Great teams

“It’s better to have a great team than a team of greats.”
— Simon Sinek 

The Euros were a tough watch for many English football fans who expected their team to live up to their potential as one of the favourites, finally putting to bed the near misses of recent years. Somehow, they made it through to the final without ever looking their best!  The challenge for England manager, Gareth Southgate, and pretty much all national team managers, is this: how to take a group of players who do not regularly play together and maximise the strengths they bring to their club teams whilst moulding them into an effective collective unit? One of the accusations hurled at Southgate was that his players played so much better for their clubs and, apart from a couple of exceptions, never produced that form for their country!
 
The players, of course, are used to playing in their club systems which are all different, so whatever system the manager chooses is going to be an adjustment for some of the players.  Many would agree when watching the England team that the challenge had nothing to do with a lack of desire, will or aptitude.  It had everything to do with connection, understanding, communication and strategy.  In contrast, some of the lower ranked teams didn’t have the same quality of player but as a unit were outstanding.  
 
A crucial part of leadership is being able to build and maintain effective teams. The importance of maximising the strengths of team members is pretty much uniformly accepted whatever the nature of the team, yet many teams fail to do so effectively.  Why is that?  From my experience, I (Andy) would suggest a few key reasons:

 
1. The differences that make a team effective are also the same differences that can cause division.  It’s tough to live in the creative space produced when we accept that difference is essential to the success of any team. 

2. Harnessing people’s strengths takes a lot of time and thought, something that many leaders don’t feel is a priority in the busyness of their roles.  Great teams don’t just happen by accident! 

3. The collective vision has to be compelling enough that individuals are willing to blend their strengths with those of other team members.  Everyone may have to spend a portion of their time engaged in work outside of what they desire. 
  
4. High levels of understanding, connection and communication are key ingredients but those are all subjective and can’t be pinned down just by having good processes and systems in place. 

It’s that last point that seems to be one of the challenges for the England football team.  You got the impression watching them that they all knew it wasn’t working as it was supposed to, but nobody could put their finger on why!  I reckon if we could do that, life in teams would be so much more straightforward.

Questions to ponder:
 

1. What differences exist in my team(s)? How can those differences spark success?
2. When's the last time I thought about the strengths individuals bring to their team? How can I make sure I am harnessing their strengths in the contributions they are making?
3. Does my team have a clear and compelling vision? How can I keep that alive and inspirational?
4. How can I intentionally build greater understanding, connection and communication in my team(s)?