Successful leaders have successful teams. Successful teams have a high function capability regardless of talent, number or skill. Because successful teams are able to cover for and carry one another. I have found that truly successful teams despite if they are in academics, ministry or business all do the following well:

“None of us is as smart as all of us”

-Ken Blanchard

1. Common Definition: Successful teams have a common definition of success. If your team does not have the same definition for what success is, how you will achieve it and what happens once you get there, then your  team will never have a chance at unity. Terms have to be collectively defined. Not only do terms have to be defined. They have to be accepted. Common definitions come from mutual agreements. Mutual agreements will never happen without some sort of personal compromise.

Successful teams all speak the same language. Diversity is great, but you need a “team language.” I don’t mean the same tongue as in English or Spanish, but rather the language of understanding. A team language leads in the same direction and allows everyone to feel like they are a part of the team.  Using hyperbole, sarcasm, innuendo, or inside stories do not help getting everyone on the same page and creates isolation among individual members. Communication is key in creating common definitions. Common definitions create clarity. Successful teams always function with simplicity and clarity. Simplicity, sincerity and clarity foster understanding. 

2. Shared Vision: Successful teams not only have a common vision, but they are actually good at sharing it. Successful teams learn to share. Sharing is simply a willingness to divide what you have with others. Selfish teams are unsuccessful teams because they aren’t willing to share themselves, their ideas or even their discomfort with those on the team. A selfish team is an immature team. A shared vision is a selfless act on the part of each individual member to sacrifice what they want or how they feel in order to achieve the common vision. In order for teams to accomplish or reach a common goal it will always take a strong measure of selflessness and great sacrifice. Selfish people will never give up their right to get their own way and they will never sacrifice. This unwillingness to sacrifice demonstrates an immaturity that says, “This team must be run the way that I think and the way that I want.” Selfless people simply say, “How can I help you get better?” Sacrificial people simply say, “Tell me what needs to be done.” This attributes to the shared vision. When you get out of the way, it is easier to see a common goal or shared vision. But, too often selfish individuals are in their own way of seeing a shared future. A shared vision always paints a picture of a shared future. The problem that many teams have is that individuals on the team don’t see a shared future with the others on the team. They will never find success until they do.

Shared vision presents a shared future. Successful teams always have a picture of a shared future.  A shared future is never focused around a single individual.

3. Unity: Successful teams always fight for unity, they don’t fight in it. A divided team is a dead team. Factions are the quickest way to kill momentum and delay any sort of shared vision and common goals. Factions are where individuals group together to do what they think is best. Teams don’t ever work well when individuals do their own things. Smart coaches don’t pick only the most talented individuals, but also the most harmonious individuals. A team can never achieve unity, which is the unanimous joining together without harmony. Harmony means that everyone is in agreement. The French National Soccer (Football) Team is a primary example. In 2018, they won the World Cup. It was a talented team, but the team was not selected on talent alone. Didier Deschamps had become the head coach. In fact, the French National Team had left the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 in shame and division with players even refusing to train. According to the Guardian, “he has placed the importance of squad harmony above nearly everything else. Anyone who threatens that unity is cast out immediately” (White, 2018).

“We have good players in our team but that is not all. We are a true family.” -Benjamin Mendy, French Soccer Player & World Cup Winner

Unless a team becomes a healthy family it will never achieve the level of success that it could without the strong bonds and deep devotion that are able through family bonds.

4. Humility: Successful teams will never function to their fullest without humility. Humility is a more powerful bonding agent than pride. Pride actually pushes people apart. Humility pulls people together. Proud people don’t like to suffer. Humble people accept suffering as a necessary part of the journey and are willing to suffer with one another.  In fact, humble team mates never let others on their team suffer alone. Until the entire team embraces humility, a team will never truly achieve unity. Humility is the willful lowering of self. Personal goals and personal ambitions must be lowered below team goals. This is a challenge for many skilled and talented individuals because it’s their ability that they see has gotten them this far. A single, individual player will never achieve what a group of dedicated, humble players can achieve. There is power in numbers.

