There are many ways to build superb teams. One approach is to learn from great sports teams. Such teams often have great coaches and also great senior players.
The senior players act as positive models. They also encourage the other players to maintain high professional standards. This increases the chances of the team delivering great performances.
Different teams follow this approach in different ways. Whatever route they take, however, they often have the following qualities.
Great Coaches
Great coaches build on their own strengths as leaders. They also assemble a coaching team of superb people who have complementary strengths.
Such leaders build on the team’s strengths and translate these into working to achieve specific goals. They communicate the team’s strategy and the professional standards people need to follow to achieve success.
Good leaders in organisations build on their own strengths and build a good leadership team. They aim to be positive, predictable and create an encouraging environment in which motivated people can do superb work.
Such leaders communicate the organisation’s purpose, the principles to follow and the picture of success. They employ positive and professional people who want to use their strengths to achieve this success.
Great Senior Players
Great coaches build on their strengths and always aim to do their best. They recognise, however, that they will be judged by the performance of the people in their team.
They therefore employ great senior players. Such players act as positive models and encourage others to maintain high professional standards. They also play a key part in translating the strategy into action.
Good leaders in organisations follow a similar approach. They employ senior leaders and managers who act as positive models and embody the principles. Such people then lead superb teams that contribute to achieving the picture of success.
Great Performances
Great coaches continually remind people of the team’s specific goals and strategies. They then aim to coordinate people’s strengths to do superb work and achieve success.
Such coaches prepare their team properly by rehearsing how to follow the strategies in specific situations. They also encourage them to focus on continuous improvement and deliver great performances.
Good leaders in organisations encourage people to keep following the principles. Bearing in mind people’s strengths, they make clear contracts about their best contributions and give them the required support.
Such leaders keep people’s eyes on the goals and manage by outcomes rather than by tasks. They then encourage and enable people to do superb work on the way towards achieving the picture of success.
There are many ways to build superb teams. One approach is to learn from great sports teams that have great coaches and senior players. They then coordinate people’s strengths to deliver great performances.
Let’s return to your own work. Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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