How to create your Dream Team
What the Olympic Basketball team of 1992 can teach you
Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen. Magic Johnson. Charles Barkley. Just a few big names in the basketball world. Big names, big egos, high success rate and guaranteed entertainment when these men showed up on the court. The greatest players in the history of basketball. What makes this team my inspiration when it comes to team coaching?
The Olympic Games of 1992
On 24 June 1992, one of the greatest basketball teams of all time was getting ready for their first game. Preparation for the upcoming Olympics. The Dream Team they were called. Every single player was a big name in the NBA: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley and Magic Jonhson. The Dream Team got ready to play a game against a team formed of the best NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) college players.
The star players entered the court, intimidating the students with their warm-up. Everything was in place to make sure everyone saw the Dream Team shine like heroes. It was an easy game, right? College players versus well-trained, experienced NBA stars. Yet, the Dream Team lost with 62–54 after completely underestimating their opposition.
‘’We didn’t know how to play with each other’’ — Scottie Pippen
The loss woke the players up. Having star players in your team don’t make you a winning Dream Team. They adjusted their strategy, worked on becoming a team, and the rest is history. The Dream Team defeated all its opponents by an average of 44 points and took the gold medal home. It has been described by journalists as the greatest sports team ever.
How te create your own Dream Team
With a big challenge ahead of us, whether it is a new product or a complex project, organisations tend to create their own pre-Olympic Dream Team. The most senior, experienced and talented people get dragged into the project. We call them a team and expect they get the gold medal. The reality is often that estimations are wrong, deadlines are not met, and individuals work on only ‘their’ part of the project.
This is what I call the ‘Superhero Syndrome’ (see below article for more info). Having the best players in your organisation in one team doesn’t mean you’ll win. You have to focus on making a team and give them an environment where they can become the Dream Team.
If you are part of a team or are a team manager, project manager or Scrum Master, here are some tips to help you create your own Dream Team:
- Believe that the people that work in your organisation are smart enough to figure out how to deal with a challenge. Step away from the belief you know all the answers. Nowadays, there is often no one correct way to solve a problem. Our work changed from very tangible work to cognitive work.
- Focus on creating a safe environment where team members can get to know each other. No, you don't need to start with hugs and theme songs. Dream Teams are created in a space where there is high trust between team members. If you switch teams or team members every other project, you are messing with the trust-building. Make time for getting to know each other, what people value outside of work. People are more than the work (or sport) they do.
- Measure progress, the good and the bad. Progress transparency is great for the team. They can learn from it as long as you don’t use it as a punishment tool. Set leading indicators with the team so you can keep track of the success rate of their work. It will create motivation, empowerment and ownership.
- Celebrate the successes, even the small ones. Don’t wait till the end of a project for applause or blame treatment. Success happens along the way. Each step the team takes is a step into gaining knowledge: what works, and what doesn’t. Failure in the present is success in the future as the team starts to understand what not to do the next time.
Good luck!
