Stay with me on this one. At the end of this posting there's a controversial statement which I'd love to get your comments on.
In the first posting on this blog Scott made the comment that "leaders create and foster a team environment in which all team members feel that they are valuable and respected members of the team". It reminded me of something else he said to me once, that "great [sports] teams 'get around each other' when they need to come back from behind".
Going down this path made me think of something which I often come back to. Team sports are a WEALTH of leadership guidance. How to motivate. Coaching and feedback. The power of goal alignment. The impact of the weakest link. Making sure people are in roles (positions) they're best suited to and able to succeed. And the list goes on...
There's so much to learn from team sports that I'd suggest that anyone who wants to learn leadership study or (preferably) play team sports.
Additionally, I'd suggest that observing people playing team sports tells you how they'll perform in a workplace team. Will they naturally lead? Will they "get around" the team? Will they motivate? Will they make "all team members feel that they are valuable and respected"?
Bringing this together I'd suggest the following: ONLY hire people into leadership positions if they've played team sports, and ideally go play a team sport with them as part of the job interview.
That's the controversial statement. Comments???
Agreed - and it works both ways.
ReplyDeleteThe longer I spent in a team environment and saw what worked and what didn't, the better I got at team sports.
It used to be I got frustrated and upset at myself and other players when things went wrong.
Nowadays I'm more inclined to share a quiet one-on-one word of coaching rather than shouting at my teammates on the field.
Another great insight Mark.
Great insight back! Two notes:
ReplyDelete1. Your example reminded me of "Praise in public, give adjusting feedback in private". That's something I've seen in action recently and feel it's critical in business and pleasure
2. Makes me think to do a posting on what you learn about leadership at work that you can apply in your personal life. Stay tuned...!
Disagree with that absolute statement:
ReplyDelete1. I've worked with some very inspiring leaders and peers who have never played or been interested in playing team sports. I believe some humans have a propensity for leadership, and this isn't just nurtured by experience but part of their genetic makeup. That said, they usually sell themselves well in interviews, and the talent shines through. Would be unfortunate to overlook these people by narrowing the field to such a specific requirement. Even the waterboy can inspire!
2. I have worked with and for leaders who have participated in team sports throughout their lives and really didn't get the "team" mentality. They had physical talent, and seemingly endless ego. In some cases they were able to get quite far in their careers, though I suspect they could have gotten a lot more out of their teams, and helped them be happy and fulfilled in their own right. Suffice to say, not altogether successful leaders despite hearing the endless sports metaphores that sometimes help and other times hinder. There's little worse than a boss citing a sports metaphore to laud themselves for ancient play from college they want to relive. This is the dark side of your statment.
Not to play devil's advocate here, but I've interviewed and hired a wide variety of people over the years, and could give you examples of great leaders who have both participated or not in team sports. They key is recognizing the talent and potential.
My HR two cents...
n.b.: I played both volleyball and basketball through high school and college, so I'm not defending the alternate side because it suits my background. :)
I told you the comment would be controversial! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's great to get Gaby's response here, as it's this type of dialog that helps everyone using this blog to improve and refine our approaches.
I completely agree with Gaby's comments - the post was meant to be controversial, and she's right to point out that it is most likely excluding good candidates.
However, I also think that she raises an additional point that could help refine the "controversial" statement. Namely, that many people play team sports and yet don't get the team mentality. I think that's true both in team sports and in work environments. These people are often much more focused on their individual performances rather than the team's results, sometimes resulting in the team being less successful than if they had one less player on the field.
Perhaps a better form of the statement is the following: "find out if people have played team sports. If they have, ask them how they did. If the answers focus on their performance rather than the team results then beware".
Comments?
I've heard this sports example cited before and I believe it is becoming an artifact of a generation...but not necessarily incorrect. Most people don't really play team sports anymore so finding a group of potential hires who all played on a sports team is becoming more dificult.
ReplyDeleteTeams in business do tend to mimic the teams of the field with all the colorful variety of talents that each is composed of. There are egos and wallflowers as well as sleepers and selfless heroes.
Perhaps we can simply omit the word "sports" to update the term.
So... to use this to identify potential team members for your staff or some team function ask:
- Were you ever a member of a team which achieved relative excellence or championship status? What was your role, both initially and as it evolved.
I think this will give you better results than:
- Were you ever a popular member of a team or how well do you like being on a team?
The dynamics of a successful team depend more on mutual support and diversity than on across the board "quality".
If you desire for strong leaders to emerge within the team then most members must be willing to submit.
Charismatic figures should be backed up by detail-attentive enablers or little will be accomplished.
I could ramble on about the problems associated with well meaning leaders who hand pick their teams to a high degree of quaility accepting only the best of the best. If you create a team composed of people who are accustomed to being the star of the show at their old jobs, you may end up with alot of disgruntled ex-heroes.
I don't mean to be a parade rainer but (you did say this would be controversial) I believe that the traits you should look for are:
1. Diversity of talent
2. Ability to communicate
3. Complimentary (not similar) control expectations
4. Strong, respectful, involved, fearless coaching.
John