We all know the catch-phrases – You can accomplish more with we than me. There is no “I” in “team.” Teamwork makes the dream work. We acknowledge all of these statements as fundamental truths. There is no argument.
We all want to build and be a part of great teams. But how do you do that? Are there common traits and practices that make up great teams? Whether you lead a business, non-profit, athletic organization, or church, I think there are.
In fact, we witnessed an elite team in action on Wednesday, May 17 in the Champions League semi-final as Manchester City defeated Real Madrid 4-0. It was a dominant victory by a potentially once-in-a-generation squad.
In this The Athletic article, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport, “Pep Guardiola has got this side in formidable form at just the right time. They reeled in Arsenal and they’ve dismantled a team here with some devastating players.” He went on to add, “They’ve destroyed, battered, pulverised a giant of European football; a team with players who have won multiple Champions Leagues. And they look like they’ve done it at a canter.”
Pep Guardiola is the incomparable manager of Manchester City and one of the great leaders in any industry. For a deeper dive on Guardiola read the following:
- 6 Lessons on Apex Leadership we learn from Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland
- The Primary Difference Between Ordinary and Extraordinary Leaders, Teams, and Overall Performance
- 35 Qualities Of A Once-In-A-Generation Leader
- The Thing Most Leaders Are Missing. This is a great story about the time Guardiola volunteered to be a referee in a youth soccer game.
18 Characteristics Of A Great Team
I read another article from The Athletic detailing the manager and players’ thoughts throughout the match. I gleaned from these two reports 18 Characteristics Of A Great Team. I want to share them with you in order to help your team realize all of its potential.
Great Teams Have Hungry Leaders
Leaders who have continual success do not read their newspaper clippings or live in the past. But rather, they focus on personal growth and the next challenge in front of them.
Manchester City defender Ruben Dias told TV2, “The one I would say that makes him (Guardiola) different to the others is that he’s won everything, but it’s like he hasn’t won anything. That hunger. Every new season he starts all over again, that’s his biggest quality.”
Great Teams Have Leaders Who Focus On The Factors Which Lead To Success
The best leaders elevate executing the practices leading to success over success itself. It’s about the process. If you perform the fundamentals of success at a high-enough level, the outcome takes care of itself. Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji said about Guardiola’s pre-match approach, “He talked to us about winning the game. It’s not about doing anything crazy. It’s only one game that we need to win, we should play our game, we shouldn’t be scared.”
Great Teams Generate Momentum With Fast Starts
Successful leaders know you never have to recover from a good start. City’s Bernardo Silva told ManCity.com, “From minute one, we put pressure on their defence, we pushed them back and created lots of chances. With our people, the energy that we felt, the momentum that we created helped a lot.”
Great Teams Leverage Failure
Failure is rarely fatal. It is usually a data point to learn from. In 2022, Manchester City lost to Real Madrid in the semi-final of the Champions League. This loss stayed with the club all season. But rather than being continually demoralized by their disappointing loss, the team learned from it and got better.
Guardiola said, “I had the feeling these last days that we had a mix of calm and tension to play these types of games. After 10 or 15 minutes, I had the feeling that all the pain we had in one season, one year, what happened last season — today it was there.”
Great Teams Remove The Obstacles Preventing Success
Smart leaders focus on giving their teams space. Space can be described as creating freedom from obstacles and hindrances to success. You should think of giving an artist a blank canvas and the resources they need.
Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva understands the value of space as he scored the first two goals of the game. Afterward Michael Owen said, “He’s just a total footballer, isn’t he? Recognising where the space is, timing the runs. He’s slight, he’s not that quick, but his brain… that’s as good an individual performance as I’ve seen in a first half. He took the game away from them single-handedly.”
Successful leaders give their teams space and remove the barriers preventing them from achieving their full potential.
Great Teams Have Great Talent
Talent matters. The more you have it the more of a chance your team has of succeeding. Manchester City is loaded with talent. Guardiola said, “Bernardo Silva is one of the best players I’ve ever seen in my life.”
He did not stop there. Speaking of defensive midfielder Rodri, Guardiola said, “People talk about Erling, but what a year Rodri has had. I don’t know if there’s a midfielder better than him right now.”
Great Teams Have Great Preparation
We know the catch-phrases about preparation as well. Most battles are won before they are ever fought. Prepare or repair. And Manchester City is a club who prepares incredibly well both physically and mentally.
City’s Kyle Walker told TNT Sports Brazil, “I have to study the opponents, I have to do my homework. The analysts provide me with great clips and I have them on my phone. Every time I get a minute, I’m watching the clips and see little movements that he (Vinicius Jr) does.”
Great Teams Discover Their People’s Strengths And Leverage Them
Manchester City’s second goal occurred when Jack Grealish attacked Madrid’s defense. He then passed the ball to team captain Ilkay Gundogan whose subsequent shot on goal was blocked. But the diverted attempt came to Silva whose header went into the empty net.
