Part 1: Winning teams are built, not born by themselves

Team work, team building and team dynamics are hot topics in today’s business and sports world. Tons of books and articles have been written about teams; how to build those and how to improve team work. Team work has been described as a “Midas touch” which makes your company to succeed in business. Team dynamics and spirit have also got special attention in HR departments; think about how many times in your career you have attended to team related workshops, events, recreational days etc.

Because of my coaching and business background, many people think that I am one of those team fanatics preaching the power of teams. To make myself clear; I am not. Teams are fundamental element in many areas of our everyday life. Most of us are members of teams in our job and recreational activities. But, as we all know, all teams are not equal in their ability to produce results.

My passion is to build understanding what the facts and fictions are regarding teams and team work; especially what are the key elements which generate positive results and how to put those in practice. I think that too little attention has been paid to what the reality of the team work in perspective of effectiveness and efficiency is. Still team is the core issue when establishing both new business or renewing existing operations and organizations. A main question is: do we setup the end result already when selecting members of the team?

I have been following NHL playoffs past couple of weeks with great enthusiasm. I have not been only following the results, but also thinking about game strategies, team composition, etc. Detroit Red Wings is once again playing in the NHL finals and going for the 12th Stanley Cup. It is not going to be easy because Pittsburgh Penguins has extremely good and hungry team.

I admit that I truly admire Red Wings consistent ability to succeed year after year. Scotty Bowman (former head coach) era and following years after him have been amazing journey for Red Wings. They have not been a one hit wonder; they have been a serial success. Becoming one hit wonder can be very much dependent on luck, becoming serial winner requires much more.

What is interesting regarding Red Wings team is that it is the most “European team” of the National Hockey League. In their official roster they have eight Swedes, two Finns, two Czechs, two Slovaks and one Russian player. From North America they have nine Canadians and five U.S. players. No other team seems to have as multi-national team and to have as many Europeans in their roster as Red Wings. And going back in time, their roster seems to change controlled way, little by little, over the years. Sustainability and controlled but constant team building seems to be their trademark.

How did they end up building this kind of team or team building culture? Their extremely multi-cultural and multi-lingual team has lots of different background experiences, mental frameworks, visions, and “hockey senses” how to play winning hockey. Doesn’t it generate big difficulties to communicate, manage and collaborate within such a team? Or, could Red Wings success recipe be their vision on how to build and manage highly talented, multi-national and multicultural team, and the ability to build practical strategies for building and managing team?

I don’t believe Red Wings has magic dust or any mystical powers in building winning teams. They have discovered something that their competitors have not, or they are at least better in executing. I think their recipe for building success is based on many elements, and commitment to build winning team is number one issue.

In practical level the most important part of recipe might be the culture and top management’s ability to recruit people which makes strategic fit into their vision of winning team. They are very picky, cautious, and determined in recruiting. They really look forward to getting those people in the team who they believe in. For those people, they provide a real opportunity to play for the championship, to be part of a great team, and an environment to bring their best for the team. Red Wings has also very sophisticated way of preparing new entrants; they test new team members and spend lots of time for preparing them to the culture and values of team. They coach not only how to play, but also how to be essential element of the team.

When discussing the competitive advantages of Detroit Red Wings, Manchester United, FC Barcelona or other serial success teams, there is no question that those tempt talented and successful people. It is always in professional sports and in business that winners attract the best talent and lots of financial resources. But that is not enough; you have to attract also other stakeholders around your team, like sponsors, fans, service providers etc. Major part of the secret sauce for team success might be vision and strategy how to build the team and how to manage all the resources, not only internal ones.

[To be continued]

References:

Detroit Red Wings (2009). Team Roster 2008-09. http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=TeamPlayers&type=roster