Momentum never comes from beating one’s chest and saying “Look at me.” It is often the most selfless act that creates the most momentum. In fact, the quickest way to lose the energy is to point to individual accolades or accomplishments. Leaders must lead with an example of humility. Humility allows the team or organization’s momentum to grow.  It takes humility to forgive a slight. It takes humility to break up factions and cliques that are dividing a team. It takes humility to admit that you are wrong. It takes humility to take your work level to another level. And it takes humility to serve one another. See, successful teams learn how to serve one another and not be served. Arrogance demands others serve you. Humility serves others. Successful teams are a collection of servants. A great compliment in European football (soccer) is to be called a “servant” of the club. If more players took a humble, serving attitude more success would be had sooner.

5. Transparency. Successful teams may wear helmets, but they don’t wear masks. Successful teams are transparent teams. Transparency is the ability for light to pass through an object. It means you can see through it. Teams that are not transparent create questionable environments where motivations and ambitions are hidden, yet undeniable forces that actually serve to hinder the team rather than help the team. These hidden ambitions wreak havoc on a team’s ability to build a culture, find success or win a championship. Transparent teams are teams that work in the light, not the dark. The reason a team fumbles and stumbles is often not from a lack of preparation, but from a lack of transparency. When an individual member of the team suspects another member of the teams motives or ambitions, it creates a rift or a divide. These kind of cracks can quickly turn into canyons.

Transparency creates a climate for conflict. But, it’s conflict that you can see. Teams will have conflict. Conflict that you can see is conflict that can be addressed. Conflict that you cannot see is erosive. Conflict is not bad unless you avoid it or turn it into a battle royale. Conflict is a part of life and you will experience it. There is healthy conflict and there is unhealthy conflict. Healthy conflict actually is where differing ideas or opinions meet and worked through without penalty or punishment for either party. Unhealthy conflict is where ideas, personalities or the past meet in a collision. A collision is force on force where neither party wants to or is willing to budge. This is always unhealthy and destroys team chemistry. Successful teams have great chemistry. Unsuccessful teams have volatile or explosive chemistry. Leaders must take the initiative to discover and uncover the conflict.

Transparency creates trust. There will never be trust without transparency. Transparency takes vulnerability. If you are wearing masks or hiding things, if you lack integrity and character, then you will never get vulnerable. Many people fear vulnerability. This fear of vulnerability will prevent your team from bonding and trusting one another. Everyone has flaws. There was one perfect man, Jesus and he is in heaven. We all fall short. Acknowledging your shortcomings and your vulnerabilities if handled with maturity can actually lead to a stronger, more trusting team.

“Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability” -Patrick Lencioni

6. Forgiveness: Feelings are going to get hurt. This too is a fact of life. Successful teams must get over individual hurt, perceived slights and manufactured offenses. Then, they must actually forgive one another. They must forgive for things that were done and things that weren’t done. Today everyone is “in their feelings.” Successful teams don’t follow their feelings, they follow their leader. This means individual members of the team must learn to overcome offenses, especially when the leader or other members of the team are unaware that an offense has been given. More offense is taken today than actually given. So, don’t be quick to take offense. Rather, be quick to forgive. Forgiveness is not a blind mind wipe. Forgiveness is the intentional act of releasing someone from a slight, offense or harm that has some way affected you. Forgiveness is not only a gift you give others, but a gift you give yourself.

Leaders and teams who are quick to forgive, are able to be a more fluid, synchronized organization or unit and will accomplish more. Often, the overall leader will need to take responsibility to investigate the cause of disharmony. This may mean the leader needs to make an individual apology to someone who feels hurt or slighted. Forgiveness always takes humility. Many proud leaders harm their teams simply because their pride will not allow them to admit that they did something wrong or didn’t do something more that they could have done.

7. Love: Successful teams have a genuine care and concern born of love for one another. Until a team learns to take good care of one another, they will have a hard time reaching their goals. The path to reaching your goals is a difficult one. A difficult path takes a toll on those traveling it. When you travel together, you have to stay together. You can’t merely exist with each other. Successful teams go to another level: genuine care and concern. This means successful teams tend to the well-being of their members. Some members need more than others. Some members are able to give more than others. Love is the tie that binds. Love is the bond that you build from. See, without love, you will never have the heart that you need to achieve what you set out for. Successful teams have a heart that not only beats to achieve the goal, but really beats for its individual members. Love means when one suffers, all suffer. Love means when one hurts, all hurt. Love means when one has joy, all take joy. Love is the deepest and most powerful element that great teams have.

Jesus said it best, “Greater love has no one than this,  than somone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

(c) Alex Vann