Twelve weeks for leaders and their teams on what really drives engagement and performance. A 30-minute video lesson from ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars each week, an hour with your coach and the group, and simple exercises that turn awareness into the first real steps.
Bring your team, or join leaders from other businesses in an open batch.
Engaged (Green)Passive (Yellow)Disengaged (Red)
The boat
Some row. Some watch. Some row the other way.
Every team has people who give their best, people who do what’s asked and no more, and a few quietly pulling against you. Most leaders feel it long before they can name it: missed handovers, meetings where nobody speaks up, good people leaving.
Engagement isn’t a mood. It can be measured, built and led.
“They do the job, but nobody goes the extra mile.
“Meetings are quiet. Then the complaints start in the corridor.
“We hire good people, and they leave within a year.
“Everyone’s busy, but we’re not moving forward.
Signs your crew isn’t rowing together
Silence in meetings
Blame instead of ownership
Good people leaving
Ideas never shared
Teams working in silos
Feedback only at appraisal time
Crew check
Who’s rowing in your boat?
Think honestly about your team. Roughly how many are engaged and giving their best, and how many are disengaged and pulling against you? Everyone else is passive. Your answers stay on this page.
BackwardsFull speed
Your crew
Move the sliders to see how your boat is moving
And which weeks of the twelve would help your crew most.
Your boat is being pulled backwards
As many pull against you as with you. Week 2 shows how to spot each colour and turn the disengaged around; week 7 builds real buy-in.
Your boat is drifting
Most of the crew is waiting for a reason to row. Values, heart-and-brain leadership and accountability in weeks 5 to 7 give them one.
Your crew is pulling together
Now keep them there. Feedback, recognition and innovation in weeks 10 and 11 stop engaged people drifting.
Organisations that combine structured strategy with emotional intelligence and genuine care outperform those that focus on just one. The twelve weeks build both.
The brain
Strategy and structure
Clear goals, systems, measures and accountability.
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The heart
Care and connection
Trust, recognition, wellbeing and belonging.
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Together
A high-performance team
People who know where they’re going, and want to get there.
The journey
Understand. Align. Sustain.
Each week your team takes on one core ingredient of high performance, four weeks at a time.
1
Weeks 1–4
Understand
What engagement really is, who in your team is engaged, passive or disengaged, how wellbeing feeds it, and a diagnostic of where your team stands.
1Introduction to Engagement and Team Dynamics
2Colour Coding Team Engagement
3Wellbeing and the Team Synergy Effect
4High-Performance Team Diagnostic
2
Weeks 5–8
Align
Values and behaviours everyone shares, leading with heart and brain, accountability people buy into, and connection that goes beyond communication.
5Values, Culture and Behavioural Alignment
6Heart and Brain: Leading with Mind and Emotion
7Accountability and Buy-In Across the Team
8Communication vs. Connection: Going Deeper
3
Weeks 9–12
Sustain
Belonging for everyone, feedback and recognition that motivate, innovation from engaged teams, and a review and celebration of how far you have come.
9Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
10Feedback and Recognition: Building Motivation
11Driving Innovation Through Team Engagement
12Reflection, Diagnostic Review and Celebration
How each week works
Learn together. Perform better. Lead forward.
The same simple rhythm every week: a short lesson, an honest look at your team, a coached conversation and one action to try.
30 minutes, any time
1Watch
This week’s video lesson from ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars on one ingredient of a high-performance team.
Workbook and tools
2Reflect
A simple exercise or diagnostic that shows where your team stands on this week’s theme.
1 hour, with your coach
3Meet
Your coach and the group: wins, challenges and solutions, honest conversation and your top three takeaways.
All week, with your team
4Act
Your action plan for the week, tried with your real team and reported back next session.
Twelve times, with the people you work with, so change shows up in the team, not just in a notebook.
The 12 weeks
Twelve ingredients of a high-performance team
From what engagement really is to celebrating how far you have come. Pick a week to see what it covers and what to try with your team.
Understand · Week 1 of 12
Introduction to Engagement and Team Dynamics
What engagement really means, and why everyone pulling the same way is the foundation of a high-performance team.
What you’ll cover
What employee engagement is, and isn’t
The boat: rowing, watching and rowing the other way
Team dynamics
An environment where people want to contribute
Try this with your teamAsk your team what would make them give their best.
