6. Challenge 4: Building Trust Among Team Members

Many team leaders attempt to build a “dream team.” Unfortunately, most dream teams fail. For example, the 2004 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team, made up entirely of NBA stars and heralded as The Dream Team, finished third after losing to Lithuania. The Dream Team did not fail for lack of skill. It failed for numerous reasons, but perhaps the most damaging is that, as “stars,” the egotistical players were concerned more about their individual opportunities for glory than about the success of the team.

Refusing to trust one another, the NBA players failed to commit to becoming a “team.” Trust is fundamental to a winning team. If team members do not trust one another, they will be preoccupied with ...

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