This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
On June 18, 2020, Wale Akinyemi, the chief transformation officer at PowerTalks, emphasized the significance of team composition in business.
According to Akinyemi, a proverb states that having two left shoes means one of them is unnecessary. Similarly, having a team composed of people with the same background, temperament, personality, IQ, and learning style can make an organization an easy target for competitors.
As stated in the book 'Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization' by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, a team with a uniform composition can share the same blind spots, regardless of the leaders' intelligence or accomplishments.
Organizations often prefer to surround themselves with people who think and behave like them, but this can be detrimental to team performance. A well-oiled team requires diverse roles and skills to achieve success.
Using a football team as an analogy, Akinyemi explained that each position has a specific role: forwards score goals, midfielders create goal opportunities, defenders protect the home turf, and goalkeepers prevent the enemy from scoring.
Similarly, in an organization, each department or unit has its own roles and responsibilities. The sales and social media teams are like the forwards, creating opportunities and scoring goals. The human resources department is like the midfielders, creating a conducive environment and training employees to create opportunities for the forwards.
Strategic communications and public relations are like the defenders, protecting the organization's brand and image from attacks. Finance, administration, receptionists, and security are like the goalkeepers, working behind the scenes to ensure the organization's success.
Understanding these roles and responsibilities is crucial for effective communication within an organization. Failure to do so can lead to serious communication issues and hinder the organization's success.
Wale Akinyemi is the chief transformation officer at PowerTalks.
