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28 December 2025 · 4 min · Ashley Leach | Founder, Leda

High Performing Team Training

Most team training focuses on the team. We focus on the leaders who shape it. Based on 500,000+ reflections from 8,000+ emerging leaders.

High performing teams don't happen by accident. They're built by leaders who know how to create trust, give effective feedback, and foster accountability.

That takes more than a workshop.

WHAT THE DATA SHOWS
Based on 500,000+ reflections from 8,000+ emerging leaders at MYOB, Supagas, Camp Quality and others, three patterns dominate: (1) Feedback fails when defensiveness kicks in, (2) Accountability breaks down when expectations are unclear, (3) Trust is built through small, consistent actions — not grand gestures.

What Makes Teams High Performing

Research consistently points to the same seven characteristics of high performing teams. Here are the qualities that matter most:

74%
less stress in high-trust companies
Plus 106% more energy and 50% higher productivity

Trust isn't a nice-to-have. It's the foundation. People in high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, and 76% more engagement than those in low-trust environments.

Psychological safety means team members feel safe to voice ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear of punishment. Without it, diverse perspectives stay hidden and problems go unraised until they're too big to ignore.

Accountability means everyone knows what's expected of them. They have the skills to deliver. They've committed to the outcome. And they receive ongoing feedback on how they're tracking.

Effective feedback happens when teams maintain a ratio of three positive interactions for every corrective one. Feedback isn't saved for annual reviews — it happens daily, in the moment, and strengthens rather than threatens.

Communication is what leaders spend up to 80% of their day doing. Yet poor communication remains the main reason people disengage, produce less, and struggle to work with others.

Why One-Day Workshops Don't Build This

Most leadership training happens in a burst. Two days of energy, insight, good intentions. Then everyone goes back to work.

THE FORGETTING CURVE
Learners forget 50-70% of new material within 24 hours. After a week, retention drops to 10-20%. You cannot build lasting skills in a single session.

You can't build trust in a day. You can't rewire how someone gives feedback in an afternoon. And you definitely can't create lasting accountability through a slide deck.

The skills that build high performing teams are habits. Habits take time. They need practice, reinforcement, and support over months — not hours.

How Leda Develops Leaders Who Build High Performing Teams

Leda's Emerging Leaders Program develops the leadership capabilities that create high performing teams.

The curriculum

Over 6-9 months, participants work through structured journeys that build:

1
Trust and psychological safety

Understanding what creates it, and what destroys it.

2
Clear communication

Active listening, perspective-taking, and working through interpersonal tension.

3
Constructive feedback

Using models that reduce defensiveness and increase impact.

4
Accountability

How to set expectations, follow through, and hold productive conversations when things go off track.

5
Shared goals and purpose

Connecting daily work to meaning and maintaining alignment over time.

6
Resilience and growth mindset

Building the capacity to recover from setbacks and see challenges as opportunities.

7
Team culture

The daily behaviours that shape how teams work together.

The method

Each day includes a short activity. Around 10 minutes. Not busywork — real practice tied to the skill being developed.

Over weeks and months, small actions become habits. Habits become how people lead.

Monthly mentoring sessions keep participants on track. They reflect on progress, work through obstacles, and prepare for what's next. This isn't something people complete and forget. The structure holds them through the hard parts.

The results

Completion rates of 88-98%, compared to 3-15% for typical digital learning.

Behaviour change visible to managers and peers. Participants promoted. Long-term partnerships.

The Science Behind the Approach

Leda's methodology was co-developed with Professor Anne Lytle, who spent 30 years teaching leadership at Kellogg, Melbourne Business School, and Monash University, where she served as Professor and Director of Leadership.

Her research background — neurobiology and behaviour (Cornell), organisational behaviour (Kellogg PhD) — shaped the science-based approach that underpins the platform. Professor Lytle is a past-president of the International Association for Conflict Management and has consulted to organisations including ANZ, Boeing, Qantas, Telstra, and the United Nations.

RECOGNISED METHODOLOGY
The methodology was recognised by AACSB's Innovations That Inspire — the global standard-setting body for business education that accredits Harvard, Wharton, INSEAD, and London Business School.

Proof It Works

Supagas

Industrial, 1,000+ employees

150+ participants developed across 4+ years. 70% increase in program applications. 10% of the total organisation trained.

I have witnessed a remarkable improvement in our overall team dynamics and collaboration. The training has given participants the confidence to address challenges head-on and create positive work environments. The transformation in their leadership styles has been remarkable, leading to increased productivity and engagement.

Luke Wilson, National Learning and Development Manager

MYOB

Tech, 3,000+ employees

264+ participants developed across 5 years. 50% of the 2020 cohort promoted. 98% completion rate in 2023.

How they grow in their existing role, and show fantastic willingness to help take some of the responsibilities away from me. This helps me focus on the right things.

MYOB Line Manager

Camp Quality

Non-profit, 65 staff

21 team leaders trained. 30% of participants promoted. Organisational engagement score increased from 84% to 89%.

It's been amazing, you've made an amazing contribution to the organisation.

Natalie Gallagher, GM People & Culture

How It Connects to Your Team

High performing teams are the outcome. Developing your emerging leaders is how you get there.

When leaders know how to build trust, give feedback effectively, and hold people accountable with clarity and respect, the team performs. Not because of a workshop they attended once, but because of how they lead every day.

The Emerging Leaders Program is for:

First-time managers learning to lead

High-potentials preparing for leadership

Team leads and supervisors already in role but without formal development

Frontline managers who shape culture, performance, and retention

Related reading

7 Characteristics of High Performing Teams — The traits and qualities that research consistently identifies

Emotional Intelligence Training — The foundation skill for all leadership development

Psychological Safety Training — How to create environments where people speak up

Difficult Conversations Training — Skills for navigating feedback, conflict, and accountability

Resilience Training — Building leaders who sustain performance under pressure

Learn about the Emerging Leaders Program →

Program at a Glance
FormatOnline, with live monthly mentor sessions in small cohorts
Duration6 or 9-month Emerging Leaders Program
Time commitmentAround 10 minutes daily, plus monthly 90-minute group sessions
Completion rate88-93% (industry average for self-paced: 5-15%)
Methodology developed with Monash Business School. Recognised by AACSB's Innovations That Inspire.

Frequently Asked Questions

Team building workshops create temporary energy. We develop the leadership skills that sustain high performance over time. The focus isn't on activities or offsites — it's on building the habits that shape how leaders show up every day.

6-9 months. Research shows spaced learning significantly outperforms intensive workshops. Effect sizes jumped from 0.71 to 0.88 when learning was spread out rather than compressed.

Yes. Some organisations run cohorts from across the business. Others develop leaders within specific teams or divisions. The program works for both.

88-98% on average. The cohort model creates accountability that self-paced learning can't match. Industry benchmarks for self-paced digital learning sit at 3-15%.

At MYOB, line managers reported participants showing "fantastic willingness to help take responsibilities away from me." At Camp Quality, real changes showed up during the program — in how leaders gave feedback, handled conflict, and communicated. This isn't about satisfaction scores. It's about observable shifts in how people lead.

Yes. One healthcare tech client runs the program fully remote across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK — three countries, three time zones. Both their cohorts hit 100% completion.

Tags:leadershipteam performanceemerging leadershigh performing teams

Leaders aren't born. They begin with a chance, and the structure to grow.

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