When Building A Team Think Diversity, Not Superstars
Onboarding like talent does not always equate to winning percentages
Posted on 08-16-2019, Read Time: - Min
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Hiring the most talented candidates available may get you an all-star team, but it won’t necessarily bring you a championship season. In fact, hiring candidates with like talents can be detrimental to your overall business goals.
There is no doubt that an all-star team is capable of winning; however, building such a team does not always guarantee you the best opportunity for higher levels of achievement—or of sustained success.
Let’s use sports as an example. The 2004 U.S. Olympic Basketball team was loaded with NBA superstars—LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony among them. At the time, these were the greatest ballplayers on the planet. Yet they not only lost the most games ever by a U.S. Olympic basketball team—a total of three—but they also suffered the biggest loss, a 92-73 shellacking by Puerto Rico.
What happened? Individually each player was a superstar. But they could not achieve success because although they had the talent, they lacked chemistry. And it was that lack of chemistry that ultimately derailed their hopes of Olympic gold.
Onboarding like talent does not always equate to winning percentages. Team chemistry, built from a diversity of experience and skill levels, does. It is critical to building a winning team that can compete year after year. And with teaming, the business platform that focuses on individuals’ unique abilities with specialized roles for the betterment of the team, your team can dominate the business competition year after year.
How did he do it? It was due to Auerbach’s understanding of team building. In 1950, he drafted Chuck Cooper, the first African American player. In 1964, he put the first African American starting five on the court. He chose his players for their unique abilities, such as Bill Russell, the future Hall of Famer. Auerbach had a team with all-stars, but he knew that to win championships he needed a big center that could get the ball to those all-star players. He drafted Russell in 1956; the Celtics won the NBA championship each year from 1957 through 1966.
For Auerbach, there was more to the makeup of a team than just choosing all-star players. It was about choosing a diversity of players who were right for the team. It was the chemistry created in how they all worked together and how they worked with him. Years after retiring, Russell reflected on Auerbach, “I never felt I was working for Red. I always felt we were working together. The reason we were successful was that everyone respected Red and Red respected us. The Celtics were a way of life to me—a group of people so diverse you couldn’t imagine, working together day in and day out for a common goal.”
Auerbach stated that once he fully realized each player was different, he became a better coach. He realized not all players were superstars like Russell, but each played just as critical a role in the Celtic machine that dominated the NBA for a decade.
In business, you want to build a diverse team around a superstar, and teaming allows you to do that. The superstar in an organization is the top achiever, the rainmaker who brings in the most revenue. By developing a team around that achiever, one built of unique talents that can fully support him or her, your team can improve business processes and thereby increase productivity, generating more business.
Like Auerbach’s system, teaming provides immediate results with long-term benefits. Along with productivity, retention, and recruiting, teaming strengthens succession planning. In the business world, when a void is experienced, the proper development of new hires can take months or even years. With teaming, the clearly defined roles and responsibilities that have been outlined in the team playbook pave the way for developing players to fill the voids.
Effective succession planning requires a comprehensive development system. And that’s what teaming allows. In the movement through teaming levels—from emerging to functional to seasoned—team members are constantly gathering the knowledge needed to fulfill roles. And if a team member leaves, it’s not as devastating a blow as it would be for a company reliant on individual performances.
There’s another reason why teaming is the best solution for succession planning: It’s attractive to millennials, who will compose 50 percent of the workforce in 2020. Teaming allows them to be in control of their career path, advancing to higher level of achievement as they move through the teaming levels.
When looking for players for your team, don’t just focus on the superstars. Instead look for players that complement others’ unique abilities and who can add different skill sets to your team. Many business leaders today feel more comfortable hiring people just like them. But in today’s business landscape, and especially in a sales organization, team leaders must think differently. They must recognize that their teams need to have specialized roles for diversity of thought. Why? Because a business must be able to work with people from different age groups and racial and ethnic demographics; and because a diverse workforce is key to maximizing ideas and creativity within organizations.
As a coach in a teaming environment, you must be open to new ideas, both from outside resources as well as from within your own organization. In today’s rapidly changing world, no one person has all the knowledge, and a diversity of ideas helps to ensure you put yourself and your team in the best possible position to achieve greater results.
It is because of these changes that a major shift has occurred in the business landscape: the days of one person having all the answers in an organization is gone. There is too much information out there, too much knowledge to be gained on a variety of topics for one person to be the gatekeeper for an organization. Today, businesses need specialists in their organization who can withstand all the changes brought on by these disrupters.
Let’s take our industry as an example. Financial Services has become so complex between the depth of products, legislative laws, and the complexities of the needs we are trying to solve for today’s clients (same-sex marriages, blended homes, high divorce rates, special needs children). A generalist can inadvertently hurt a client’s financial plan because they have a little knowledge on a lot of topics. They’re not specialists in any one area. And if they are not using the power of teaming—which brings together specialists on one team—they don’t have the depth of knowledge to make a huge impact on a client’s financial solution.
