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Attributes of the t3 framework:
the right stuff

The "right stuff" is about ensuring the right people are in place and ready to deliver. They feel strongly that they are working with a group of people they respect and can get the job done. The foundation of any team are the people who comprise it. The needs of any team go far beyond ensuring they "can do" the job itself (competence) and extend to areas that allow the team, and its individual members, to work effectively together in delivering the desired outcomes.

These include, for example, possessing a growth mindset, allowing people to adapt more effectively to adversity and solve problems that lead to a breakthrough (‘can do’ attitude). Openness to other’s ideas (a true team player), grit and positivity are other examples of traits of people that are important on any team.

Simply put, members of the team "can do, can do".

clarity & alignment

People and teams are clear on what they need to do and why it is important. High-performing team feel strongly that the direction is clear, and line-of-sight exists between their work and that of the teams or organization on the whole.

There is clarity in the vision, mission and objectives of the team and clarity in how such objectives cascade down to each and every member within it.

Clarity is nothing without alignment, at least over the longer-term. People who know what to do can certainly deliver some good results, within their own sphere of influence; however, alignment is vital for sustained execution excellence. Alignment suggests that people are committed to their role and what they need to do to produce good results.

Simply put, members of the team "know what to do."

empowerment

Empowerment is all about ensuring people have the freedom, support, and tools to deliver on what is expected along with the systems and process to work effectively together.

The nature of the way organizations are designed and the likelihood that most are populated by human beings leads to a natural dysfunction that often is referred to as silo thinking or behavior. Left alone, silo behavior and potentially relational-based conflict WILL arise. This calls for organizations to install a ritual that ensure these are outlined, clarified, and negotiated so that people can work effectively together in driving value for their customers, and the business.

Additionally, we find many teams that have too many priorities that are crippling the team’s effectiveness and/or leading to burnout. Typically, ad hoc demands from the business may be the culprit, and without a priority reconciliation process, frustration emerges.

Simply put, members of the team are "allowed and enabled to".

belonging

Belonging suggests that people fit within your organizational context—they "belong" here and are connected to the organization.

Organizations cannot afford to have disengaged employees—and yet, many in the workforce report being actively disengaged. Others are passively disengagement manifesting in some form of "quiet quitting." This results in lost productivity and an unhappy workplace in general.

While there are many factors that may be at play here, the most important one is a sense of connection people have with their company, a belief that they (the company) are doing the right thing (beyond making money) and that they are operating in a way that is consistent with making a real contribution to society. For newer generations of workers this is of particular importance. It all starts with purpose and values.

Simply put, members of the team "believe it's right to do".

agile execution

Agile Execution is all about how the team works together to adapt to dynamic conditions. It is our belief that no initial plan will survive for very long, placing a burden on the team to pivot consistently in order to deliver upon their strategic outcomes.

In today’s VUCA world, planning is taking on new forms as organizations recognize that within weeks after initiating any plan, it can be rendered, at worst case, useless, or in best case, intentions remain on track but how one gets there changes rapidly. The environment is simply too dynamic to invest months preparing, planning, and budgeting for a reality that may not exist in six months.

In our view, get the strategic intent right, plan on how to get there, and instill agile execution rituals that allow the team to adapt to the realities of executing against the plan.

Simply put, members of the team "will do what it takes with integrity".

togetherness

A sense of togetherness results when the teams do the other five attributes well, leading to sustained high-performance and lots of enjoyment working with fellow colleagues. No matter how remote a team may operate, leaders need to work to secure this sense of "togetherness" and, ideally, bring people together every so often.

In such teams, not only do you have exemplary engagement and behaviors from all constituent members but that final piece of "social glue" -- individuals motivated also by the very company of their team colleagues. This is the zone where intra-relationships are defined by shared levels of high professional respect and, indeed, deep friendships.

Team members bearing this attribute scale even greater heights (sometimes literally!) because not only are they passionate about what they do (as built on all the preceding qualities) but it is this comradeship that sits at the very nexus of this passion. There is no place they would rather be than with the companionship of their comrades and, with this fellowship, a sense of collective invincibility. For such teams, there is a mindset of "anything together".

Simply put, members of the team "build a legacy".

organizational health, Perpetual insights

why high-performing teams still need time together?

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Steve Morrissey

At Perpetual, we spend our days inside leadership teams, assessing them, building them and coaching them into high-performing teams. Across every industry we work in, from wine & spirits and food & beverage to beauty and consumer goods, one pattern consistently emerges.

why high-performing teams still need time together

What high-performing teams have in common

The teams that perform best aren’t necessarily the ones with the smartest strategy. They’re the ones who trust each other enough to challenge ideas, make decisions under pressure and adapt quickly when circumstances change.

That level of trust isn’t built through another Slack thread or Teams call. It grows when people spend meaningful time together.

We’re not nostalgic for pre-pandemic office life. Hybrid work has brought flexibility and made many organisations more efficient. But efficiency and cohesion are not the same thing.

Trust is the foundation of every high-performing team, which is precisely why Togetherness sits among the defining attributes of Perpetual’s own t3® framework. As organisations become increasingly distributed and always-on, many of the moments that once built culture—a hallway conversation, a shared lunch, an informal catch-up—have quietly disappeared. Offsites aren’t a throwback to another era of work; they’re an intentional way of recreating the connection that no longer happens by accident.

The business case goes well beyond intuition. Research from Atlassian found that intentional togetherness measurably improves team cohesion, while Microsoft and Harvard Business Review report that 88% of professionals believe in-person interactions remain essential to sustaining long-term working relationships. Academic research reaches a similar conclusion: bringing teams physically together increases collaboration and strengthens existing relationships. The return isn’t simply goodwill—it’s better organisational performance.

That’s also why, every quarter, we bring the entire Perpetual team together. Not as a reward or a company perk, but as a deliberate performance ritual. We reflect on what’s working, challenge each other’s thinking, reset priorities and spend time being human together.

We’ve seen the same impact in the leadership offsites we facilitate for clients. Whether it’s an executive strategy session or a large-scale leadership conference, the objective remains the same: creating the conditions for stronger alignment, better decisions and deeper trust.

Of course, none of this happens by accident. Too many retreats become little more than a change of scenery—packed agendas, endless presentations and very little that changes once everyone returns to work.

The difference between a forgettable offsite and a genuine force multiplier comes down to intentional design: a clear objective, the right environment, a balanced agenda and skilled facilitation. Done well, an offsite doesn’t just recharge a team—it resets its trajectory.

And we keep coming back to the same conclusion.

Values don’t scale through a slide deck.

They scale through shared experiences.

The highest-performing leadership teams understand that making time to come together isn’t time away from the business.

It’s an investment in how the business performs afterwards.

— The Perpetual Team

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