Understand · Week 2 of 12
Colour Coding Team Engagement
Green (engaged), Yellow (passive) and Red (disengaged): spot each in your team and know what each needs.
What you’ll cover
The colour-coded engagement model
Keeping your greens green
Motivating the yellows
Turning reds into contributors
Try this with your teamMap your team by colour, honestly, and pick one person to move.
Understand · Week 3 of 12
Wellbeing and the Team Synergy Effect
Physical, emotional and mental wellbeing feed the energy, collaboration and creativity of a team.
What you’ll cover
How wellbeing and engagement connect
The holistic wellbeing chart
Energy and synergy in a team
Wellbeing in the daily rhythm
Try this with your teamScore your own wellbeing, then add one healthy habit to the team’s week.
Understand · Week 4 of 12
High-Performance Team Diagnostic
Measure your team on three pillars, Connection, Proactivity and Productivity, and plan from real data.
What you’ll cover
The Engage & Grow diagnostic
Connection, proactivity and productivity
Your team’s strengths and gaps
An action plan built on the results
Try this with your teamShare the diagnostic results with your team and agree one priority.
Align · Week 5 of 12
Values, Culture and Behavioural Alignment
Clear values, and the behaviours that show them, are the foundation of engagement and belonging.
What you’ll cover
Defining your values
The behaviours behind each value
Culture as a daily decision guide
Belonging and purpose
Try this with your teamAgree three behaviours that show your values, and catch people doing them.
Align · Week 6 of 12
Heart and Brain: Leading with Mind and Emotion
The balance between rational systems and genuine human care, and why teams need both.
What you’ll cover
The Heart and Brain principle
Strategy and structure: the brain
Care and emotional intelligence: the heart
Leading with both
Try this with your teamCheck this week’s decisions: was it all brain, or all heart?
Align · Week 7 of 12
Accountability and Buy-In Across the Team
Move the team from compliance to commitment: people who own results because they believe in the purpose.
What you’ll cover
Compliance versus commitment
A culture of accountability
Earning buy-in
The accountability chart
Try this with your teamExplain the why behind one decision before you announce it.
Align · Week 8 of 12
Communication vs. Connection: Going Deeper
Sharing information isn’t the same as connecting. Build trust and psychological safety.
What you’ll cover
Communication versus connection
Psychological safety
Deepening trust
A resilient, collaborative culture
Try this with your teamHave one conversation this week that isn’t about work.
Sustain · Week 9 of 12
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
Diverse perspectives, fairness and a real sense of belonging unlock innovation and loyalty.
What you’ll cover
Why different perspectives matter
Fairness and equity
Inclusion in practice
Belonging
Try this with your teamInvite the quietest voice in your team to lead the next discussion.
Sustain · Week 10 of 12
Feedback and Recognition: Building Motivation
Timely, specific feedback and meaningful recognition fuel motivation, retention and discretionary effort.
What you’ll cover
Feedback that helps people grow
Recognition that means something
Discretionary effort
A feedback culture
Try this with your teamGive three pieces of specific recognition this week.
Sustain · Week 11 of 12
Driving Innovation Through Team Engagement
Engaged teams generate more ideas and adapt faster. Make innovation everyone’s job.
What you’ll cover
Why engagement drives innovation
Adapting to change
Collaboration that creates ideas
Innovation as a shared responsibility
Try this with your teamAsk the team for one improvement idea and act on it.
Sustain · Week 12 of 12
Reflection, Diagnostic Review and Celebration
Graduation week: review the diagnostic, celebrate the progress and plan how to stay green.
What you’ll cover
The diagnostic, again
Wins and lessons learned
Areas for continued focus
A plan to keep the momentum
Try this with your teamCelebrate one team win properly, with the whole team.
The language your team will share
Green · Yellow · Red
The boat
Heart and brain
Connection
Proactivity
Productivity
Buy-in
Psychological safety
DEI+B
Discretionary effort
When everyone uses the same words, it gets much easier to talk honestly about how the team is doing.
What your team takes away
Twelve tools to stay green
Simple charts and plans, filled in for your own team during the twelve weeks and kept for good.
Your team’s colour mapWho is engaged, passive or disengaged.
Holistic wellbeing chartPhysical, emotional and mental, scored.
The team diagnosticConnection, proactivity and productivity.
Values and behaviours chartWhat your values look like in action.
