Against organizational "hero ball"

Remember “hero ball”?

Since the dawn of the century, fans of team sports have witnessed a data-fueled revolution in how winning teams are built. Gone are the days of putting a ball in the hands of the high scorer on a basketball team or an ace starting pitcher in the expectation that they will singlehandedly carry the team to victory.

These days, winning sports teams are built much more with an eye for how all the pieces fit together. We’re seeing a parallel shift in the understanding of how winning organizational Leadership Teams are built.

That’s why dependency recognition is the second of CXN’s Leadership Team Essentials.

Too often, functional area leaders operate in the belief that their work exists in isolation from the rest of an organization –this is where we get the term “siloing.”

It’s the Sales lead who thinks everything would be just fine if those folks over in Product or Engineering would just leave him in peace. The Finance director whose team feels like they’re sidelined from the main thrust of the company and have little to contribute to Strategic Objectives.

Talent still comes first, but even the most talented individual can’t single-handedly carry an organization to "victory” in the absence of alignment and positive accountability among a Leadership Team.

The most successful LTs look a lot like a winning crew boat, where the ability of the rowers to be aligned and in sync (while rowing with strength and power) is the key to victory. Famously, there are no stars in a crew boat.

CXN’s purpose is to serve as a coxswain – or “coach in the boat” – for LTs that want to achieve the “swing” of a winning crew. If our services could help your organization, please comment below to connect or reach out via messaging.