3 tips for building a super team

Super teams are special. They have a compelling purpose and translate this into a clear picture of perfection. People choose to opt-into the team and make their best contribution towards achieving the goals. They do professional work, solve problems and deliver peak performance. People then do everything possible to achieve the picture of perfection. The super teams approach comes with three health warnings. First, it works. Second, it looks simple on paper, but that does not mean it is easy. Third, it calls for taking tough decisions, especially about people. There are normally seven steps towards building such a team – see illustration – but we can break these down into three main stages.

1) You can clarify the purpose, picture of perfection and principles.

Start by creating a compelling purpose. This is the team’s reason for being. Translate the purpose into a clear picture of perfection. What does this mean? Pick a date in the future. Describe the actual things that will be happening then that will show the team has reached its goal. If possible, produce an inspiring ‘one-liner’ that sums up your aim. Draw a road map towards achieving the target. You can do this by starting from your destination and working backwards. Describe the milestones – the specific things the team must achieve at each stage of the journey. Outline the ‘actual words’ you want to hear different groups of people saying along the way. After clarifying the ‘What’, revisit the ‘Why’. Clarify the benefits of reaching the goals – for the organisation, the customers and the team members. Move onto the ‘How’. Clarify the key principles – the key strategies – the team can follow to give it the greatest chance of success. You are now ready to communicate the purpose, picture of perfection and principles – but then comes the crucial step.

2) You can get the right people.

This is the pivotal part. Get the right people with the right spirit – because otherwise you are sunk. Great teams are build on ‘similarity of spirit and diversity of strengths’. Diversity of spirit is a recipe for disaster. Get the right balance between ‘soul players’ and ‘star players’. Soul players embody the spirit of the team. They are consistent players who do the right things every day. Star players also embody the spirit, but they also add ‘little bit extra’. There is no place for ‘semi-detached’ players who are waiting to be motivated. One negative person can dilute the energy of many people in the team.

Clear contracting is crucial and is the hallmark of healthy cultures. There are three things you can do to make this happen. First, communicate the picture of perfection. Second, invite people to proactively get back to you to show how they want to contribute to achieving the picture of perfection. Third, bearing in mind each person’s strengths, make clear contracts about their part in reaching the goals. (You can find out more about this process in the piece called 3 tips for clarifying each person’s contribution to the picture of perfection.)

“But in his book Good to Great, Jim Collins says get the people first,” somebody may say. Jim Collins has written a tremendous book, but on this point he is sometimes misunderstood. When hiring people, it is vital to know roughly the kind of business in which you aim to achieve peak performance. If you are in the alpine climbing business, for example, hire people who have a passion for alpine climbing. Otherwise you may collect rock climbers, free climbers and scuba divers who have different agendas. Clarify the kind of ‘mountain’ you are climbing, then give people empowerment – within parameters – to finalise the goals and implement their part of the strategy.

3) You can enable people to be professional, solve problems and achieve peak performance.

Great teams develop good habits. They keep doing the right things in the right way every day. Invite each person – or, in larger groups, each team – to describe the specific things they will do to deliver the goods. Ask them to proactively keep you informed about the actions they are taking to tackle the issues that are in the ‘Green, Amber & Red’ zones. Great teams contain resilient people who overcome setbacks. Educate them to stay calm during crises, solve problems and deliver the goods when it matters. Encourage people to keep working hard and achieve the picture of perfection.

One ending is a new beginning. Some teams disband after reaching the goal. Other teams refocus on the purpose and translate it into a new picture of perfection. Pacesetting teams, for example, have a special kind of psychology. They aim to take the lead, maintain the lead and extend the lead. Staying ahead of everybody else, they make the new rules for the game. Guiding your team to success, you may then want to repeat the process. As they say in sport: “First build a team, then a club, then a dynasty.” This calls for making even tougher decisions on the road towards building a second-generation super team.