How to Raise Performance Without Burning Out Your Team
Why the obvious doesn't work when the stakes are high — and what to do instead.
👋 Howdy! Claire here, Founder & CEO of Canopy. This week, I’m running a live training session for a company on this very topic: How to raise performance, especially when the stakes are high and your team is on the verge of burnout. And so I thought I’d also share my thoughts here.
Would love to know what you think of this piece, and if you find it useful, please consider sharing this piece with a friend or colleague who you think might enjoy as well…
Imagine asking someone to sprint uphill with a backpack on.
How loud should you yell to get them to go faster?
If you cringed at the visual — the idea of shouting at someone in an attempt to spur better performance — I'm with you.
And yet, as leaders, it sadly can feel like “the only option” when the pressure's on. When you're launching a new product, entering a new market, or facing an unfamiliar challenge, the instinct is to issue the directive and hope it gets done: “Go faster.” “Do more.” “Step up.”
But what's the alternative?
This is the question I've been hearing more often from senior leaders lately, especially those facing high-stakes moments at their companies. We need our teams to rise to the occasion… but many of our team members have never done what's being asked. We don't want to push people so hard they collapse under the weight.
It's a precarious position. Stakes are high, margin for error feels slim, and your team is tired.
How in the world do you raise performance, without burning people out in the process?
Why this is genuinely hard
The challenge of trying to increase team performance, especially if we feel the team is at risk for burnout, is particularly complex for two reasons:
1. The obvious answer doesn't work.
The default approach — telling your team to “step up” — is merely saying you want a thing to be true, without recognizing any of the complexity required for the thing to be true. For instance, imagine saying, “We need to double our customer outreach this quarter.” Even if that's true, it's insufficient. Directives don't address the complexity of the work, or the internal motivation needed to do it well.
Furthermore, reality always subverts even the best-laid plans. There will always be something different from the original directive, an obstacle, a shift in the market, that means you and your team will need to adjust and reorient. A team that is copy-and-pasting everything you say may inadvertently overlook a blindspot, and not get you the results you were looking for.
2. Too many tools, too little focus.
From OKRs to coaching frameworks to feedback rituals, there's no shortage of trendy hacks and techniques to try improve performance. But when used in isolation or applied like a checklist, they create noise, not progress. These tools are undoubtedly helpful, but often don’t address the underlying drivers of successful, sustained performance in the long-run.
And so, we end up asking ourselves as leaders: What should I actually be focusing on? And how do I know it's working?
The 3 Pillars of Performance
I've found that focusing on these three pillars enables the highest likelihood of successful performance, while also honoring your team’s capacity so burnout can be minimized…
Pillar #1: The Shape of Success
What exactly does success look like?
But I’m not talking about generic metrics or motivational catchphrases. I’m talking about painting a specific, descriptive picture your team can visualize and aim for. Something tangible, something tactile.
For example, instead of “We need happier customers,” say:
“We'll know we're successful when customer complaints drop by 50% and positive reviews increase by 30%. Customers will proactively share positive testimonials in our support exchanges, rather than us asking for them. We’ll start to hear more and more new customers coming to us and saying they heard about us from a peer.”
This means you will want to answer these questions for your team:
What will success look like?
How will we know we're on track?
What obstacles should we expect — and not be discouraged by?
How does this connect to what each person finds energizing?
Try phrases like:
“We'll know we're successful when…”
“Here's how our customers' lives will improve…”
“This directly impacts X, which I know you feel connected to…”
Then ask yourself:
Have I been specific enough in describing what “great” looks like?
Have I made it feel relevant to each person?
Pillar #2: The Shape of Strong Performance
What does it look like to perform well day-to-day?
This is where many of us assume that it's self-evident what great performance looks like (“well obviously people should be checking in with other teams,” or “well obviously people should be sharing their progress each week”)…
And then we end up disappointed and frustrated by the quality of the work or lack of communication. Strong performance isn't only the outcomes: It includes the detailed day-to-day actions required.
