Moshe’s Blog

Create a Potent 5-Star Leadership Team for Your Organization

Getting Past Barriers to 5-Star Team Performance

Here are three big challenges that I see with leadership teams I coach toward top performance:

1. There is not a clear vision, which makes it hard for the team to cohesively align and even know what “5-Star” results look like.

2. Team members don’t feel seen or valued, so they jockey for recognition, avoid risks, or check out entirely.

3. Hard conversations don’t happen. This leads to all kinds of misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and power struggles.

If you want a 5-Star leadership team, addressing these powerful impediments is of course necessary – and it’s not sufficient. Unless and until you deal with the culture and work environment that allow and sustain them, your “fixes” are unlikely to stick. Here are 12 practices from my love-powered leadership system to stimulate you and your team to achieve 5-star performance. For much more, check out the book The Amare Wave: Uplift Your Business by Putting Love to Work.

12 Amare Action Steps to Create a Potent 5-Star Leadership Team

1. Provide clear vision. Co-create a bold and concise vision statement that resonates with your team’s aspirations and goals, and also defines 5-Star leadership team performance. Fully commit to it and require its use to guide priorities and key decisions.

2. Build trust and accountability. Implement a peer-review system with psychological safety built-in, where team members can give and receive constructive feedback on their contributions and shortcomings, fostering a culture of transparency and mutual accountability.

3. Identify your team’s “bungee cords.” Brainstorm with your team to identify the top environmental factors and cultural norms that prevent your team from being 5-Star. These bungee cords will pull you back to lower performance if not remediated.

4. Focus as much on “being” as on “doing”. Introduce leadership coaching and mindfulness practices such as walking meditations, to help leaders balance action with introspection and presence.

5. Always strive to uplift and connect. Start each team meeting with a moment dedicated to celebrating individual or team successes, creating an uplifting atmosphere that strengthens connections.

6. Be vulnerable and authentic. Schedule regular “open mic” sessions where leaders can share personal stories of challenges and failures, highlighting lessons learned and encouraging team empathy and solidarity.

7. Skill up for hard conversations. Provide training and support for your leadership team to identify and have those difficult conversations that impede alignment and progress if avoided.

8. Tell the truth always. Create a monthly “State of the Team” report that transparently addresses challenges, achievements, and the steps being taken to improve, maintaining honesty at all levels.

9. Cultivate self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Organize quarterly workshops focused on emotional intelligence, including self-reflection exercises and techniques for managing emotions effectively in leadership.

10. Recognize and leverage each person’s genius. Invite everyone to identify their superpowers and to get feedback from colleagues. Then design leadership roles to leverage those powers.

11. Exercise empathy and compassion. Establish a support fund or program that leaders can access to assist team members facing personal or professional challenges, demonstrating compassion and empathy in action.

12. Do visible gratitude. Implement a “gratitude wall” where team members can post notes of thanks and appreciation for their colleagues, fostering a culture of gratitude and recognition. If you’re a fully remote workforce, do this virtually!

Becoming a 5-Star leadership team isn’t just about adopting a set of practices; it’s about nurturing a philosophy that champions clarity and commitment, builds trust and accountability, and cultivates open hearts and minds.

As you integrate these 12 steps into your organization’s leadership, remember that the journey is as much about transforming yourself as it is about guiding your team.

Commit to creating spaces where trust, purpose, and connection flourish. When every member of your team feels valued and empowered to become a key contributor, you will have your potent 5-star leadership team.

Lead with the Most Effective Version of You & Your Team

I coach and advise executives and leadership teams on identifying and being the best version of themselves, through the Amare Way of love-powered leadership. For more information, contact me here.