Building Successful Teams

Teams are created with the intent to win. Sports teams, orchestras, businesses are created with a desire to succeed at their goal – to win games, to hold great concerts or to deliver a superior product or service.

How can you ensure your team is going to have a “winning season?” You must have the proper assumptions and understanding about what constitutes a productive team.

Teams are constructed. Putting together the right people at the right time with the right talents and skills must be intentional. The “right” people aren’t just those with the

highest degree, most experience or best skills. Rather, the right people are those whose personalities and innate talents are best suited for the specific assignments and roles required by the team. Good teams bring together people with complementary skills in an attempt to succeed, to win. Having the right player in the right position is key to consistent winning.

Superstars like former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Payton Manning and 1990’s Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders are clearly skilled and talented individuals capable of winning games. Sanders was a superstar Hall of Fame candidate who never made it to the Superbowl. Why? Because he didn’t have a strong enough team around him to sustain the win. With Manning out for the season, the Colts were losing. A team that relies exclusively on a single superstar may rise to top but without that player, they don’t remain at the top. Great individuals do not sustain growth in a team or a company.

However, a good team of competent players without a superstar can consistently win more games. Onetime Denver Bronco’s quarterback Tim Tebow didn't appear to have Hall of Famer stats. Though good, he wasn’t a superstar. However, the success of his team was not contingent on his throwing percentages. He leds the team, utilizing each player’s strengths to foster a winning attitude. The end result? The Broncos have won 6 of 8 games.

The two points to creating a good fit between team members is to know your players, know your positions and accurately match the two.