Building An Infinite Team - Part 1

Early in my career, I made mistakes in how to design and lead teams for impact. Through years of learning and experimenting, here are ideas that I found help to build agile and impactful teams that can scale with limited resources and where 1+1 can equal 11. I will release the ideas through a few articles this month.

1. Focus on a 10x goal

I often reflect on what has been different about the teams I led that delivered breakthrough success vs those that delivered incremental gains. At the heart of it was something counterintuitive: when teams have a truly compelling, somewhat scary goal, they are often more energised and successful than teams with incremental and (easier) goals.

Astro Teller is Captain of Moonshots (CEO) of X, Alphabet's moonshot factory for building magical, audacious ideas that through science and technology can be brought to reality. Astro has shared in the past that 10x goals are often easier to achieve than 10% goals (read more here). This is because 10% goals keep a team or company focused on incremental changes in existing processes and ways of thinking. However, achieving 10x goals requires a completely fresh approach, leaning into courage, creativity and innovation. This can be exhilarating.

The satisfaction a team gets from achieving a 10x goal is orders of magnitude greater and the potential size of the prize can give them the rocket fuel to push harder and faster making it often easier to achieve 10x goals than incremental ones.

2. Be clear on purpose (what and why)

When I first started going to the gym, I would be intermittent in keeping it going. It felt like a bit of a chore. However, that all changed when I worked for an amazing boss in the Middle East who once said his gym sessions were relaxation for him, a chance to be alone with his thoughts and to recharge after a long day. To go back to his family refreshed and energised. That shift in perspective changed everything. Once I found a reason that resonated for me, I was able to lock in hundreds of sessions and still be hungry for more.

Imagine heading into an ocean where only you know the specific coordinates for the destination but your crew has no clue. What are the chances you will arrive where you want especially when storms and high winds are pushing your boat in multiple directions? What are the chances your team will sustain the energy needed to navigate uncertainty if they are not clear where they are going and why?

Many leaders just assume their team members all 'get it' and no need to spend too much time reminding them of purpose. A simple test: ask 3 members of your team what are the top 3 goals for your business or area. If you get too many different answers, how will your business hope to achieve its goals?

Another reason I have found purpose to be important is that teams on the ground are the first to see signals and trends. Knowing what you are trying to achieve and why will help them filter the noise to get to the trends that matter allowing you to act faster ahead of the competition.

3. But be flexible on ways to get there (how)

When I look at companies that have failed to navigate rapidly changing times (eg. Kodak, Blackberry, Nokia and many more), one of the defining features was being too slow to react to the changes happening on the ground.

From the 1700s until its demise, the Prussian army was known for winning several wars and unifying large parts of Germany and then Poland. One of the key features of its strategy was to have a flexible command structure with high level mission aims shared from the centre but soldiers on the ground were given significant autonomy to use personal initiative in the moment to deliver victory. Yet in many multinationals, power is removed from those on the ground and decisions stuck in endless committee meetings or with senior leaders before action can be taken. The actions are often too late and some element of value is lost from the opportunity or risk.

The best leaders I have worked with are clear on what we are trying to achieve but empower their teams to figure out 'how' to get there. This has another side benefit - team members given the flexibility to choose how to deliver something will often grow faster, feel more valued and in my experience deliver ideas even better than I could have thought of myself.

How can you start implementing this in your team? Practice sharing what you are trying to achieve and why it is important. Then ask your team to come up with ideas on how to make it happen and what controls they would implement on themselves to catch signals if their approach is working or when to pivot. If this is new to your team, you can also put some handrails in place (eg. weekly check-ins) but be careful to give your team flexibility or otherwise you will never create the agility to win.

4. Build a team of true 'A' players - it is not additive but multiplicative

Steve Jobs shared an interesting learning many years ago which I have also found to be true from experience. The 'A' players in my teams often deliver a ratio of 4 to 1 or more in terms of impact compared to the average players. This short video is a great summary: click here.

How can you build a team of 'A' players? Here are some ideas:

• Adopt an NFL coach mentality - 'A' players are rarely just sitting on the bench. They have choices. You have to actively recruit them and often you will need to start that 12 months before you need the person in the role. I am constantly searching in my company and externally for the best talent and making connections with them even if there is no role currently in my team.
• Understand what drives 'A' players - I have found A players are often very driven by a goal or mission. Each person is different. Understand what drives them and find a way to construct the role to match at least some of their needs. This keeps them energised and motivated.
• Get out of the way - 'A' players need some guidance early on but once they understand the mission, get out of their way and let them lead projects.
• Regular development - everyone in your team should be developed. However, you need to pay even more attention to 'A' players for the sake of your company's talent pipeline and your own team's impact. These are the quarterbacks that will get you touchdowns. Remember they always have choices internally and externally and if you are not developing them, they will go elsewhere.

5. Think like Leonidas if you want a truly innovative team

In one of history's famous 'last stand' stories, a Greek army of 7,000 men led by Leonidas marched north to block the pass of Thermopylae against 120,000 to 300,000 Persians. They successfully held them off for several days before a local resident Ephialtes revealed to the Persians a secret path leading behind Greek lines.

When Leonidas realised his army was being outflanked, he dismissed most of them and remained to guard their retreat with only 300 spartans and 700 thespians. Protecting his army gained him a loyalty that created a force multiplier effect in the ability of the soldiers to hold off a Persian army many times their size.

You can not build a team that goes after 10x goals if they are worried about the consequences of failing. Your team needs to know that if they have given it their best, you will have their back both with leaders higher up and across the organisation. I can count on one hand how many times I worked for a leader like that in my career. I can tell you from personal experience, I would give those leaders 180% of my energy and effort because I knew they had my back.

More to come in part 2 later this week.