In a world where markets shift overnight, technology evolves quickly, and customer expectations constantly change, organizations can no longer rely solely on top-down mandates or scattered bottom-up strategies to drive change. Instead, the real game-changers are teams. When empowered and structured effectively, they become engines of transformation, capable of driving innovation, agility, and sustained growth.

Recent McKinsey research shows that a team-centric approach to organizational transformation can deliver up to 30% efficiency gains.

By identifying high-value teams, activating their potential, and scaling new ways of working across the organization, leaders can unleash collective performance that reshapes their entire business.

Why It Matters: Teams are more than just groups of individuals—they are the heartbeat of an organization, capable of turning ambitious goals into tangible results. Yet, many operate below their potential due to unclear mandates, siloed workflows, or lack of support. By intentionally focusing on strategies that build and empower high-performing teams, organizations can break through barriers, accelerate innovation, and achieve sustainable growth.

• Identify the Highest-Value Teams: Leaders must identify and prioritize the teams that can deliver the greatest value to the business. For example, a pharmaceutical company facing declining revenues identified five out of its 40 product teams as having the highest potential to hit critical milestones within three years. By focusing resources and guidance on these high-value teams, the company accelerated development pipelines, boosted productivity, and unlocked short-term growth opportunities.

• Activate Teams Through Empowerment: Teams excel when they have clear goals, autonomy, and alignment. For example, a global life sciences company realized that internal bureaucracy was hindering performance. Teams were empowered with strategies to evaluate their activities critically, dropping non-value-adding tasks and streamlining workflows. In one case, a product team improved decision-making speed by involving legal and compliance colleagues earlier, cutting response times and accelerating customer service delivery.

• Lift Leaders to Support Team Transformation: Successful transformation requires leaders to adopt new roles as vision setters and coaches. At the global life sciences company, leaders received intensive training to adopt this new mindset. Over 12 months, the company trained 6,000 leaders to sponsor teams, remove barriers, and champion a customer-centric approach. For instance, one leader helped a struggling product team overcome resistance from senior stakeholders, unlocking faster approvals and greater alignment.

• Scale the Team-Centric Approach: Scaling transformation requires spreading team practices and successes. A global oil and gas provider deployed over 150 “change agents” to champion agile behaviors across teams. For instance, an engineering team that adopted cross-functional collaboration practices doubled its innovation output, demonstrating measurable progress in supporting low-carbon energy initiatives.

• Foster Systemic Agility for Lasting Change: True transformation happens when organizations balance flexibility and stability, enabling teams to form, adapt, and self-organize in response to changing priorities. Tools like regular retrospectives, barometers, and success storytelling ensure alignment and drive ongoing progress.

Go Deeper -> All about teams: A new approach to organizational transformation – McKinsey