Culture snapshotThe culture you have, and the one you want.
Accountability chartWho owns what, agreed openly.
Communication and connection chartWhere information flows, and where trust does.
Belonging chartMaking sure every voice counts.
Recognition planFeedback and recognition, built into the week.
Progress dashboardYour team’s movement, week by week.
Celebration planWins marked, not missed.
Weekly action plansYour top three takeaways, turned into actions.
Plus your workbook and a reading list that includes Start With Why, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Dare to Lead.
Measured, not hoped for
Three pillars, measured twice
In week 4 the Engage & Grow team diagnostic measures where your team stands. In week 12 it measures again, so you can see what moved, and celebrate it.
1ConnectionHow strongly people relate to each other, their leaders and the purpose
2ProactivityHow readily people step up, share ideas and solve problems without being asked
3ProductivityHow effectively the team turns effort into results
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5
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10
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12
Week 2Your colour mapAn honest picture of who is engaged, passive or disengaged today.
Week 4The diagnosticConnection, proactivity and productivity measured, with an action plan built on the results.
Week 12Review and celebrateThe diagnostic again, the progress celebrated and a plan to keep the momentum.
Every week: an action plan, tried with the team and reported back.
Twelve weeks from now
From a group of people to a team
What we work towards with every team. It starts with awareness and first steps; how far it goes depends on the habits you keep.
A team today compared with what the MasterCLASS works towards
Area
Today
What we work towards
Meetings
Quiet, then corridor complaints
Honest conversations in the room
Ownership
Blame and excuses
Accountability people buy into
Effort
What’s asked, and no more
The extra mile, given freely
Feedback
Once a year, at appraisal
Timely, specific and often
Recognition
Only for the big wins
Part of every week
Ideas
Kept to themselves
Shared, tried and improved
The crew
Some row, some watch, some row against
More people rowing the same way
Who it’s for
For anyone who wants a team that performs
Any industry, any team size. Leaders take part, and so can the team itself.
Team leaders and department headsWho want a team that performs, not just a group that reports to them.
Business ownersCommitted to improving culture and results across the business.
HR managersTackling disengagement and building a pipeline of leaders.
Two ways to join
In-house group
Bring your whole team
Your leaders and team members together, working on your own team’s engagement, culture and results, with a shared language for the conversations that matter.
Every disengaged seat in the boat costs effort the rest of the team has to make up. One fee covers the whole program.
12 video lessons from Brad Sugars, one a week
12 one-hour sessions with your ActionCOACH coach and group
A weekly workbook and action plans
Team diagnostic tools and health checklists
Progress dashboards and celebration planning templates
The diagnostic in week 4, and again in week 12
Weekly feedback on every session
Recommended reading on teams and leadership
Investment: On request, per participant or per team depending on size · Ask about the next batch and we’ll share the fee with its dates, format and coach.
Your coaches
The coaches who run it
Every ActionCOACH TNPY coach runs the 12-Week High Performance Teams MasterCLASS. Each batch names its coach.
Both. Leaders, managers and team members all take part, and cross-functional teams learn especially well together.
What are Green, Yellow and Red?
The program’s colour-coded engagement model: Green for highly engaged people, Yellow for neutral or passive and Red for actively disengaged. Week 2 shows you how to recognise each and what each needs.
Will twelve weeks fix our culture?
It is a strong start, not a magic wand: awareness, honest conversations and first steps your team can see. The habits you build carry it on after week 12.
What is the team diagnostic?
The Engage & Grow diagnostic measures your team on Connection, Proactivity and Productivity in week 4, and again in week 12, so you can see what moved.
How much time does it take each week?
A 30-minute video, a short exercise and a one-hour session with your coach and group. Then the week’s action with your team.
Is it in person or online?
The video lessons are online. The weekly sessions run in person or online, depending on the batch.
Do people from different companies join together?
They can. Open batches bring leaders from different businesses together for cross-industry ideas; an in-house group keeps it to your own team.
What comes after the twelve weeks?
Many teams continue with leadership development, DISC profiles for the team or coaching. Your coach will suggest the right next step.
How much does it cost?
The fee is on request, per participant or per team depending on size. Ask about the next batch and we’ll share it with the dates, format and coach.
12-Week High Performance Teams MasterCLASS
High-performance teams aren’t made by chance. They’re designed.
