Alexei Orlov on 5 Fundamentals for Great Teams

There is just no getting away from it: if you give a good idea to a mediocre team they are more than likely going to screw it up. But if you give a mediocre idea to a great team they’ll make it work every time.

I want to be absolutely honest here from the outset – one of the most difficult experiences I endured in the not-so-distant past came soon after becoming the Global CEO of a substantial international company.

Back then it was a profoundly happy moment in my life.

I made great friends. At the holding group level I met some of the best practitioners in the industry, as well as some of the finest minds. And yet the company I inherited ‘seemed a bit like an orphan’ as one senior client once put it to me.

The group under my charge had a great reputation over 50 years. But it was not a stellar performer, and mainly because right there in the middle it was burdened with profound people problems. The paucity of true leaders, dynamic managers and the absence of a plan to suit a changing world showed all too clearly in the numbers and the epic staff churn. More than half the offices suffered well beyond a 40% ‘headcount loss’ year over year.

The company had survived because, to my mind, it was regarded as a cornerstone to one of the world’s best-run holding groups within the media industry.

Within two years we got the numbers to a better place and sharpened the operational and service capability – but did it really matter in the end?

Not anywhere near enough.

There were some truly fantastic people. They were honest. They were smart as anything and willing. But all too often they were over-burdened and doing the work of others to accommodate for the vast gaps in leadership and people with complementary skills.

Unfortunately it did not end there – a handful of senior level people, particularly in New York and in Los Angeles, were so profoundly missmatched, disorganised and riddled with self-serving personal agendas it would make Washington look like a quiet chapel of rest.

Despite the best intent I could not get to curing the most important thing, “The People,” quickly enough.

There were things that on reflection many of us could’ve done better. Too many stood on the outside feeding on the turmoil, to fearful to walk in and ask ‘how can I help?’

That is the plight of businesses all over – too many of us are very wise after the event.

The brave ones don’t write history, they make it and sadly that is often the main separator between the chaff and the wheat.

So I write the below with the scars of battle, the regrets that still sit like bone aching mists and the knowledge that the best way forward is knowing that progress only comes from truly embracing objective realities. Not only that, but doing something about it together with those who make up for the things we ourselves are not so good at.

Here are 5 fundamental considerations I have learnt and very much embrace in the nurturing and building of winning teams:

1. Outstanding leaders are okay with being managed:

Great leaders do not micromanage.

They are clear about the vision. They are clear about the purpose. They set clear and objectively realistic goals and then they delegate to their trusted captains.

Now and then leaders provide a deft and timely light hand on the tiller, otherwise the boat and its teams are allowed to get on with it. The leader does not manage; they are managed by the talented teams in their charge.

2. Great managers lead:

Managers define tasks based on the agreed-to expectations.

They are ‘licensed’ to get on with it; to lead their teams upon one ever-recurring touchstone: ‘What Matters? This focus is not just on the end result but also on the moments that matter every day, for no day is the same and ambiguity is as much a pest as it is an ally. Real discussions come from honest phrases like ‘I don’t understand’ or ‘ I think this feels wrong ‘ or ‘Hey, I think I may have found a better way, let me share this with you.’ And so on.

Great managers lead through the earnest and easy flow of cultivating community, responsibility and time-bound honesty.

3. It’s not ‘some of the parts’ but the ‘sum of all parts’:

There’s never just one ingredient that goes into a terrific meal, no matter how simple it is or how exotic. It is the sum of all the parts, carefully balanced and dropped in at the right time that makes it exceptional, and so too with anything else in the life of business.

Don’t look for someone as good as you or who always thinks like you. Go find people that are better than you and bring the right people together.

It is very important, of course, to gather those who enthusiastically embrace a journey. But this does not mean they are by extension qualified in a particular and important subject matter. Dynamic teams do not have one or the other. They absolutely must have both!

It’s easy to know what you don’t know, but it is dangerous not to know what you don’t know you absolutely should know. (Read this again slowly.)

So make sure you embrace those people who can and will educate you. Pretending to be the expert in all things at best just makes one a clever fool.

4. Never forget the power of the ‘likely two’s:

It is going to take twice as long. It is going to be double the cost. It will return half the profits at best.

Hopefully none of the three will ever happen, but if you go in with just enthusiasm and no sense of the possibility of fallback you are going to rush and over-promise. You’re going to cause the team pain and possibly create serious consequences for the business too. Never over-promise and under-engineer.

5. Togetherness through the power of individuality:

Create the environments for free and responsible conversation and willing participation.

If people see that this is your ‘way of working’ then chances are you will have less politics, less unnecessary noise, and the poison of lazy assumptions and fear will be kept at bay.

There is no such thing as the perfect team. People are people, and we have many chapters in our lives. We are transient: restful, troubled, joyful, in turmoil, at peace. Disappointments will come and go.

The person at work, the person beyond work: we are still the same person within. We all need to belong, to feel empowered and important. We all need purpose and reward.

In the workplace, we need to show our Best Alone. But we must also help the collective to be Better Together.

The best teams will embody both qualities to become Together as One.

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With experience spanning 30 years, 40 countries, and 50 brands, Alexei Orlov has made life his business and business his life as a seasoned leader in Global Marketing. Alexei is currently the Founder and Global CEO of mtm choice worldwide, a boutique network of skilled practitioners specialising in high-precision brand activation and media optimisation. In his spare time, Alexei Orlov enjoys leisure time with his beloved family, nature, and writes blog and poetry. This blog originally appeared on Alexei's website here.