Chapter 9. Building Your Team

 

“Star performers are never expensive, but mediocre performers are unaffordable.”

 
 --Georges Doriot

You probably want your team to be composed of all high-performing superstars who excel at their tasks and exceed expectations. However, that is not how it works in the real world. You are more likely to find that most of the people on your team are not stars, and some of them never will be. Rather, teams are more often heterogeneous mixes of people, some of whom are better than others. Some teams and individuals can be coached to a higher level of performance; others never will make the grade.

As a young manager, taking a good hard look at the team you inherited can be disillusioning. You may see a mix that is not that ...

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