For instance, instead of just telling people, “Be more proactive,” say:
“Please share one quick sentence in Slack about your project status at the end of each day, to help us catch bottlenecks early.”
This means you’ll want to define for your team:
What actions and routines lead to success?
What does excellent collaboration and communication look like?
How does this align with how your team likes to work?
Use phrases like:
“Day-to-day, here's what I'd recommend…”
“Here's how I'd expect us to communicate and collaborate…”
“I know you like X, and this aligns with that because…”
Then ask yourself: Have I described strong performance clearly enough? Or am I hoping they'll figure it out?
Pillar #3: Connecting the Dots
You've defined success. You've described strong performance. But then reality throws cold water on our face. There will always be something unexpected that doesn't go 100% according to plan.
This is where you close the gap between what you've defined as success and strong performance, and the current reality of what's happening on the ground.
When YOU notice a gap:
Let's say you defined strong performance as “proactive communication with stakeholders,” but you're seeing team members working in isolation. Instead of saying “You need to communicate more” which is vague and could be interpreted in multiple ways, try:
“I noticed we've had some surprises in our stakeholder meetings that could have been avoided. I'm thinking we need more regular check-ins, but I may be missing something about your workflow. What's making it hard to loop people in earlier?”
Or if your shape of success included “delivering on time,” but the project is clearly running late:
“I noticed we're two weeks behind schedule. I know there may be factors I'm not aware of. What's going on, and how can we adjust?”
When YOUR TEAM notices a gap:
Equally important, if not more important, is to ask for the gaps your team sees. They're noticing things on the frontlines you might not be, and the quicker these gaps are identified, the quicker they can be addressed.
This could be your account manager realizing the client feedback process is adding two weeks to every iteration. Or your engineer notices that the database structure won't scale for the growth targets you've set. Or your project manager sees that the team is spending hours in meetings that could be async updates.
Don’t assume these gaps to be laid at your feet for you — you’ll want to directly ask your team about these gaps on a regular basis. Your team (understandably) won't always tell you on their own volition: Not because they don't care, but because they don't want to derail momentum or fear their input won't be valued.
Regularly ask your team questions like:
What feels harder than it should be?
What surprises you about how this project is unfolding?
Where do you feel most and least confident?
What seems like a waste of time or resources?
How's your bandwidth and the workload feeling?
These shouldn't be one-off check-ins, something you ask once and then never ask again. They should be part of a weekly or biweekly rhythm. (I talk about this more in detail in the “Putting this into practice” section.)
And critically, when you hear these gaps, make sure to address them and do something about them. Or if it doesn’t make sense to prioritize closing the gap at this moment, at least say, “Got it, we can't do anything about that one for the time being, but thank you for letting me know.”
Otherwise, your team will wonder if you actually care about knowing the gaps in the first place.
Why this works (and what it prevents)
Applying these pillars consistently helps prevent the most common failure modes of high-stakes projects. Let me know if any of these issues feel a little too familiar, you’ve seen them up close before…
Building the wrong thing happens when the shape of success is unclear. Teams may execute strongly… but on the wrong priorities. By explicitly defining success, you steer effort toward what truly matters.
Poor quality output arises when the shape of strong performance is assumed rather than articulated. People work hard but miss the mark on standards or approach. Defining strong performance helps your team calibrate to what “great” actually looks like.
Lack of urgency emerges when the picture of success isn't connected to what your team personally cares about. Without that connection, even high performers may disengage. Tying success to what energizes them builds intrinsic motivation.
Silent struggles take hold when feedback flows only one direction. Team members may notice obstacles, inefficiencies, or issues… but hesitate to share them, either because they don't want to derail momentum or they doubt their perspective will be valued. Encouraging two-way feedback, with specific questions, helps surface these insights before it's too late.