Afterwards, he said, “I’m very good with my head, eh? I’m small, but I’m good with my head!” Yes, he is. Below is a video of his brilliance.
"THEY HAVE CLEAR DAYLIGHT…"
BERNARDO SILVA DOUBLES MANCHESTER CITY'S LEAD! 💫 pic.twitter.com/8BZ2uCz0NR
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 17, 2023
Great Teams Are Aggressive
Passivity is not a pathway to success. Grealish told TV2 Norway, “We were much more aggressive with and without the ball, our forward players were more aggressive, me and Bernardo with the ball and the pressing. I didn’t think we let them breathe.”
Great Teams Are Constantly Making Adjustments
Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” In my book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders, I teach the best leaders to make wise and timely adjustments as needed. Manager Pep Guardiola would certainly qualify as an apex leader.
Grealish continued, “We were after them all the time, but then we made tactical changes, too, which I think he (the manager) wants to keep to himself.” Guardiola expanded on Grealish’s comments, “The difference between the first leg and the second is that over there we put one of the No 8s deeper and today we put him further forward.”
Great Teams Are Resilient
Struggle is necessary for success. Walker on Madrid’s second half push, “We let them come onto us a little bit and all of a sudden they could have got a goal, but we weathered the storm and I think that’s what good teams do.”
Not only do teams have to have collective resilience but those on the team must also have individual resilience. It appears midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was playing hurt. CBS telecaster Thierry Henry said about the specifics of a postgame conversation with the City superstar, “I can’t say it because I have to keep that private, but from what he said to me, I have even more respect for how he played tonight and how he came and battled with his team.”
Great Teams Have Great Depth
Manchester City seems to come at opponents with wave after wave of talented players. Guardiola observed, “At Goodison Park in the Premier League with (rotated) players — Riyad (Mahrez), Ayme (Laporte), Phil, Julian — how they performed was amazing. They could say, ‘OK, I’m going to play that game and maybe not the game against Madrid second leg’, but they went there and everyone did it well.”
Great depth also gives you a chance of having sustained success. Guardiola concluded, “That is the reason why we are for many, many years who we are.”
Great Teams Sense And Seize Opportunity
I mentioned earlier that this match was an opportunity for Manchester City to avenge last year’s semifinal loss to Real Madrid. Guardiola admitted, “It was really tough to lose the way we lost. In that moment, we have to swallow the poison, we have to swallow everything. Football and sport always give you another chance. When the draw was Madrid I said, ‘Yeah, I want it. I want it’.”
Manchester City got a second chance and they took advantage of it.
Great Teams Have A Healthy Perspective
Sometimes in life the ball simply does not bounce your way. As leaders, we must avoid outcome bias. If our process was correct and everyone gave their best, then leaders can live with the result.
Comparing last year’s result against Real Madrid to this year’s, Guardiola reflected, “Today, it was there, everything: the energy we had last season, being criticised, we didn’t have character, didn’t have anything but we lost because it’s football. Today, it was there.”
Great Teams Are Humble
Babe Ruth famously said, “Yesterday’s home run doesn’t win today’s game.” After City’s dominant win, Grealish said, “I don’t think a lot of teams would do that to Real Madrid but I swear, man, when we’re all together, when we’re just playing here, we just feel unstoppable.”
Guardiola was quick to respond. He said, “I don’t like that! Every team is stoppable if you do what you have to do. If they feel it, it’s nice — but football changes from one day to another. You have to be calm.”
Great Teams Have A Culture Of Hard Work
No days off! Guardiola is focused and relentless. Grealish’s comments must have hit a nerve because Guardiola continued, “I said to the players, ‘I would like to give you one day off but I don’t give one day off. Tomorrow yes, but the Premier League is there’.”
Great Teams Are Grateful
In this article, Guardiola recounted, “It was so painful last season (not reaching the final), when the people say lack of character of these players. During one year we show again how special these players are. I want to say big congratulations to our whole organisation, the chairman, our owner, until the last person, because they work with a real purpose and we are there.”
Great Teams Have Great Success
Finally, Guardiola was asked where the team’s performance ranked in his career as a player and manager. He concluded, “The highest, considering the opponent.”
What is one thing you learned from Pep Guardiola and Manchester City which will make you a better team?
My latest eBook is available for download. The Top 65 Leadership Quotes Of 2022 Part 1 is a resource every leader should have. Great quotes bring clarity and put into words who we intuitively feel as leaders. They give us wisdom and insights which advance the mission and vision of our organizations. This eBook includes thoughts and insights from leaders like Warren Buffett, Nick Saban, James Clear, Dawn Staley, Jurgen Klopp, Jerry Seinfeld, and even Ted Lasso. This resource will take you about 10 minutes to read but a lifetime to apply. You will want to stop and ponder the implications of each quote. Click HERE or on the image provided for immediate download!