I was recently coaching a business in Canada and advising the CEO about building up a team. He was on a recruitment drive and looking to build up a team of “stars”. My advice? Forget it. Too many stars across too many disciplines bring their egos with them.
Stars want to hog the limelight – so how do you then resolve problems between the sales superstar and the marketing superstar or the finance superstar? On the basis of this thinking, I thought Spain wouldn’t do well in the World Cup. They were a team with too many stars. How could they park their egos and work well as a unit? When they started the tournament with a loss to Switzerland, my views seemed to be confirmed. The failure of England with its “Golden Generation” and the success of Germany with relative unknowns again seemed to vindicate my views. Okay, so Spanish proved me wrong by winning but consider the following facts: * Most of the players came from one team; Barcelona. They were therefore used to working as a team and as a unit with pre-defined roles and responsibilities. * The captain of the team was the goalkeeper; by definition, he had to trust the team to motivate themselves to perform on the pitch. He needed to provide little leadership. * Their early defeat to Switzerland – and the elimination of both France and Italy at the first stage – may have proved a great lesson to the team. They were not invincible. They had to park their egos at home. The team, on this occasion, proved to be much bigger than any individual. The key lesson for someone looking to build a team is to make sure employees, not matter how senior, understand the essence of teamwork; the importance of inter-dependence and shared goals. They must be capable of putting their own interest aside to work for the greater good. Very few great managers were great footballers (the current Barcelona manager is a notable exception). Ironically, I suspect, it is easier to motivate and manage people when you have genuine respect for their talent because you realise you cannot do certain things yourself. Superstar CEOs tend to think they can do everything better themselves; very de-motivating! Permjot Valia is an active angel investor and blogs at www.businessangelblog.com
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.