job title.
Better Teams = Better Outcomes
In high-performing teams, you’ll learn faster, grow quicker, and take more meaningful risks. You’ll also get more visibility and promotion opportunities, because leaders trust people who show up as co-creators, not just task-doers.
As this McKinsey report on team performance shows, companies with strong team cultures report 2.5x higher productivity and retention. Translation: better teams build better careers.
It Helps You Say ‘No’ to the Wrong Work Environments
Not every workplace deserves you. If you value collaboration, growth, and shared wins, but you’re stuck in a toxic, top-down culture—you’ll burn out, shrink, or worse, lose your spark.
Tools like Culture Index, Team Dynamics Profiles, or even simple “vibes checks” during interviews can help you assess whether a company supports high-performance or just pretends to.
You can also use platforms like Glassdoor or Teamblind to hear directly from employees.
You Don’t Have to Force It, Just Align With It
The goal isn’t to become someone you’re not, it’s to become the most aligned version of you. If you’re someone who values excellence, connection, and making real impact, then yeah, you probably do belong on a high-performing team.
And if you’re still on your way there? Good news. The journey is the training. Every conversation, every uncomfortable feedback moment, every messy sprint, you’re building the muscle to belong.
