Some might say the key to building high-performing teams lies in setting SMART goals, establishing a clear vision, and crafting a multi-year strategy. Others might argue it’s about defining the right team charter, establishing stretch goals, or providing continuous feedback and development opportunities to push people forward. While these are undoubtedly essential elements, they are not the core of what truly makes a team excel.
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The reality is much simpler. What we truly need are two things: Integrity and Being Human.
Let me tell you a story.
When I worked for a small startup called DueDil, we faced a significant challenge: building and deploying a new API for all our customers, who were financial institutions with large and complex businesses. This multi-half program required careful planning, execution, migration, and deployment plans to avoid production incidents for our customers.
Our team was small—just four software engineers. But what we lacked in numbers, we made up for in trust and dedication. On deployment day, we were ready with plans A, B, and even C. We had rollback strategies, deployment strategies, and metrics in place. This wasn’t just a team; it was a dream team. It also proved that you don’t need 20 people to create a real business and customer impact. What you need is trust.
As we reached the culmination moment and pressed the button to switch all customers to the new system, we kept our eyes glued to the dashboards. As with any major production deployment, we hit a snag. Problems started unravelling quickly, but our meticulous planning paid off. We managed to get the situation under control by rolling back one of the batches, patching the Redis issues, and continuing forward with the rest of the release.
In hindsight, it was a slight hiccup with no real impact. We handled the situation well, and by the end of the day, all customers were on the new API—more scalable, more performant, and a significant win for the business. This API became one of the core products, generating 40% of the company’s global revenue.
But what made this experience truly special wasn’t just the technical success — the people sitting together and sticking through this process. We had a clear execution plan, knew our roles and responsibilities, and were selfless. We were united in our goal to do good, deliver, and create value, not for ourselves but for others.
Once all was done, one team member took out a guitar, another produced a bottle of wine, and we celebrated. It was a moment of reflection that felt special, bringing us closer together.
This story illustrates the power of Integrity and Being Human in building high-performing teams.
In our case, integrity meant staying true to our commitment to deliver a quality product, even when faced with challenges. It meant being honest about our problems and working together to solve them. Integrity in a team setting looks like this:
- Transparent communication, even when things go wrong
- Consistency between words and actions
- Accountability at all levels
- Ethical decision-making, prioritizing long-term success over quick fixes
When team members operate with integrity, it creates a foundation of trust that allows for more open collaboration, innovative problem-solving, and resilience in the face of challenges.
Creating Trust: The Heart of Connection
Our celebration after the deployment wasn’t just about the technical win and recognizing our shared trust. Creating trust in a team means:
- Acknowledging that we’re more than just our roles or job titles
- Celebrating successes together
- Supporting each other through challenges
- Recognizing individual contributions and strengths
- Creating space for personal connections beyond work
When team members feel seen and valued as whole people, they’re more likely to bring their full selves to work, leading to increased creativity, engagement, and commitment to shared goals.
The Synergy of Integrity and Trust
When integrity and humanity are combined, you create an environment where people feel safe taking risks, sharing ideas, and collaborating openly. High performance becomes a natural outcome rather than a forced goal.
In this atmosphere:
- Conflicts are addressed constructively because there’s mutual respect and trust.
- Innovation thrives as people feel comfortable sharing unconventional ideas without fear of ridicule or rejection.
- Resilience increases because the team supports each other through challenges, knowing they have a safety net of understanding and respect.
- Retention improves as team members feel valued and connected to their work and colleagues, leading to long-term commitment and loyalty.
In Big Tech, the emphasis often lies on outcomes, business impact, and results, sometimes at the expense of the individual. Company culture can disregard the person behind the work, pulling us into a reality where we forget to be human and lose our integrity. But these are the very foundations that underpin success for any team, group, or organization.
The Reality of Big Tech vs. True Team Success
In Big Tech, the emphasis is often on outcomes, business impact, and results. However, company culture can sometimes disregard the person and the individual. Being pulled into that reality, we sometimes forget about being human and lose our integrity. However, these are precisely the underpinnings of success for any group, team, or organization.
Our experience at DueDil shows remarkable things can happen when you prioritize trust, integrity, and trust. A small team of four can achieve what larger teams might struggle with, creating significant business impact and forming bonds beyond the workplace.
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Read more about Engineering Culture in MAANG (Big Tech), ⚡Newsletter, Twitter and LinkedIn for more Career, Leadership and Growth advice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, building high-performing teams isn’t about complex frameworks or pushing people to their limits. It’s about creating an environment where people trust each other implicitly, integrity is non-negotiable, and achievements are celebrated. The goals, strategies, and performance naturally follow when these elements are in place. When people feel truly seen, trusted, and connected, there’s no limit to what they can achieve together.
So, if you want to build a high-performing team, start by fostering integrity and trust. The rest will follow, and you might find yourself with a dream team that delivers results, creates lasting memories, and impacts far beyond the bottom line.
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