Teams matter...

Since 1956, only 14 players (23 total times, Jordan did it 4 times) have won the Most Valuable Player award and their team won the NBA championship – only about 1/3 of the time. Since 1966, only 13 players have won the MVP and the Superbowl in the same season – about 1/4 of the time. Only 7 out of 12 Triple Crown winners won the MVP in baseball. Why am I telling you this? Teams matter.

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” African proverb.

The value of teamwork is regularly seen every day. In our families, at work, and in the sports we watch. How often do we see teams made up of expensive star players outperformed by teams with players who may be individually less talented? Mike Trout is still looking for a championship (nice contract btw Mike), LeBron is proving the Lakers need more than him (did you see the photo of him sitting alone and the rest of the Lakers together?), and even Tom Brady (kills me to write this as a Packer fan) only wins 1/3 of the time. Brett Favre won the MVP in 1997, but the Packers did not win the Superbowl.

The answer to true success with a team entails two things. The synergistic value of teamwork, and in the crucial role of leadership. The teams that work together and evolve around the collective strengths. The leaders who understand the needs of the team versus the needs of the self. The perennial University of Connecticut women's basketball team is the best example in sports (did you ever notice they have no names on their uniforms, only numbers on the back?). There are other selfless teams like the Spurs and the Warriors, the Astros, and even the Rams from last year achieved greater success because of their teamwork. Their collective and individual focus and reward is based on team winning, not individual stats.

In Michael Jordan’s own words, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

Esprit de corps is about the sense of unity, of enthusiasm for common interests and responsibilities, as developed among team members closely associated in a task, cause, enterprise, etc.  Teamwork is also the oil that makes the team work. Teamwork is the power of many. It can enable more efficient movement towards targets, can prolong forward momentum, and can help teams to overcome obstacles. Together. We. Win.

“A warrior’s mission is to foster the success of others.” Morihei Ueshiba.

Building a strong team is important to the success of you and your organization. Some tips for building a strong team are to find and keep: team members with complementary skills, experiences and interpersonal styles; team members with a common or shared purpose - a real commitment to a common belief; team members with a strong focus on driving results - the team is clear what to achieve; team members with a mutual accountability to each other – a shared responsibility to deliver objectives; team members with collaborative leadership - understanding when sharing leadership can be more efficient than individual leadership; and finally team members with inherent trust in each other - the foundation upon which all of the above must be built upon.

Alice Calin says it best, ”Many companies nowadays emphasize the importance of talent. They are driving on the idea that a few top employees are responsible for most of the overall success. However, most recent productivity studies have shown that even those shining superstars need the help of a strong team in order to succeed. Therefore, the importance of teamwork is emphasized more and more, with companies spending millions on team building strategies.”

“Greatness is a life mission, being the best is not about being better than anyone else but striving to be the best that you can and bringing out the best in others.” Dominick Cruz.

Studies have shown that teams with members coming from diverse backgrounds (gender, age, ethnicity, etc.) are more creative and perform better by up to 35 percent, compared to non-diverse teams. This shows the importance of having different perspectives to work with: instead of viewing a single photo of things, teamwork offers a 3D movie. In a team, the workload is shared among team members with different skill sets and expertise. Members join their powers together to do a better job, in a shorter time frame than a single person ever could. Having people with different skills, levels of experience, and abilities working together does not only mean that they will work better and faster. While interacting over work issues, they are also sharing their knowledge with each other. They’re growing together and improving their abilities. They learn from their teammate’s experience and they keep discovering new ways of doing things.

So … which team do you think is more successful: A team of superstar athletes with individual goals or a competent team of focused athletes who understand the importance of teamwork and have common team goals? Think back to the women's UCONN basketball team. Together we really do achieve more.

Are you thinking about this as you build, or rebuild your teams? Are you valuing the collective sum of the team or looking for that one bright star that overpowers all the others? Are you building teams with members who compliment and challenge each other (btw ... a bit tougher to manage and lead a team with differing views from your own)? Are you being the best leader you can be by hiring different from you? Embrace difference and support cohesion.

Together. We.  Win.