How the Right Team Can Outshine Star Power

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by Vlad. N. Mares

 

The future of innovation belongs not to geniuses but well-combined teams.

In the pursuit of breakthrough innovation, it is easy to be dazzled by star performers, from successful CEOs and prominent lawyers to award-winning scientists. Mention electric vehicles, and Elon Musk springs to mind; radioactivity research, and Marie Curie comes to the fore. However, this fixation can overshadow the crucial role played by the constellation of collaborators – most of us mere mortals – that surround the star.

In a new study published in Management Science, my fellow researchers* and I challenge the prevailing notion that stars are the dominant drivers of progress. Our analysis of more than 500 research projects at a leading university highlights the synergistic effects when talented individuals join forces. The most successful teams, we found, are those where neither the star nor their less-renowned colleagues dominate.

Our study has interesting implications for individuals and organisations across industries. Firms should prioritise building collaborative teams, where members complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses over recruiting and retaining top talent. Individuals should clearly define their unique value proposition and seek out complementary partners.

The rich become richer

Trying to measure individual contributions to a team is by no means easy or simple. The synergies among team members, the selection process that brings them together and the multidimensionality of their contributions are all factors to be considered.

One method relies on the identification of extreme events like the death of a CEO or star scientist, and measuring the pre- and post-event performance of their respective teams. Past research has identified two key mechanisms in the superior performance of teams with stars. The first is the Matthew effect. Often referred to as the “rich get richer” phenomenon, it describes how star performers attract more resources and opportunities, which amplifies their success and leads to more resources, and so on. The second is the spillover effect, where each party enhances the capabilities of their collaborator. The whole is then greater than the sum of the parts. Continue reading →

Build These 10 Habits to Become a True Leader (and Not Just a Boss)

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BY GINA FOLK

 

You know what’s funny? Being a boss is very, very easy. You tell people what to do, how you expect it to be done and when you expect it to be done. But being a leader? That’s a different matter. Leadership involves influence, mobilization of commitment and the ability to paint a picture of the future that people would want to be part of.

It’s about creating the right patterns that make you grow into the kind of person others aspire to be around or collaborate with. Here’s how to do it.

1. Vision, not just goals

When it comes to goal setting, anybody can do it, but when it comes to vision formulation, then one is talking of a leader. Think of Steve Jobs and his vision for Apple: forming products that are not only useful but also aesthetically appealing. Make sure you and your team are on the same page. Remind them why they are doing what they are doing and what it is that they are working towards. Once people have bought into the vision, they are more willing and ready to work hard and contribute towards its actualization.

2. Empathy over ego

True leaders realize that their good and bad performance means the good and bad performance of the team they are leading. Meet your team. Know their potential, their vulnerabilities and how they work. Be concerned with their lives. It doesn’t just take technical brilliance to assemble Tesla and SpaceX; Elon Musk consulted his teams, comprehended their difficulties and guided them. Continue reading →

How to Mitigate Resentment in Your Team

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by Nadav Klein

 

 

 

When conflicts in a team – no matter how minor – are left unresolved, it can eventually breed resentment. If unaddressed, this could lead to cynicism and distrust, as well as harm individual and team performance. How should leaders deal with this?

The intuitive answer might involve orchestrating frank, albeit difficult, conversations between the discordant parties. But such conversations are unlikely to lead to the desired reconciliation without a baseline of trust and goodwill. Research reveals that people become less cooperative when they expect others to be uncooperative. Instead, consider a slightly counterintuitive alternative: Get the employees who resent each other to rely on each other.

Think about the last time you desperately needed assistance from a colleague you didn’t particularly like but who was nevertheless able to deliver the help you required. You probably felt happy. Or relieved. Or both. At that moment, your prior issues fell by the wayside, and your positive feelings from receiving help were transferred to some extent to the individual who delivered. What’s more, the resentment likely subsided because you now have evidence that the other person can and will be motivated to help you.

This does not mean that longstanding conflicts were instantly resolved; that would require the frank and difficult dialogue mentioned earlier. But at this point, such a conversation can take place from a baseline of goodwill, making it more likely to succeed.

Co-dependency creates reciprocity

In the 1950s, psychologists Muzafer Sherif, Carolyn Wood Sherif and their team investigated how resentment and conflict can be quelled. They invited 22 teenage boys to camp out at Robbers Cave State Park in Oklahoma, United States. By all accounts, the boys should have gotten along famously. They had a lot in common, came from comparable backgrounds and shared similar likes and dislikes. 

But things went awry when the researchers split the boys into two teams and asked them to partake in various competitions such as tug-of-war and baseball, effectively pitting them against each other. Each team created their own team flags, hierarchies, customs and jargon organically. Soon, a spiral of escalation ensued. First came insults and name-calling between the two teams. Then, the stealing of valuables, including the rival team’s flag. Finally, one of the teams ransacked the other’s cabins in the middle of night. Surveying the boys, the researchers found they had developed starkly negative attitudes towards their rivals.

