For about 12 years in the 1980s and 1990s, I lead the instrumental music at a large church in Charlotte. We started off with a handful of players that had not picked up their horns in 10 to 15 years. We were AWFUL!!! We would commit two weeks of practice just to reach a level of acceptability to play along with the congregational singing.
During that period of time, the church continued to grow as did the proficiency of the band, which attracted even more people to join.
Eventually, we were able to not only hold our own but had a skill level that drew the attention of other churches, a couple local festivals and the local public TV station. We had a 17-piece, Glenn Miller Style “big band” that played very well as a group … as a group.
During that same period in the history of Charlotte was the collapse of the Jim and Tammy Baker empire at PTL. They had attracted some of the finest Christian musicians I had met, and several of them had called our church home. This was very exciting to me. Finally … top notch musicians to take us to the next level.
These guys were top-shelf … but they also knew they were top-shelf. They also were fairly well sought after in the local musicians’ guild and, as such, not always available to play with our band … which I get.
So … what is one to do?
As a musician, I wanted us to have the killer players and enjoy the fruit of their labors. I thought that if I could have these players, the “band” would be better …
But we weren’t. Yes, we had some players that could play that lick that no one else could or had the range to hit the high notes that the rest of the band could only dream of.
But … the band was not better. The group as a whole actually suffered.
When the killer player did not show up for practice (which was often as they did not need the practice), morale dropped.
When the superstar was there, the rest of the band relaxed and did not try as hard.
The band would rely too much on the heavy hitter to carry the band; in turn, the energy, comradery and “community” suffered.
What I learned was profound. If I, as the leader, would invest in the B to B+ players, the band’s aptitude and synergy went through the roof. They tried harder. They felt needed and part of the whole. They took ownership and knew the band relied on them and what they could bring to the performance.
Here was (and is) the bottom line for me … I would rather have a team of B to B+ performers that are 100-percent bought into the vision, mission, culture and goals than have a rockstar that either feels entitled, superior or in some way better than the whole.
I am not saying it is wrong to have people that are top-shelf or that are popular (I would take Rick Warren or Andy Stanley on my leadership team anytime … neither have a rockstar mentality, even though they are very popular), but it is organizations/teams that have a rockstar culture (i.e., the entourage, entitled, expectations of special treatment) or mindset that I have concerns with.
This applies not just to bands, sports teams and lead pastors, but to every organization and/or team. It can be your volunteer team, praise band, company, ministry, etc. Organizations dependent on the “rockstar” to propel their vision and mission are doomed for failure.
Don’t get me wrong … I strive to be the best I can be and I want our team to always work to get better and never settle. In fact, my StrengthsFinder and Intentional Difference assessments reveal that I am a “Maximizer” by nature.
However, the disruption of accommodating the rockstar personality or rockstar culture is not productive when developing a high-performance team.
Can you relate?
How are you building your teams?
