Howdy, Zack here.

I don't know a team that wouldn't love to operate at its Peak Performance — a business or sports team. Yet, many teams often overlook the power of trust between their members.

Just think about your experience as a team member when there was a lack of trust. How did you feel about showing up each day? Did you come to the table with your best ideas? Were you willing to work through difficult moments together? 🙅

If you played sports, how well did your team perform when you didn't trust your teammates or coaches? Did that team win your season championship? I highly doubt it. More importantly, did you enjoy that season? I doubt that too.

Don't just take it from me. From a recent study shared in the Harvard Business Review, "People at high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, and 40% less burnout than people at low-trust companies."

I've seen this trust/performance dynamic in numerous companies I've built and coached. Without trust, everything is harder. It's not impossible for low-trust companies to perform well, but most of them are unhappy and burnout prone. That's due to a lack of open and honest communication, unresolved issues, and egos coming before the team. On the other hand, high-trust teams with low performance can grow with the right strategy, guidance, and resources to unlock their full potential. If you're a low-trust/low-performing team, then you have serious issues that should be addressed today.

As Steven M.R. Covey shared in his bestseller, The Speed of Trust, "Trust always affects two outcomes—speed and cost. When trust goes down, speed will also go down, and costs will go up."
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Here are three ways to move to the upper right quadrant:

3 WAYS

• Look at yourself first — 'the fish rots from the head down'.
  ​If you're in a leadership role, you must lead by example. Your intentions don't mean anything without action.
• Build a bedrock of trust throughout your team.
  ​High trust must be essential at every level of your organization and among your partners.
• Strengthen your Business OS to create a foundation for high trust.
  ​Go from an Accidental OS to an Integrated OS, and you'll benefit from time-tested methods of top-performing teams.

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3 FAVES

1. ​Gumroad — Learn from creators worldwide and share your tools.
2. ​Circle Plus — Launch your own branded community app.
3. ​Notion — Level up your team wiki or create a custom tool.

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Until next Wednesday, envision what your Top Performing team will look and feel like! 😄