Insight       29 January 2025

The Performance Flywheel Effect

How High Performers Accelerate Team Success 

Have you ever wondered why some teams have all the talent and success? It's a phenomenon I call "the Performance Flywheel Effect." Like a flywheel that builds momentum with each turn, each high performer adds energy that accelerates the team's success. 

How the Flywheel Gains Momentum

When high performers join a team, they set something powerful in motion. Here's how the flywheel builds speed: 
1. The Challenge Multiplier 

High performers naturally raise the bar. They bring new challenges, fresh perspectives, and higher standards, creating an environment where everyone starts pushing boundaries and lifting standards. Like a flywheel gaining momentum, each new challenge builds upon the last. 

2. Accelerated Growth 

Working alongside high performers speeds up everyone's development. Knowledge transfers faster, skills sharpen quicker, and the learning curve steepens—in the best possible way. One person's insights become everyone's stepping stones. 

3. Energy Amplification

High performers bring an infectious energy. Their drive, curiosity, and determination energise those around them. This heightened energy feeds back into the flywheel, making each rotation more potent than the last. 

4. Innovation Velocity 

When high performers cluster, ideas collide and combine in unexpected ways. Solutions emerge faster. Innovation becomes the norm, not the exception. Each breakthrough adds momentum to the flywheel. 

5. Magnetic Pull 

Success attracts success. As the flywheel spins faster, it naturally draws in more high performers who want to be part of this growth environment. Each new addition accelerates the momentum further. 

How the Flywheel Gains Momentum

When high performers join a team, they set something powerful in motion. Here's how the flywheel builds speed: 
1. The Challenge Multiplier
High performers naturally raise the bar. They bring new challenges, fresh perspectives, and higher standards, creating an environment where everyone starts pushing boundaries and lifting standards. Like a flywheel gaining momentum, each new challenge builds upon the last. 
2. Accelerated Growth
Working alongside high performers speeds up everyone's development. Knowledge transfers faster, skills sharpen quicker, and the learning curve steepens—in the best possible way. One person's insights become everyone's stepping stones. 
3. Energy Amplification
High performers bring an infectious energy. Their drive, curiosity, and determination energise those around them. This heightened energy feeds back into the flywheel, making each rotation more potent than the last. 
4. Innovation Velocity
When high performers cluster, ideas collide and combine in unexpected ways. Solutions emerge faster. Innovation becomes the norm, not the exception. Each breakthrough adds momentum to the flywheel. 
5. Magnetic Pull
Success attracts success. As the flywheel spins faster, it naturally draws in more high performers who want to be part of this growth environment. Each new addition accelerates the momentum further. 

The Compound Effect

The beauty of the Performance Flywheel lies in its compound effect, with each turn building momentum and increasing speed naturally over time. 
To keep the flywheel spinning, organisations need to remove the friction that slows high performance by creating space for brilliance, letting stars shine and encouraging everyone to feel that they can shine (and not be threatened by others doing the same). 
Trust acts as a lubricant for the flywheel. High performers trust other high performers to lift each other and support collective acceleration. When trust exists, the flywheel spins faster and more efficiently.

The Compound Effect

The beauty of the Performance Flywheel lies in its compound effect, with each turn building momentum and increasing speed naturally over time. 
To keep the flywheel spinning, organisations need to remove the friction that slows high performance by creating space for brilliance, letting stars shine and encouraging everyone to feel that they can shine (and not be threatened by others doing the same). 
Trust acts as a lubricant for the flywheel. High performers trust other high performers to lift each other and support collective acceleration. When trust exists, the flywheel spins faster and more efficiently.

Further Reading