Virtuoso Teams
by Andy Boynton; Bill Fischer
Buy book: $18.59

At the heart of a great change or creative breakthrough you will often find a dynamic team of inspired individuals who work together to break out of the commonplace and make something remarkable happen. A team that generates more creativity, more energy and the very best performance.

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The first characteristic of a team leader the authors describe seems a bit out of touch with many other concepts about team work. Specifically, a team leader that is in "control" is often not in control, except as the spokeperson for management or for individual gratification.

"Team leaders," willing to rotate "leader" roles is the team leader that is concerned about team members and his or her personal and professional development.

Just a thought.

I take issue with the very premise of this book. It has been my experience that the best, most effective teams are NOT contentious places. I also find it extremely difficult to believe that the superstars of any organization will all of a sudden become compliant, deferring to one person's vision and controlling voice. The truly superstar teams I have known allow for lots of challenging of ideas (not people) by not just the "leader," but by the group itself. The end result is therefore a far more robust one. In order for people to feel that they can challenge ideas and do their best work, they must feel their individual ideas are valued -- whether the ideas are good or not.

On one point, I will agree: having everyone on the team buy into a clear vision is key. While a vision can't (nor shouldn't) be determined by committee, everyone on the team needs input into that vision, or they will not totally buy into it.

Thank goodness my organization doesn't buy into the claptrap we've read so far in this book -- it wouldn't be the amazing place to work it is today (nor would we be achieving the 20%+ increase in profit we do each year!)