20 Leadership Lessons On Building A Dream Team: A Case Study Of LeBron James And The Miami Heat

Pastors, do you want to hire that great music leader or staff member?  Business leader, do you want to acquire that amazingly talented person who works for the competition?  Coaches, do you want to build a Dream Team like the Miami Heat?

All leaders lay in bed at night and dream about what could be if they just had the right people.

In the May 2011 edition of Fast Company magazine, some incredible insights are made regarding the talent acquisitions and their subsequent integration into the Miami Heat.  These leadership lessons are critical for anyone who wishes to build a team containing multiple superstars.  

The quotes are by author Chuck Salter unless otherwise noted.  Great teams that have multiple superstars possess the following:

1. Consistency – “Greatness, we say, is consistency.” – Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra
2. Sacrifice – “Mutual sacrifice is a resounding vote for teamwork.”
3. Talent – “It’s a huge bet that, in the end, talent will prevail.”
4. Short-term Loyalty – “For the most sought after talent, company loyalty has given way to a desire for a big, bold short-term project – developing a breakthrough product, pursuing a new market.”
5. Sacrifice – “The team’s leaders have done what stars need to do when they merge: show a willingness to sacrifice.”
6. Familiarity – “New hires perform better when they bring a former colleague with them” – Boris Groysberg
7. Value – “Because the Heat had something special to offer them (the supporting cast), it signed most of them at well below market value.”
8. Commonality – “Nothing brings a team together like a common enemy.”
9. Bonding – “The real bonding didn’t occur until the Heat Troops began to shed blood on the battlefield.”
10. Identity – “Under duress, Miami found its identity.”
11. Gift of Struggle – “As the adversity that bound the players together waned, the chemistry faltered.”
12. Collaboration – “Camaraderie doesn’t necessarily translate in seamless collaboration.”
13. Cohesion – “Miami’s talent is no match for cohesive team play.”
14. Specialties – “When you assemble a team of experts, it’s better to have complementary, not competing, specialties.” – Groysberg
15. Space – “In business, you probably wouldn’t hire two CEOs to work together.” – Steve Kerr
16. Integration – “To achieve the proper balance, it’s crucial to map out a strategy.  Acquiring a player of (LeBron) James’s caliber is like acquiring a company.  You need a whole integration plan.” – Groysberg
17. Decision Making – “Probably what I’ve learned from Pat (Riley) the most is that coaching in this league is about managing personalities, more than managing Xs and Os…Some players get to that conclusion differently than others.” – Spoelstra
18. Credibility – “There is no more fragile commodity than the credibility of a team leader.”
19. Success – “The most successful superstar teams embrace shared leadership.” – Richard Hackman
20. Time – “They (superstar teams) need time to crystallize.  They need consistency, the same people butting heads, compromising, collaborating, day after day.” – Spoelstra

Acquiring and integrating talent requires strong, skilled leadership.  Learn these 20 lessons and watch your team achieve its maximum potential.