Sales Manager

Growth Strategies
By Brian Tracy

Fielding a Winning Team

Introduction

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what
they are capable of being.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

T he purpose of assembling a team is to accomplish bigger goals than any that would
be possible for the individual working alone. The aim and purpose of a team is to
perform, get results, and achieve victory in the workplace and marketplace.

Many of the most successful sports teams have been studied over the years to learn the
characteristics and qualities that enable them to prevail in highly competitive leagues
against determined and aggressive competition. Many of the principles practiced by the
winning sports teams are directly applicable to the building of a winning business team.

The very best managers are those who have the greatest number of mental tools or
concepts available to manage and motivate their people to achieve excellent results.
In this lesson, you will learn some of the best ideas ever discovered for building
winning teams.

In this lesson you will learn:

■ The keys to high performance work teams

■ The importance of training and development

■ The importance of feedback on performance

■ The key commitment essential to success

■ The role of the team leader

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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What Do You Already Know?

Test your knowledge by attempting to answer the questions below.

1. What are the parallels between winning sports teams and winning
business teams?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. What is the most important single element in building a winning team?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

3. What is the key role of leadership in team building?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

4. What is the most important thing a person can contribute?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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5. What is the role of performance comparison and evaluation in building a
winning team?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

6. How do you maximize the contribution of any individual to team success?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

7. What are the best methods for conflict resolution on a team?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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Fielding a Winning Team

1. Why is it that some people and some organizations perform better and
get better results than others do?

Stanford University has been studying top executives for many years.

1) The most important quality of the best executives is the ability to deal with a
crisis when it occurs.

2) The second most important quality is the ability to build and manage teams
of people.

3) The most respected managers and leaders in all businesses are the very
best team leaders.

2. Synergy, teamwork and personal empowerment are the keys to

high-performance work teams.

1) Excellent organizations are those where people feel terrific

about themselves.

2) Everyone wants to be part of something bigger than himself or herself.

3) Your job is to build a winning team.

4) The selection of your team members will determine 95% of your success
as a manager.

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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3. The first characteristic of winning teams is clear coaching
and leadership.

1) Everyone knows that there is someone specific who calls the plays.

2) The coach, the leader, sets high standards of performance for the team.

3) Winning teams expect to win, to excel, to do a good job.

4) A key part of clear coaching and leadership is that there is a high

consideration factor.

4. The best teams have an intensive people training and

development focus.

1) The top 20% of profit-making companies in American industries spend

3% or more of their gross revenues on training.

2) The best teams focus on bringing out the strengths in each person.

3) The best teams and organizations concentrate on the basics over and over.

4) The top teams develop the talent they have rather than complaining about
their people.

5. Top teams have a heavy planning and strategy emphasis.

1) They are continually analyzing their own performance and comparing it

against competitors.

2) Winning teams have clear plans, goals and objectives going into
every game.

3) Winning teams recruit top talent into the coaching staff below them.

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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6. Top teams use selective player assignments.

1) They assign players to positions based on their potential contribution to the

overall team performance.

2) The happier people are with performing at a high level in their jobs,
the better they are going to do.

3) Top teams rotate a player who is not doing well in one position.

4) A weakness is often a strength inappropriately applied.

5) What is it that this person does well? Can do well? Likes to do?

6) How can we play that person in a position so they can make a better
contribution to our team?

7. A key aspect of excellent management and sports teams is that they

encourage supportive interaction and open communication.

1) The most powerful organizations have a lot of open communication.

2) There is plenty of feedback and discussion of performance.

3) Top teams have open arguments and disagreements.

4) In good companies, conflict resolution is through confrontation

and openness.

5) There is respect for each other’s performance and contribution.

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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8. Top teams have a commitment to excellence and personal pride.

1) Each person is committed to the success of the organization.

2) Uncommitted people are your major source of problems.

3) In good organizations, people are committed to doing their jobs well.

4) The best managers are themselves coachers, blockers and facilitators

of performance.

Your job is not to go onto the field and play yourself. Your job is to structure the work and
give people the support, the resources, the information, the knowledge, the encouragement
and the environment necessary for them to go out on the field and win for your company.

Action Exercises

1. What are the three major strengths of your team today?

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________

2. What are the three major weaknesses of your team today?

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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3. Who are the three most important people on your team today?

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________

4. What is it that each person has to do to make his or her maximum contribution to
the success of your team?

NAME MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION

1. _ ____________________________ 1. ________________________________

2. _ ____________________________ 2. ________________________________

3. _ ____________________________ 3. ________________________________

5. In what three areas could you train your people to be better and more competent in
their jobs?

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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6. In what ways is the performance of your major competitors superior to yours?

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________

7. In what three areas could improved performance of your team have a major impact
on your results?

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________

8. Which of your team members could be rotated into a position where he or she could
make a greater contribution to team results?

NAME DIFFERENT POSITION

1. _ ____________________________ 1. _______________________________

2. _ ____________________________ 2. _______________________________

3. _ ____________________________ 3. _______________________________

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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9. Give three ways that you could encourage greater openness and honesty among
your team members:

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________

10 . What specific activities can you engage in to build a more motivated and committed
team in your business?

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________

What one action are you going to take immediately as a result of what you have learned in
this lesson?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.

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