Strategic Context
The ultimate goal of teamwork is the collective "score." This dysfunction occurs when team members put Individual Status (careerism) or Departmental Status ahead of team's collective goals. The "First Team" is the executive team, not the departments they lead. An executive's loyalty must be to their peers first. The team must have a "public scoreboard" that makes success and failure unambiguous. If the company loses, everyone loses—regardless of how well individual departments performed.
Key Concept
The Collective Ego: Shifting focus so that the team's win is the only win that matters.
Symptoms (What You Will See)
- Team members satisfied with own performance while company fails
- Focusing on departmental silos rather than moving resources to needs
- Focus on personal career development or "resume building"
- Loss of focus on company's "overarching goal"
- The "Consultant Mentality": isolated or disconnected from outside own area
- Stagnation and failure to grow
What a Healthy Team Looks Like
- Individuals make sacrifices in own departments to help team reach a goal
- Team is "bloodhounds for results," obsessed with collective win
- The "First Team" is the executive team, not their direct reports
- Success is defined by the scoreboard, not subjective opinions
- High-performing employees retained due to winning, result-oriented culture
âś“ What Managers Should Do
- Reward the Team: Base rewards on collective achievement, not individual numbers
- Public Scoreboard: Make results visible so no ambiguity about where team stands
- "First Team" Loyalty: Remind that primary loyalty belongs to this group, not direct reports
- "Bloodhound for Results": Focus meetings on how actions contribute to target
- Shift Resources Dynamic: Move people/budget from healthy to struggling departments
- Publicly Benchmark: Use "we are behind" speech to maintain urgency
- Identify "Individual Hitters": Call out those satisfied with stats while team loses
âś— What Managers Should Not Do
- Reward "Individual Hitters": Don't praise people who hit numbers but refuse to help team
- Allow Silos: Don't let departmental loyalty excuse not sharing resources
- Focus on long-term only: Don't let "profit" be only measure; use near-term, actionable goals
- Accept "Departmental Excellence": Never let VP say "my department is great" if company fails
- Ignore Resume Building: Call out executives worried about "career labels" vs. team output
- Let Scoreboard go "Dark": Don't stop measuring results due to discouragement
- Be Vague with "Success": No room for "subjective, interpretive, ego-driven success"
Quick Practices (Micro-habits)
Scoreboard Check-In: Begin every meeting looking at key metrics: revenue, 18-deal progress, product quality • Resource Shifting Question: "Do we need to move anyone from engineering to sales this week to hit our main goal?" • First Team Huddles: 10 minutes discussing how to communicate as "First Team" to organization • Result-Only Recognition: Only give awards if team-wide metric also met • Scoreboard Display: Physically display "18 deals" progress on chart in common area
Reflection Prompts
Manager: Have I made "Team 1" concept clear to my staff, or am I encouraging them to be "den mothers" for their departments? If company fails, will I still be proud of my personal performance? Who on team is more loyal to direct reports than to peers? • Team: If the team loses but your department succeeds, was it a good quarter? What's more important: your personal career path or this company's success?
Red Flags
Resume Building: Team members talking more about personal brand or "strategic labels" than company results • Departmental Turf Wars: Resistance to moving budget or staff to more critical business area • Satisfied Failure: Lack of visible pain or urgency when collective goals missed