Breakthrough Coaching is the executive coaching practice founded by Dan Sakaki, a certified executive coach and seasoned facilitator with over 25 years of experience developing leadership capacity across the non-profit and business sectors. It guides individuals, leaders and groups toward meaningful, measurable growth.
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
Michael Jordan
Building & Leading High-Performance Teams Overview
A two-day, four-module workshop that gives leaders a practical, evidence-based framework for building and sustaining high-performance teams. Participants leave with diagnostic tools, proven models and a concrete 90-day action plan ready to implement from day one.
The course includes a follow-up coaching session with Q&A to support the continued transfer of knowledge and increased adoption.
What we cover
Module 1: Foundations of High-Performance Teams (Day 1, morning) What separates great teams from good ones. The five characteristics of high-performance teams (purpose, safety, roles, trust, results). Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions. Psychological safety as the number one predictor of team effectiveness (Google's Project Aristotle). Case: the 2004 vs 2008 US Olympic basketball teams. Activity: Team Health Assessment.
Module 2: Team Dynamics & Trust (Day 1, afternoon) Tuckman's five stages and why most teams stall in Storming. Trust-building micro-behaviours: kept commitments, credit-sharing, vulnerability. Situational Leadership II. Constructive versus destructive conflict. Activity: Where Is My Team? stage diagnostic and a conflict-style self-assessment.
Module 3: Performance Systems & Accountability (Day 2, morning) OKRs and SMART goals. Stretch versus sandbagged goals. Building a culture of accountability and separating person from performance. Enabling peer accountability. Case: Andy Grove at Intel. Activity: OKR Workshop, drafting quarterly OKRs for your own team.
Module 4: Sustaining Excellence & Leading Forward (Day 2, afternoon) Leading through change with ADKAR. Coaching with the GROW model. The SBI feedback model. Servant leadership. Team rituals that sustain rhythm: retrospectives, weekly alignment, quarterly reviews. Activity: 90-Day Action Plan with an accountability partner.
Key takeaways
High performance is built by design, not by chance
Psychological safety is the foundational enabler of team effectiveness
Leaders must guide teams through Storming, not around it
Trust is built through daily micro-behaviours, not grand gestures
Clear goals plus accountability rituals drive consistent results
The leader's highest leverage is developing people, not doing the work
Recommended reading
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni
High Output Management, Andy Grove
The Fearless Organization, Amy Edmondson
Measure What Matters, John Doerr
Radical Candor, Kim Scott
The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle
Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek
Every session is customized to your industry and environment. The final agenda is confirmed with your facilitator before delivery.
For organizations that want leaders who build teams that deliver consistently: clear goals, psychological safety, trust and accountability.
No prerequisites; open to all leaders
Suits a leader working on their own team or a cohort of leaders from across the organization
Two days of instructor-led instruction, in person or virtual
Diagnostic tools and models used live on your own team
A 90-day action plan and accountability partner
A follow-up coaching session with Q&A
Live online: instructor-led, fully interactive, no travel
In-person: at your offices or a venue of your choice
Designed for cohorts of 6 or more
Four modules of roughly 3.5 hours each across the two days
Pricing depends on delivery mode, group size and how much customization you want. Tell us the shape and we will quote it.