I’ve both seen and experienced each of these failure modes, personally. They’re pernicious — but avoidable. What I appreciate about the three pillars that I described above, though, is that they address each of these potential failure modes: When you have (1) clarity on success, (2) clarity on strong performance, and (3) connect the dots, you give a clear picture of what needs to be accomplished, raise the floor for performance, and create a feedback loop that supports alignment.
Putting this into practice
The key to making these pillars work isn't perfection: It's consistency. Here's how to weave them into your existing work rhythm without adding overhead…
Weekly touchpoints
During your regular 1:1 meetings, spend 10 minutes on:
Reinforcing the Shape of Success: “Here's how what you're working on connects to our bigger picture...” or “I want to remind you why this matters, especially given what I know energizes you...”
Shining a Light on the Gaps: This could be around how they’re tracking toward success and/or their performance: “One thing I wanted to bring your attention to…” or “Quick pointer here…”
Connecting the Dots: Ask 2-3 specific questions about gaps they might be seeing:
“What's been harder than expected this week?”
“What would you change about how we're approaching this?”
“Where are you feeling stuck or unclear?”
The goal isn't to solve everything immediately. It's to create a rhythm where problems surface quickly instead of festering.
Monthly touchpoints
In team meetings, deeper 1:1s meetings, or performance conversations, carve out 20 minutes for:
Reflecting on Strong Performance: “Let's talk about what great looks like on this project, day-to-day...” Share specific examples of strong performance you've observed, and ask what they're noticing about what works well. Also, point out where you see gaps between their current performance: “One thing I’m noticing…”
Acting on the Dots: “Based on what you've all shared about X challenge, here's what we're changing...” Show that the feedback loop actually leads to action.
An implementation mindset
Remember: You don't need to have perfect clarity on all three pillars before you start (especially if you’re also waiting on senior leadership to share further context with you, of if you’re already in the middle of a project). Begin with what you know, and refine as you go.
Start by asking yourself:
If I had to describe success on our current project in two sentences, what would I say?
What does strong daily performance look like from each person on my team?
What gaps am I seeing that I haven't addressed directly?
Then pick one pillar to focus on this week. Perhaps it's painting a clearer picture of success in your next team meeting. Or it's having an overdue conversation about performance expectations with someone. It could even be simply asking, “What's harder than it should be right now?”
Again: The magic isn't in doing all three perfectly. It's in doing them consistently, so your team always knows where they're headed, what good looks like, and that you're paying attention to the reality on the ground.
Sprinting up the hill
None of us want to shout at our team.
If our team is sprinting up the hill with a heavy backpack, we want to make sure they know where they're going, and what to expect in the terrain. We want to help them carry the right weight, wear the right shoes. We want to check in on their stride, and give them information when things are changing.
That's what the three pillars do.
They offer clarity when pressure tempts us to default to control. They offer connection when urgency risks turning into burnout. And they offer alignment when effort alone isn't enough.
Rest your voice, lean on these three pillars, and the steep hill with that heavy backpack will become a lot easier for your whole team to climb.
-Claire
If you found my writing useful this week, feel free to “like” or “share” the post — it helps other folks who might find this piece similarly useful see it for free 🫶
Is raising performance top of mind for your team? Some ways you can connect with me directly, Claire, Founder & CEO of Canopy:
📣 Invite me to deliver team keynotes and workshops, remotely or in person on this very topic: “Raising Performance””
🚂 Partner with me to roll-out a leadership training program for your managers that covers raising performance.
🌿 Use Canopy, our lightweight leadership learning app, in your day-to-day.
🤝 Explore 1:1 executive coaching with me personally to help you elevate your leadership keep your best people. (I periodically have spots upon up throughout the year — I’ve had the privilege of coaching leaders at companies like Apple and Uber, and welcome the opportunity to share those learnings in-depth with folks one-on-one.)
I’d be honored to chat and see what might be the best fit for you. Feel free to reach out to me directly here 💚
What feels harder than it should be?
Such a simple and effective open-ended question! And applicable across so many fields and dynamics - colleagues, supervisor-employee, teacher-student, etc.