Summary: How does a team become successful? Leadership. Have a common goal, talk about it and more.

I realize it’s not an event everyone watches here in the USA or is obsessive as me. Every four years I look forward to the FIFA World Cup (soccer in the USA and football everywhere else). One the reasons I like it so much is that the best teams, not every country gets to compete, with their best players. If you are so-so on soccer watch a game or two and you may see why I’m addicted.

One of the amazing things about the national teams is the players don’t get a chance to play together often. The majority of their time is spent with their clubs, they may play with the national team several times a year in tournaments.

So how do these teams become so successful? Leadership. They have a common goal – championship. Having the goal defined is the starting point.  To make a championship team the coach makes sure each person understands their role, how it interacts with the others and how it helps the team. For example: the goalie is to stop the other team from scoring and the striker is to make goals.

So how does this translate to business? Easily.

Do you have a well defined goal? Does you team know what your goal is? How do they know if the company is successful? Do you measure sales? Customer service? Number of customers served? Which ever measures you use – are you sharing?

Take it a step further, don’t only share the goal, explain to them their role in reaching the goal, each person contributes regardless of their role inside or outside of the company.  Outside influences on your goals may be your CPA, vendors, consultants, etc. Help them understand the dynamics of working with each other. How each person affects the other which can result in achieving the goal.

What are your goals? How can your team help?