We have specialists for segments of our business—financial planning, retirement services, small business markets, etc.—as well as specialists within each team for the sales and marketing processes, including the top achiever who works best with the A clients, the specialist who excels at fact finding, and the specialist for closing.
Instead of leaving all the responsibilities of the sales process to one individual, who would likely be overwhelmed by all the intricacies involved in financial services, one team of specialized individuals makes the process move along smoothly. So, specialization provides a two-fold result: it helps our business to grow and it helps the consumer receive the best customer experience possible.
While salespeople like to believe they can do business with all walks of life, the truth is that when making purchasing decisions, consumers build trust faster with people with whom they share commonalities. For that reason, the need for diversity in a business becomes even more obvious. A team member who has grown up in a Hispanic household and is bilingual can provide greater customer experiences for a Hispanic community. That person can also provide insight into the buying habits of the community, or ideas that celebrate their heritage.
Similarly, a millennial who is savvy with social media platforms can be an important part of teaming. Consumers today expect superior customer service experiences, and an important differentiator between your company and another might be the ability to use a customer’s preferred mode of communication. Having a millennial on the team who knows not only how to use tools such as Snapchat and Instagram will go a long way in helping your company compete in a crowded marketplace.
Diversity brings different ways of thinking to an organization, and that on its own brings strength and power to your business. People from similar backgrounds and upbringing will tend to think alike. Diversity will bring new ideas, new possibilities, and new creativity—and new opportunities for you to grow your business.
So when looking to build your team, remember to look for the right players and not only the superstars. A diverse group with great team chemistry can take you to higher levels of achievement that you might have thought previously possible.
There is no doubt that an all-star team is capable of winning; however, building such a team does not always guarantee you the best opportunity for higher levels of achievement—or of sustained success.
Let’s use sports as an example. The 2004 U.S. Olympic Basketball team was loaded with NBA superstars—LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony among them. At the time, these were the greatest ballplayers on the planet. Yet they not only lost the most games ever by a U.S. Olympic basketball team—a total of three—but they also suffered the biggest loss, a 92-73 shellacking by Puerto Rico.
What happened? Individually each player was a superstar. But they could not achieve success because although they had the talent, they lacked chemistry. And it was that lack of chemistry that ultimately derailed their hopes of Olympic gold.
Onboarding like talent does not always equate to winning percentages. Team chemistry, built from a diversity of experience and skill levels, does. It is critical to building a winning team that can compete year after year. And with teaming, the business platform that focuses on individuals’ unique abilities with specialized roles for the betterment of the team, your team can dominate the business competition year after year.
Building a Diverse Team
Red Auerbach was the legendary coach of the Boston Celtics. As coach, his nine titles in sixteen years gave him a winning percentage of 56.25. As general manager, he won sixteen NBA championships in twenty-nine years, a winning percentage of 55.17.How did he do it? It was due to Auerbach’s understanding of team building. In 1950, he drafted Chuck Cooper, the first African American player. In 1964, he put the first African American starting five on the court. He chose his players for their unique abilities, such as Bill Russell, the future Hall of Famer. Auerbach had a team with all-stars, but he knew that to win championships he needed a big center that could get the ball to those all-star players. He drafted Russell in 1956; the Celtics won the NBA championship each year from 1957 through 1966.
For Auerbach, there was more to the makeup of a team than just choosing all-star players. It was about choosing a diversity of players who were right for the team. It was the chemistry created in how they all worked together and how they worked with him. Years after retiring, Russell reflected on Auerbach, “I never felt I was working for Red. I always felt we were working together. The reason we were successful was that everyone respected Red and Red respected us. The Celtics were a way of life to me—a group of people so diverse you couldn’t imagine, working together day in and day out for a common goal.”
Auerbach stated that once he fully realized each player was different, he became a better coach. He realized not all players were superstars like Russell, but each played just as critical a role in the Celtic machine that dominated the NBA for a decade.
In business, you want to build a diverse team around a superstar, and teaming allows you to do that. The superstar in an organization is the top achiever, the rainmaker who brings in the most revenue. By developing a team around that achiever, one built of unique talents that can fully support him or her, your team can improve business processes and thereby increase productivity, generating more business.
Player Pipeline
Auerbach’s team changed over the years. Players retired or were traded, and new players were drafted. But the Celtics continued a winning tradition because younger players were continually developed. New players with unique abilities to fulfill specialized roles were able to come off the bench and assume the responsibilities of those who had left.Like Auerbach’s system, teaming provides immediate results with long-term benefits. Along with productivity, retention, and recruiting, teaming strengthens succession planning. In the business world, when a void is experienced, the proper development of new hires can take months or even years. With teaming, the clearly defined roles and responsibilities that have been outlined in the team playbook pave the way for developing players to fill the voids.
