Scott Burrows

Scott Burrows, Inspirational Keynote Speaker on Teamwork

Why is Building a Great Team So Difficult?

 

In delivering keynote addresses and workshops across the country on teamwork and what it takes to build a great team, the common refrain is always, “Scott, why is it so darn difficult?” It is, and I might add it’s not your imagination.

Bill Green, writing for inc. magazine (March 20, 2018) noted: “The only way to build a winning team is to recruit and train people you believe can manage different parts of the ship without needing you to handhold them through every decision. This means thinking hard about how you can teach them to make their own decisions.”

Building a great team often requires the leader, the manager, or chief executive to lose ego and have the vision to allow her people to succeed or fail on their own merits.

The next question I usually encounter is, “Scott, suppose the team becomes so effective they no longer need the manager?”

That’s the point, isn’t it? How can a team develop the determination to rise above the task ahead of them if the leader always sticks in his two cents to auto-correct even the most minor detail? Assuming the manager has hired good people, why not have the faith that they will develop the grit to accomplish the task they’ve been given?

Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Building a great team does not mean, of course, that there is no communication between the manager and the team. In fact, it is the opposite. There must be constant communication. The leader must have the determination to never let the team down in terms of supplying information and communication. In turn, every team member must apprise every other member (as well as the manager) of every development. This is where trust comes into play.

No team can function without honesty, without an understanding of everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. This is not a bad thing. Again, quite the opposite. Honest evaluation doesn’t make one team member “weak” or another “strong.” It makes everyone more effective and valued. It also helps the team to be more organized and efficient.

When a team has the shared vision to be successful, and to sublimate ego to achieve an excellent group outcome, it leads to a sense of mutual support and an amazing flow of fresh ideas. Ideas rarely spring to life from thin air. They build on other ideas. When a team is determined to work together, it is not uncommon for “creatives” to have excellent technical questions or for technical minds to suggest amazing marketing ideas. As a keynote speaker on teamwork, to me, one of the saddest things is when team members admit they were so disappointed in the group that they intentionally withheld ideas.

The shared vision of everyone on the team to be successful and to make a difference is self-fulfilling. When a team is successful on one project, they are highly likely to be successful on another.

Do you have the determination to build great teams in your organization? It may involve getting out of comfort zones, to work together to support rather than divide, and to celebrate honesty and efficiency over ego.

We should all build great teams because they lead to the greatest organizations. At the end of the day, that should be all that matters.

 

Contact Scott Burrows, Inspirational Keynote Speaker on Teamwork today through this website or call us at: (520) 548-1169

 

 

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