The researchers tried several ways to lower the temperature. An intuitive but mistaken first attempt was to ask the rival team members to engage freely in communication. Unfortunately, that evolved into a shouting match. The researchers realised that a baseline of goodwill and trust was needed, and found a better way: engaging the boys in tasks that made them depend on the rival team to achieve mutual goals.

The researchers were creative in orchestrating these situations. One day, water to the camp was blocked by a large boulder that could only be moved with the strength of the boys from both teams. Another day, the researchers let the boys rent a popular movie, but its cost and the convenient lack of budget meant that boys from both teams had to chip in. Over time, as the boys had to rely on one another, their hostile sentiments towards their rivals were replaced by favourable attitudes.  Continue reading →

So…How Do You Measure Success?

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Success is something that everyone in any career field would like to achieve. Success may mean different things to different people.

 

 

 

Success is defined by the level of performance that your organization is obtaining around you. Great leaders build organizations with diverse skillsets that can enhance the overall performance of the team. As a leader you should lead from the front guiding them with vision and culture that allow them to utilize their best talents to drive the organization to the next level of performance. This is done through their experiences and capabilities implementing that joint strategy and culture.

Michael McDaniel,

 

 

For me success has always been defined as reaching an agreed upon set of goals by collaborating with teammates and peers who share those goals in common.

Rich Kempter, Director of Finance and Business Operations at Kempter Holistic Dentistry and Preferred Sleep Solutions of the Carolinas

 

 

For business I have always measured success on how I help those connected to me be successful. Who I report to being. an individual or board, the people that report to myself and my peers. If what I am doing is reflecting progress and development of the echo-system around me, then I have no need to check on my success.

David Gai, COO Leadspace

 

 

If I were to try to try to summarize how I measure success I would say it is a consistent measure of an inconsistent target.  The measure of success is making a difference.  The target can vary by person though.  On society.  In the firm.  On one person’s life.  I think the reason why people ask the question about how to measure success is that variability.

 

Charles Arnold | Principal, KPMG Consulting

 

 

We would welcome your thoughts, for our next blog on success.

Thank you,

Larry Janis, Managing Partner, ISSG

Email: janis@issg.net 

Navigating AI’s impact on employee wellbeing

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by Marisa Pereira

 

 

It is remarkable how quickly artificial intelligence (AI) has become integrated into many aspects of our lives, from virtual assistants to content creation. A recent Goldman Sachs report estimates that 45 per cent of tasks in the legal and administration professions could be automated in the near future. While this provides a competitive edge, companies need to ensure that AI is complementing their employees’ work rather than disrupting it.

While AI has the potential to revolutionise how we live and work, there are some inevitable drawbacks. As we become increasingly reliant on AI technology, there is growing concern about the negative effects on our mental health and wellbeing. Stanford University’s 2024 AI Index Report found that working with AI could make employees lonelier and so reduce their health and wellbeing.

Our mental health and wellbeing have become important topics in recent years. As we are more aware of mental health challenges, employers have more responsibility than ever to ensure the health and safety of their workforce. In the 2022 CIPD and Simplyhealth Health and Wellbeing at Work report, 81 per cent of employers cited an increased focus on worker mental health and wellbeing. Meanwhile, 14.7 per cent of people surveyed by the Mental Health Foundation said they experienced mental health problems at work, which can have a huge impact on output.

While AI can improve productivity by helping us be more efficient, it is important to recognize the relationship between mental health and team performance. Good mental health can have a significant impact on an individual’s performance and productivity. When employers understand the connection between mental health and productivity, organisations can create an environment that complements AI technology with employee wellbeing. Effective collaboration between humans and AI helps to define clear roles and responsibilities for humans and AI systems. Just as AI models need constant updating and adaptation to evolving contexts, employers must cultivate a culture of learning where humans embrace AI technology for empowerment rather than replacement.

There are several steps employers and employees can take to minimise the potential negative psychological impact of using AI technology.

  • Establish clear boundaries when using AI systems, including limiting your exposure to them. This can reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, and help prevent addiction.
  • Seek support if you are feeling anxious and isolated when using AI systems, talk to your employer, friend, family member or mental health professional.
  • Use AI systems responsibly and be mindful of their limitations and potential biases. Avoid making important decisions by relying solely on AI-generated information.
  • Always stay informed of the latest developments in AI technology and maintain continuous knowledge to reduce feelings of helplessness and being overwhelmed.
  • To help prevent isolation and digital addiction, take regular breaks from using AI systems and engage with other people to promote relaxation and maintain social connection.
  • Support efforts to ensure AI systems are used ethically and have appropriate safeguards in place that protect privacy and autonomy.

There’s no doubt that AI can streamline processes and enhance efficiency but it can also lead to job insecurity, isolation and privacy concerns. While offering both benefits and challenges, AI will continue to have an impact on employee wellbeing unless organisations take steps to implement best practices. They must strike a balance between implementing AI-driven solutions while maintaining a human-centric supportive work environment. When employers prioritise employee engagement and ongoing training, the positive impact of AI technology will outweigh the negatives and lead to a thriving, forward-thinking workforce.

Marisa Pereira is vice-president of people and organisation at Storyblok

 

Source: peoplemanagement.co.uk