Step 3 of Releasing Business Agility: Building the Right Team for High Performance

Step 3 of Releasing Business Agility: Building the Right Team to Achieve Your Goals

In this article, I explore Step 3 of the Releasing Agility model – a framework I use with clients worldwide to help teams and organisations move smoothly and quickly towards their goals. This step is all about team alignment and capability.

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From Bright Ideas to Action

The first two steps are about painting a bright picture of the future and identifying the obstacles standing in your way. At this stage, you should have:

• A clear, compelling vision that motivates and excites.
• Measurable, time-bound goals.
• A plan to overcome the key obstacles between your current reality and your desired future.

With this clarity in place, you can now ask a tough but essential question:

“Is this the team to get it done?”

The Hard Truth About Teams

Nine times out of ten, leaders discover the answer is to "Is this the team to get it done?" is no—not quite. The team might be capable in some areas, but there may be gaps in skills, behaviours, or capacity. Or there are low performers not being managed effectively, or managers haven't done a great job in helping people flourish their skills.

If that’s the case, the next step is simple: plan for growth. This might include coaching, mentoring, learning paths, or reassigning roles. Sometimes it means performance management or even hiring new people.

The key is to act rather than ignore the gaps. A bright vision and a good plan are meaningless if the people executing them aren’t aligned or equipped to succeed.

Alignment is Everything

Whether in organisations or in our personal lives, Step 3 is about alignment:

• Do we have the right people in the right roles with the right capabilities?
• Do we know what high performance looks like and are we communicating it clearly?
• Are behaviours, culture, and accountability defined and reinforced?

High performance isn’t magic — it’s clear expectations plus consistent feedback about behaviours. Too often, people only hear about their performance in annual reviews. That’s not feedback; that’s a missed opportunity – and it's not fair on the employee either. Alignment requires ongoing communication and clarity – about the direction, about the role people play – and about their individual performance in their role.

Applying Step 3 Personally

This isn’t just for business. Ask yourself:

• Am I the right person to achieve this goal?
• Do I need to learn new skills or build new habits?
• Do I need to change roles, routines, or environments?

Personal growth is simply the individual version of building the right team. The principle is the same: identify gaps and take deliberate steps to fill them.

Storytelling Moves People

Once you have the right team you can move people into motion. People don’t act for goals; they act for stories and emotions.

A compelling story about your vision and the obstacles to overcome creates energy and engagement. When people see how their work contributes to the bigger picture, they bring focus, creativity, and effort naturally.

In other words:

When people feel something, they move. Emotion creates motion.

Why Step 3 Matters

Step 3 is the bridge between strategy and execution. It ensures your bright picture doesn’t stay a dream but becomes actionable reality. With the right people aligned, motivated, and equipped:

• Teams flourish.
• Engagement and energy rise.
• Obstacles are tackled efficiently.
• Value is delivered consistently.

And ultimately, the bright future you painted in Step 1 begins to materialise.

Step 3 is challenging because it forces honest reflection and action. But without it, even the clearest vision and most detailed plan will stall. Leaders who embrace this step create momentum, alignment, and lasting impact.

Takeaway:

Step 3 of Releasing Agility is about building the right team, ensuring alignment, and creating accountability.

It’s about asking hard questions, acting on gaps, and using stories to move people into action. Whether in business or in life, alignment is the difference between a vision that inspires and a vision that remains unrealised.