Leading a Team of Champions

Episode 1 of 2 – Are you leading champions?

Leaders want two things from their team members.

First, they want every team member to accomplish assigned tasks and surpass objectives with little intervention. In other words, leaders want each team member to be a self-reliant overachiever. We will refer to these rare gems as “champions”.

Second, they want these champions to work together as a cohesive team and achieve results greater than the sum of individual efforts. This notable principle is called “synergy”. Unfortunately, synergy is even harder to achieve. Why? Because it requires a high level of cohesion among a group of champions which is unlikely as most champions are solo players. As many of us have experienced through our professional careers, not every group of champions is by default a championship team.

However, while achieving cohesion is a difficult task, it is not impossible. A group of individual champions that reaches a high level of interdependence is referred to as a “championship team”. This episode describes the attributes that can develop an employee into champion. Later on in episode 2, the attributes of a championship team will be detailed.

1. Champions Are Accountable

Real champions never make excuses when their targets are not achieved or when they fall short of delivering what was promised. They never play the victim of circumstances. On the contrary. When they fail, which is a possibility for all champions, they accept responsibility and admit that they could have done better.

2. Champions Are Lifelong Learners

Champions seek learning from all available sources. Their minds are tuned to extract lessons from anything or anyone with the aim of getting better. Their first teacher is their own mistakes and that is why you rarely see them making the same error twice. Their second teacher is criticism. Although it is bitter, they bear the ugly taste of criticism for the sake of finding out the truth. Consequently, they have a habit of asking other competent people for feedback that they could act upon to improve themselves. Their third teacher is a well-defined self-development plan. Their to-do list has books to read, courses to attend, certificates to earn, and projects that can help them develop new skills.

3. Champions Are Unstoppable

A famous saying by Hannibal, the leader from ancient Carthage, in response to his generals who declared it impossible to cross the Alps with elephants, applies perfectly here: “I will either find a way or make one.” This is the attitude of champions. For them, obstacles are opportunities to explore new solutions, pave new ways, and tap into their hidden potential. While many employees are problem finders, champions are problem solvers. They drive forward towards problems that others say are impossible and succeed in solving them.

4. Champions Are Hungry

According to an article by Forbes, approximately 70% of employees around the world are either satisfied with achieving their set objectives or do not even bother to achieve them. This has led managers to set high targets for employees while hoping that 80% of targets are achieved. For champions, achieving 100% of their objectives is their baseline, their minimum. They are always hungry for breaking records and reaching new heights of performance. It seems like they are always in a race with no finish line.

5. Champions Are Focused

Champions are best friends with their goals. They monitor them regularly and often stretch them. All their daily actions are driven by a progress mindset toward reaching goals. As time passes, many people start losing focus of their main mission. Not champions. They have the discipline of committing to plans. Nothing distracts them and all of their objectives are labelled as important. Champions overcome their mood swings to maintain a high level of focus. This is their secret. It is not passion. Rather, it is the discipline of giving undivided attention to what matters most.

Finally, some questions for you to reflect upon. How many of your team members are champions? Are employees champions by nature or by nurture? How do you evaluate yourself as a leader against the five attributes shared above? Should you lead your champions differently?

If you would like to know more about how to develop a team of champions, join us for our upcoming workshop: “Leading a Team of Champions”. All details are available on the link below.

https://www.meirc.com/training-courses/leadership-management/leading-a-team-of-champions

P.S. Stay tuned for episode 2

Source: Forbes.com – 10 Timely Statistics about the Connection between Employee Engagement and Wellness. By Naz Beheshti, 16 January, 2019.

Rabih Rizk

Management Consultant

Mr. Rabih Rizk is a management consultant with Meirc Training & Consulting. He holds a bachelor of science in education and a master of science in education, both from the Lebanese University in Lebanon. In addition, Rabih is certified to deliver international training programs in leadership, organizational behavior, innovation, and experiential learning.

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