The 5 Elements of a Great Team

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I was recently reminded of what a great team can accomplish and what it takes to truly have a great team.  I little while ago, I one of the best product launches I have had in a very long time in one of businesses.  It broke records and set new bars to shoot for and achieve in the future.

But the reason it was so successful, wasn't due to me or the solution I was sharing with people, it was due to the team behind it (OK, I had a little to do with it as a member of the team!).  It was amazing how to group worked together, put together all the assets needed, nailed the outreach and marketing in both messaging and scaling to thousands all over the world.  They drilled the presentation and process with me until we knew like it was second nature, and everyone executed their duties at the highest level I've seen.

As we celebrated the launch and the impact we had on the lives of those we served with our product/service, it really got me thinking back to the elements that make a great team and how all of them were present with this team.  

There are 5 Elements tat make a great team.

1. Vision:  A great team has a vision, but it is not just one person that has it. In fact, everyone needs to contribute the vision in their own way to finalize it.  For example, in my scenario, the best vision of what the product should be didn't come from me, it came from a member of the team who really understood how the market would react to it and how to best position and package it for success for the customers.  It would not have done near as well in it's original version.
2. Discipline:  Everyone must be disciplined in that they know what their end goal for their role is and do what is necessary to achieve it.  That does not mean that they always know exactly every step to get to the end goal.  A lot of times, those things are figured out once in the thick of things, but they do know the end goal and work toward every day in a disciplined way.  Every team member was empowered to do what was necessary to make sure their part was ready to go, and they not only did so, but went above and beyond because they had the discipline to see it through. 
3. Focus:  Where you focus goes, things expand.  Each team member was laser focused on their specific contribution and didn't allow distractions to get in their way.  They kept that focus all the way through and after product release to help serve clients and their questions, etc.
4. Execution:  Execution happens when you have a vision with focus and the discipline to do what is necessary to reach the goal.  The team executed flawlessly because they were prepared, ready, and believed in their vision/mission.
5. The X-Factor:  The last component is what I call the X-factor.  This is not something that can be taught, but only modeled.  People still have to choose it though.  The X-factor is the willingness to drive harder and further, go above and beyond and almost have a healthy obsession with the success of the vision.  This is where I had to model things and the team did too.  I maniacally worked on my deliverables to ensure we were ready and I was ready.  That meant working through 9-10 pm at night each night to make sure everything I committed to was ready and right.  It meant reviewing everything I was part to ensure it had my sign off and that the team could continue execute and move at a rapid pace without me being a bottleneck slowing them down.  And when the whole team embraces the X-Factor and operates at the highest levels, you get massive success.

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If you look for and foster these 5 Elements in your teams, you can and will achieve great things and have wonderful successes.  Here's to making it happen!