Building a High-Performing Team with Jon Levy

Together, they unpacked key concepts from his newest book Team Intelligence, exploring how leaders cultivate trust and collaboration, why some teams consistently outperform others, how AI can enhance collective performance, and the leadership habits that unlock sustained success in today’s complex work environment.

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1. Who is Jon Levy? ‍

Jon Levy is a behavioral scientist, keynote speaker, and New York Times best-selling author who studies how trust, belonging, and team dynamics shape performance. He is the founder of the Influencers Dinner, a global community built through invitation-only dinners where strangers cook together under anonymity rules designed to create real connection. He is also the author of You’re Invited and Team Intelligence, where he breaks down research-backed habits that help leaders unlock collective genius.

2. What are the top reasons to listen to this webcast? ‍

• ‍A new way to define leadership beyond personality tests and “alpha” myths
  Levy explains why common leadership shortcuts, like personality tests and leadership stereotypes, miss what actually makes people follow.

• ‍A practical trust framework you can use in leadership, sales, and culture
  He breaks trust into three parts and shows why benevolence often matters more than competence in real-world decisions. ‍

• A modern playbook for building smarter teams in an AI-enabled workplace
  He explains what makes teams effective, why emotional intelligence changes outcomes, and how AI can function as a team coach rather than a replacement.

3. What does Levy say is the one universal trait shared by effective leaders? ‍

He says leaders make people feel that a new and better future is possible. Leadership is not a fixed personality type or a standard leadership profile, but the future people believe they have after interacting with you.

4. Why does Levy dismiss personality tests and traditional leadership training as predictors of leadership?

He says personality tests do not reliably predict leadership effectiveness, and classroom-style leadership education lacks the feedback loop that comes from leading real people in real situations.

5. How does Levy reconcile “psychological safety matters” with leaders who are famously intense or abrasive?

He says leaders are not realistically all-things-to-all-people. Vision can rally followers, but team effectiveness depends on the team’s full skill set, especially people with high emotional intelligence who buffer friction and help the organization function well over time.

6. What is Levy's core belief about the smallest unit of performance?

He says the smallest unit of effectiveness is not the leader, it is the team. Outcomes depend on how people coordinate, share information, and hand off leadership to the person with the right expertise at the right moment.

7. What is leadership fluidity, and why does Levy say it matters?

He describes leadership as dynamic, where the person with the right expertise leads in the moment while others follow. Accountability stays fixed, meaning the CEO remains accountable even when someone else leads part of the discussion.

8. How does Levy design the Influencers Dinner to create connection and reduce ego?

He says anonymity changes behavior because people cannot rely on titles or status. He also limits overlap, generally no more than two people from the same industry, so guests stay curious instead of competitive and connect through contrast rather than comparison.

9. Why does Levy make guests cook together, and what effect does it have?

He says shared effort builds connection. Cooking creates investment in the experience, which makes people feel more bonded and more satisfied with the meal because they made it together.

10. What does Levy say high performers often feel, even when they look successful from the outside?

He says many high achievers still do not feel like they belong. Across Nobel laureates, Olympians, and CEOs, he sees the same uneasiness because outcomes can feel fragile, luck-influenced, or temporary, making belonging a real human need.

11. What does Levy say about AI and the future of teams?

He says AI can influence emotions and behavior, but the bigger opportunity is using AI to make teams smarter. He describes AI as a coach that boosts team emotional intelligence in real time by flagging who is unusually quiet, who wants to contribute, and what the group may be missing.

12. What is a “multiplier” or “glue player”, and why does Levy say they are game-changing?

He describes “multipliers” or “glue players” as people who may not post the biggest individual stats but raise everyone else’s performance. He uses Shane Battier as the example, highlighting high emotional intelligence, a team-first mindset, and proactive preparation that helps the group click into position and perform at its best.

Watch or listen to the replay.