Building a Real Team is an HR Challenge

Forget Corporate America, degrees, developmental courses, books, or even online education. It seems like one of the best places to study and learn about team dynamics comes from youth coaching. It always shocks me how much I learn from working with youth sports teams.

Currently, I am coaching a youth basketball team that appears to have some good talent for the age group. Across the board, the team members have experience and athletic ability.The players are smart and very coachable. We started the season with a 3-0 record with wins by double digit margins in each game. All the players were actively scoring points and contributing.

Then came the fourth game, and our best player was not able to attend. It was amazing to watch the dynamics unfold--literally. There had been instances in prior games where the best player was not on the floor and the team did great. But in his absence I learned a lot about my team’s mental state. He is a very good player, but there are other good players on the team as well. In my non-professional coaching opinion, the team had begun to identify itself with the best player instead of as a tight unit.

It is not uncommon for teams to have an overreliance on one individual performer. By definition, that is not a team, nor are the individuals maximizing their ability and contribution to the overall good. A strong team should be just as effective without the stand-out performer. Have you seen your team operate without the stand-out? Is there an overreliance on one individual? Can employee development programs help? Add a comment and let's start a discussion.

As you may have guessed, we lost that fourth game. But I was encouraged at our next practice because each player stepped up and progressed beyond their comfort level. I am excited to see our next performance as the team realizes we are much more than one player.