Most leaders talk about building great teams. Few actually know how to do it. The difference usually comes down to experience, the kind you get from managing billions in assets and leading operations at a company like JPMorgan Chase. Daniel Hollingsworth has spent two decades figuring out what separates teams that just show up from teams that consistently exceed expectations. His approach focuses on three core strategies that have driven measurable results across portfolios worth over $25 billion.
Build Clarity Around Purpose And Expectations
Here’s something Hollingsworth learned early on: teams without clear direction don’t just underperform. They fall apart. When he took on scaling JPMorgan Chase’s hybrid client service group, the first order of business wasn’t flashy. No big hiring spree, no expensive new software. Just getting crystal clear on what the team was trying to accomplish. The mission came down to something everyone could grasp: “enhance client experience through speed, accuracy, and proactive engagement.” Not some vague corporate speak about excellence or innovation. Concrete, measurable goals that told people what winning looked like. Those objectives filtered through every level of the team, so nobody was guessing what mattered.
The outcome? A 70% closure rate on account management cases within seven days. Transaction cases hit 66% same day resolution. Those numbers didn’t come from people simply working harder. “When people know what they’re driving toward, they take ownership. And that’s when the results happen,” he explains. Give people a clear target, and watch what happens.
Empower Through Trust And Development
Micromanagement is the fastest way to tank a good team. Hollingsworth saw this play out over and over. The best teams weren’t the ones with managers breathing down their necks. They were the ones where people felt trusted to make calls and had the tools to make smart ones.
One expansion project grew a service team from nine members to 21. The easy route? Hire experienced people and slot them in. Instead, the focus went to coaching, cross training, and building future leaders. Emerging talent got paired with mentors who could show them the ropes, not just tell them what to do. Feedback went both ways, not just top down. “I’m a firm believer that leadership is about creating leaders,” Hollingsworth says. That wasn’t just talk. People weren’t simply mastering their current jobs. They were developing the skills to lead the next generation. Retention improved, but more importantly, the team’s overall capability shot up. “When people feel trusted and supported, they don’t just perform, they thrive.”
Foster A Culture Of Continuous Improvement And Innovation
Even strong teams can get comfortable. Without constant pressure to improve, last year’s wins become this year’s baseline. Hollingsworth keeps his teams hungry by making innovation everybody’s problem, not just something leadership discusses in quarterly meetings. Take one project that cut commercial card setup time by 87%. That kind of jump doesn’t come from executives in a conference room deciding things should move faster. It comes from the people doing the work every day, the ones who know where the bottlenecks are. The team hit that number by letting frontline members call out problems and pitch solutions. “The goal isn’t perfection, it’s progress,” he points out. Small wins get recognized. “How can we make this better?” becomes a question people ask constantly, not just during annual reviews. When improvement stops being a special initiative and becomes how you operate, teams maintain momentum instead of settling.
Building teams that deliver requires more than good intentions. Hollingsworth’s playbook comes down to three moves that work. Get clear on purpose so everyone knows what they’re shooting for. Trust people enough to let them make decisions and give them what they need to make good ones. Build a culture where getting better never stops. “Great teams don’t just happen. They’re built intentionally with vision, care, and consistency,” he says. Twenty years of managing operations and billion dollar portfolios taught him what moves the needle and what’s just noise. “When you invest in your people, you invest in your results.” The approach sounds simple because it is. Doing it consistently? That’s the hard part. But that’s also where the results come from. Hollingsworth puts it plainly: “performance starts with people.” Get that right and the rest follows.
Connect with Daniel Hollingsworth on LinkedIn to explore his leadership insights and proven strategies for building high-performing teams.
