As anyone working in private equity knows, it’s no easy feat to balance investor expectations, fixed timelines, and relentless performance pressure, all while leading fast-moving teams and tackling constant challenges.

You’ve got the talent, the track record, and the ambition, yet at times things still don’t flow as they should. Momentum dips, priorities drift, and collaboration begins to slow.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Our recent research with 593 UK PE-backed businesses reveals that when leadership and teams aren’t fully aligned and when culture isn’t inclusive and enabling people to perform at their best, overall business performance suffers.

The business case for thriving teams

So, what does strong leadership alignment and an inclusive culture actually look like in practice? Our data shows that when people feel empowered to deliver, confident to challenge, and supported to perform without burning out, organisations achieve measurably higher results.

High-performing companies are over 14x more likely than low-performing companies to have leaders who foster trust, alignment, and collaboration. That’s a powerful marker of how leadership behaviour and culture directly shape performance outcomes.

And the impact is clear across every key metric. Companies with the most effective inclusive cultures (versus those with the weakest) are:

• 2x more likely to rate their ability to hit their financial targets as excellent.
• 8x more likely to rate their ability to meet their ambitious growth goals as excellent.
• 4x more likely to rate their ability to meet investor expectations as excellent.
• 7x more likely to rate their ability to be effective at scaling quickly as excellent.

The case is clear: it’s not simply about fixing task or process issues or throwing more resource at the problem. High-performing teams are built by leaders who create clarity, consistency and trust, where decisions are fair, communication is open, and people understand what success looks like. When leaders build that kind of environment, teams move faster, stay aligned, and deliver their best results.

Challenges to building thriving teams

Creating high-performing teams is the foundation of any successful organisation, but it’s often harder in PE-backed environments where the pace is high and teams frequently change. Our research surfaced three consistent challenges:

Challenge one:
Misalignment between leaders and teams

Leaders and employees often have very different experiences at work. Leaders are twice as likely to feel supported to perform at their best (57%) compared to employees (28%), and they believe their voices are valued far more (62% vs 24%). That disconnect limits alignment and slows execution.

Challenge two:
Retention risk

When people don’t feel safe to speak out about their concerns or ideas or believe their leaders won’t act on what they raise, disengagement sets in, and eventually, people leave. Nearly half (49%) of employees said they’d consider moving to a more inclusive company if approached, highlighting just how important it is to create environments where people want to stay.

Challenge three:
Pressure to perform

Stress and burnout remain high, with 27% of leaders and employees citing this as a major barrier to creating value. In PE contexts, that can quickly erode focus, performance and ultimately value.

This isn’t a ‘nice to have’ people theory – it’s a performance and value challenge. The good news: there are small, immediate actions leaders can take to strengthen alignment and accelerate results.

Three quick wins to build thriving teams

Building high-performing teams doesn’t have to mean big transformation strategies or programmes. The most effective cultures start to evolve through small, everyday actions that build consistency, trust, and pace.

1. Get everyone aligned
   Start your next team meeting by clarifying priorities: “Here’s what matters most this week and why.” End it by asking, “What could slow us down?”These two questions drive focus and surface risks early, keeping everyone aligned and accountable.
2. Strengthen connection and ownership
   Run a short five-question pulse to gauge alignment and engagement. Simple yes/no or 1–5 answers can reveal where clarity or confidence is missing. For example, “I know what I need to focus on this week” or “I believe my views are listened to by leadership.” Share one clear action back with your team.Closing the loop quickly builds trust and signals your intention to follow through.
3. Invite challenge as part of the routine
   End meetings with a quick risk round. Each person shares one concern, and you agree one action with a clear owner to report back within a week.This normalises healthy challenge, speeds up problem-solving, and reinforces psychological safety through action.

Thriving teams are a competitive advantage

We know it’s hard to look inward when the external pressures are constant. Yet that’s often where the biggest gains are made. Our research shows that the right culture and leadership alignment are fundamental to sustained value creation.

When leaders invest time in building alignment, focus, and trust, they spend less time firefighting and more time driving growth. High-performing teams aren’t just more engaged, they’re more resilient, decisive, and commercially effective.

Time spent focusing on getting this right today will pay dividends in the long term. Inclusive cultures promote and perpetuate the habits and behaviours required for future success.

Ready to take your teams, and your business, to the next level?

Download: ‘The Leadership Blueprint: The Hidden Value-Creation Levers in PE-Backed Companies’

Inside, you’ll find:

• Employee data insights from 593 UK PE-backed companies
• A clear roadmap connecting leadership behaviours to performance outcomes
• The three levers to create a high-performance culture

The Blueprint is a practical, data-rich guide designed to help you turn insight into action. Read it now for fresh ideas and return to it as you build stronger, more effective teams.