I played team sports growing up: all my kids at least tried them, too. What do we know about strong teams and strong businesses?
A star player can get a team pretty far—but notching some big wins doesn’t mean the program is sustainable.
It’s a hard lesson for many superstars. Plenty of hot businesses crash and burn under extraordinary people who turn out to be poor leaders.
On a solid team, you don’t need a leader who’s able to do everything: you want a mix across the team. You need to face that not everyone is equally skilled in all areas, and you want to build a space where strengths can shine and powers can complement each other.
So what’s a better alternative to the superstar? We’d suggest it’s the true team player.
Okay, so being a “team player” sometimes isn’t so glamorous. Sometimes people ask you to be a team player when it’s time for you to do something you don’t want to do. It can be a euphemism for a chump.
A team player, however, is someone who can delegate. This type of leader is not so foolish to think they are the only one for the job. This leader isn’t afraid of looking like they’re not up to a challenge—because they know that other team players will recognize the power of working together. Trust begets trust.
Some people mistake a team player for someone who’s okay giving up control. But someone who can work on a team actually gains power: if the work makes it to the person that it’s best for, everyone is free to pick and choose, to optimize how they spend their time.
A lot of endeavors in life require teams. We like to think of our office as one such team, but we are also honored to be part of the team that helps you keep your life running. Clients, by letting us help you, we get to use our skills to focus on one important aspect for you. You’re not giving anything up by inviting us into the process: you’re gaining control, the chance to make more informed decisions that work toward your goals.
We don’t need superstars. Our team has what it takes, and we’ve got the best clients in the world. Call or write when you’d like to chat about this, or anything else.