Minding Your Own Brand

Is your team ready to win?

By Dave Lubelczyk

PLAY BALL! Baseball season is about to begin. All winter, teams have been making deals to acquire the best possible talent. However, star power alone doesn’t win a championship. As Babe Ruth said, “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.” Therefore, smart teams have spent spring training working on creating a team culture, developing team dynamics and molding their group of stars into a cohesive unit who will work together to win a championship this year.

I had the privilege to hear Red Sox skipper Terry Francona speak about the 2004 championship Red Sox. He talked about how their historic and odds defying wins were as much about team chemistry and off the field team bond as it was about on the field talent and heroics.

Companies can learn from this. When building their team, they need to examine how the talent they hire fits the culture they wish to build. It is hard to change individuals because most people don’t want to critically look at themselves and they hate change. Therefore, instead of just hiring for talent, companies must examine candidates for attitude and team fit.

The entire team must be on the same page and working as a unit. An organization will fail if people are acting as individuals and in their own best interest, just like a baseball team may lose if the hitter tries to boost his batting average rather than hit a sacrifice and move the runner closer to home plate. When everyone is aligned, the organization is aligned and heading in the same direction.

Traditional business thinking aims to control situations, but companies must avoid the temptation to try to set the culture by force. Companies should stop focusing on controlling employee interactions and focus on matching up people with similar expectations who will build and deliver the desired culture. When you recruit based on shared expectations, less effort will be required to attain success. This is due to the fact that the team will shape their own culture based on these expectations and they will be inspired to advocate for the organization. Because of this, companies will find it easier to recruit and retain other loyal internal and external advocates.

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