Effective succession planning requires a comprehensive development system. And that’s what teaming allows. In the movement through teaming levels—from emerging to functional to seasoned—team members are constantly gathering the knowledge needed to fulfill roles. And if a team member leaves, it’s not as devastating a blow as it would be for a company reliant on individual performances.
There’s another reason why teaming is the best solution for succession planning: It’s attractive to millennials, who will compose 50 percent of the workforce in 2020. Teaming allows them to be in control of their career path, advancing to higher level of achievement as they move through the teaming levels.
Diverse Workforce
As a coach looking to form your own team, keep the importance of team chemistry at the forefront when making decisions on who will be on the team. The individuals you bring together must work well together. They must trust one another, support one another, and most importantly, stay focused on the team goal.When looking for players for your team, don’t just focus on the superstars. Instead look for players that complement others’ unique abilities and who can add different skill sets to your team. Many business leaders today feel more comfortable hiring people just like them. But in today’s business landscape, and especially in a sales organization, team leaders must think differently. They must recognize that their teams need to have specialized roles for diversity of thought. Why? Because a business must be able to work with people from different age groups and racial and ethnic demographics; and because a diverse workforce is key to maximizing ideas and creativity within organizations.
As a coach in a teaming environment, you must be open to new ideas, both from outside resources as well as from within your own organization. In today’s rapidly changing world, no one person has all the knowledge, and a diversity of ideas helps to ensure you put yourself and your team in the best possible position to achieve greater results.
Diversity in Team Roster
Businesses today face constant change from new technology, new modes of communication, new laws, and changing consumer preferences. All these disrupters can seriously compromise a business’ core competencies.It is because of these changes that a major shift has occurred in the business landscape: the days of one person having all the answers in an organization is gone. There is too much information out there, too much knowledge to be gained on a variety of topics for one person to be the gatekeeper for an organization. Today, businesses need specialists in their organization who can withstand all the changes brought on by these disrupters.
Let’s take our industry as an example. Financial Services has become so complex between the depth of products, legislative laws, and the complexities of the needs we are trying to solve for today’s clients (same-sex marriages, blended homes, high divorce rates, special needs children). A generalist can inadvertently hurt a client’s financial plan because they have a little knowledge on a lot of topics. They’re not specialists in any one area. And if they are not using the power of teaming—which brings together specialists on one team—they don’t have the depth of knowledge to make a huge impact on a client’s financial solution.
We have specialists for segments of our business—financial planning, retirement services, small business markets, etc.—as well as specialists within each team for the sales and marketing processes, including the top achiever who works best with the A clients, the specialist who excels at fact finding, and the specialist for closing.
Instead of leaving all the responsibilities of the sales process to one individual, who would likely be overwhelmed by all the intricacies involved in financial services, one team of specialized individuals makes the process move along smoothly. So, specialization provides a two-fold result: it helps our business to grow and it helps the consumer receive the best customer experience possible.
Diversity for Communities Served
Diversity on your team should reflect the communities being served. For instance, the makeup of a team in Arizona might look very different than one in New Jersey because the local populations are made up of different ethnicities.While salespeople like to believe they can do business with all walks of life, the truth is that when making purchasing decisions, consumers build trust faster with people with whom they share commonalities. For that reason, the need for diversity in a business becomes even more obvious. A team member who has grown up in a Hispanic household and is bilingual can provide greater customer experiences for a Hispanic community. That person can also provide insight into the buying habits of the community, or ideas that celebrate their heritage.
Similarly, a millennial who is savvy with social media platforms can be an important part of teaming. Consumers today expect superior customer service experiences, and an important differentiator between your company and another might be the ability to use a customer’s preferred mode of communication. Having a millennial on the team who knows not only how to use tools such as Snapchat and Instagram will go a long way in helping your company compete in a crowded marketplace.
Diversity brings different ways of thinking to an organization, and that on its own brings strength and power to your business. People from similar backgrounds and upbringing will tend to think alike. Diversity will bring new ideas, new possibilities, and new creativity—and new opportunities for you to grow your business.
So when looking to build your team, remember to look for the right players and not only the superstars. A diverse group with great team chemistry can take you to higher levels of achievement that you might have thought previously possible.
Author Bios
| John F. Bucsek, CEO, and Bellaria Jimenez, President, lead MassMutual Tri State in New Jersey, where they direct a team of 26 staff leaders and 150 sales representatives. They are co-authors of the recently released The Team Game: How Your Business Can Dominate Year After Year. Visit www.tristate.massmutual.com Connect John F. Bucsek Connect Bellaria Jimenez |
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