My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other’s negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other. Great things in business are never done by one person; they are done by a team.”
~ Steve Jobs
Businesses picked up a lot of what they know about teams from the world of sports, which is rich with examples of legendary lineups with great achievements. Examples that come to mind include the 1992 Dream Team (which, by the way, included names like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and of course Michael Jordan), Pelé’s 1970 football crew and, of course, New Zealand’s iconic All Blacks.
In addition, history has clearly made the case that great teams are often the direct result of great leadership. One can therefore easily deduce that great leaders must, at one point or another, demonstrate unique competencies and skills that would serve as key drivers for high performing teams, which would ultimately constitute the pillars of successful organizations. However, establishing high-performance organizations requires the know-how to build teams, which is nothing short of a combination of art and science in a constantly changing, continuous chess game.
So what exactly should organizations be aware of when it comes to teams?
Here are three insights to help you with that question.
- “Why”
If you are a TED fan, then you might have seen Simon Sinek’s “How great leaders inspire action”, in which he popularized the concept of the Golden Circle that stipulates one should start with why.
(However, if this is entirely new to you, trust me: you want to see this particular talk).
Sinek posits that the “why” proves to be a powerful driver because it provides, among others, clarity, purpose and mostly, meaning. Then comes the “how” and finally the “what”, and all three dimensions are illustrated in a simplified model of three concentric circles.
In short: put the “why” first! This leads us to the following questions:
- Why does the said team exist? (or why should it be formed?)
- What is its core purpose?
- What goals does it have?
As far as performance is concerned, Arthur Stinchcombe claimed in 1965 that the Liability of Newness (the challenge of groups working together) would prove limiting. One of the primary issues that would ultimately lead to this was stated to be the absence of clarity. Is it any wonder why the “why” matters? The expert trainer and facilitators out there surely noticed how well this also maps out with Bruce Tuckman’s famous four-stage model.
Ask yourself:
How clear is the “why” among your team members? What can you do to further clarify it?
- Communication (for the nth time)
This could never be repeated too often: great teams communicate effectively among one another. There are no exceptions; there are no outliers.
The number of times miscommunication (or lack thereof) was identified as the sole reason behind the untimely demise of teams should help us realize how crucial effective communication is for high-performing teams
Consider the Royal Concertgebouw, a Dutch orchestra formed in 1888, and possibly the best orchestra in the world. Any and all of their recordings are an embodiment of musical perfection and perfect synchronization. Every note, every beat, every movement flawlessly converges in what is a truly uniquely harmonious experience like no other. Musicians are masters of their instruments, but they also truly understand how all other players come together in every composition. It’s as if they speak a language of their own and in a sense, they do.
Communication within teams is often contextual and immensely idiosyncratic. Here are some of the crucial questions you may want to reflect on:
- How does the leader work? What is his or her preferred style?
- How well is the leader and his style accepted by others?
- How well do the team members know one another?
- What is each person’s individual level of emotionally intelligence?
- What are each person’s roles and responsibilities?
- In what ways will the team communicate feedback and when?
- What will success look like? How is it celebrated?
Ask yourself:
Did effective communication really take place or are you operating under the illusion it has?
- Egos
Let’s go back to the Beatles for a minute: could they truly be the best band ever? Arguably, yes.
To this day, nearly 55 years after their initial formation, the global impact of the music made by four then-unknown Englishmen could hardly ever be inflated. What they did as a band, turned out to exceed what they produced as individuals, because together they truly were more than the sum of their individual parts. Much, much more. Hardcore strategists call this “synergy” and it is in many ways the Holy Grail for many organizations. The term comes from ancient Greek and essentially means, “working together“. In business, synergy occurs when corporations interact congruently and the term refers to some form of financial benefit that is expected to happen upon mergers or acquisitions.
So why did the late Apple CEO pick The Beatles as a management model?
The answer comes in an interview with Brent Schlender: they kept each others’ Egos in check. To quote Jobs,
“Lennon kept McCartney from being a teenybopper and McCartney kept Lennon from drifting out into the cosmos, and it was magic”.
Many people may remember the “Galáctico”, those expensive world-renowned football players that Real Madrid was keen on signing in the early 2000’s. Names includes Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, the Brazilian Ronaldo and David Beckham, among others. They were acquired for nearly $200Mn in just 3 years. At the same time, avid football fans undoubtedly remember how poorly that team performed, especially in the beginning. Why? Too many egos. With all these players on the field, who was to be the star of stars?
Ask yourself:
Who is taming your ego? Whose ego are you taming? How is this helping your team perform?
