There’s pretty much no loyalty when it comes to the players and coaches – it’s all about money and titles. And over the last ten years, dissatisfied players have made it a habit to bounce around looking for the next “superteam” to form.
Whether you watch a lot of sports or not, we all wish that building a superteam in business was as simple as it is for pro sports teams. But it’s not. We can’t just print money to recruit the best of the best. And finding great employees only gets harder as the Great Resignation continues.
So, what can you do to create a superteam from within? You can maximize the effectiveness of your current team.
Before you can try to teach a team something new, you need three key elements. Believe it or not, all teams need these things, no matter how many five-star recruits they have.
Willingness To Be Challenged
This must be inherent in the minds and hearts of all the team members. Each team member must demonstrate they can take on a new challenge even in the face of doubt. A willingness to fail and some level of risk taking is going to be necessary if the team is going to succeed.
Keep in mind, for the most part, you can teach skills. You can share tons of knowledge and people can learn over time (yes, even “old dogs”). You as the business owner must manage the team in a way that keeps things moving forward while helping to fill in the skill or knowledge gaps.
At the end of the day, the willingness and openness to receive new information, coaching and formative feedback for improvement lies in the heart of each team member. You can’t manufacture the individual fire or spark. Recruit for it. Interview for it. And create an environment that makes learning and overcoming challenges a priority.
A Great Coach
Every superteam needs a coach, believe it or not. And to effectively impart the knowledge we just talked about, you must understand the three types of learning styles.
Members of your team are either kinesthetic, auditory, or visual learners. The dominate learning style will shape the way you have to deliver information and impart new skills.
Are your team members doers? Do they need to be hands-on to learn? Are your team members auditory, where they must hear information in various form to learn? Or are your team members, visual learners? Do they require visual tools and cues to spark the learning?
As a coach, you must vary the delivery of training, coaching and education and tailor it to individual learning styles as much as possible. Keep in mind, that all team members don’t learn at the same pace and some may need additional support along the way.
Good businesses have a great owner who understands these learning styles and can quickly “put on the coaching hat”. Great businesses have effective managers who do this, freeing up time for the business owner to work solely ON the business.
A Shared Goal
Ultimately, team success comes from shared goals and timelines. If each team member works with the end in mind, they have a better chance of success. You must let the team set boundaries and consequences for each other and a clear accountability plan must be in place.
Personality styles also factor in as you prepare your team for loftier goals. Whether you use Meyers Briggs®, DISC® or other personality tools to help you better understand how to best communicate with each team member, every team member must know each other’s styles for maximum output. We have ours framed on every team-member’s office door.
When your whole team can effectively communicate goals in a way that inspires and motivates, you’ll free up even MORE time for yourself as a business owner.
One thing to bear in mind – external factors and internal politics further will complicate team learning dynamics. If you don’t monitor the outside forces that derail things, your team will have zero ability to adjust. Internal politics also work against you as team members vie for promotions, recognition, or attention. Be mindful of the internal forces driving motivation.
Once the team demonstrates mastery or achieves a certain outcome, you must reward them. Unfortunately, there’s no business Super Bowl ring out there (if you find one, let me know).
Keep in mind that every member of the team is motivated in different ways. Group rewards rarely fit the bill. Remember always that the team consists of individuals. Building a strong, tight-knit culture will help, but it won’t cover people’s innate desire for personal success. Consider the implications of group rewards on both the individual AND the team if you plan on utilizing them.
Clearly, you can’t create a superteam out of thin air like you can in the sports world. However, your team can still achieve greatness. You as the owner/manager/coach must guide, develop, challenge, and motivate their team to exceed even their own expectations to thrive and win.
The best coaches in both sports and in business HAVE COACHES. If you want to learn more about business coaching and how it could help turn your team into a superteam, schedule a complimentary session with us, or check out our upcoming events and free tools.
