7 Reasons Depth Is the Leadership Secret Behind Every Winning Organization
(briandodonleadership.com)
A Championship Culture
Every leader wants to build a high-performing team. Most focus on finding stars, recruiting top talent, and identifying difference-makers. While those elements matter, organizations often overlook one of the greatest competitive advantages available: depth.
In his book The 17 Indisputable Laws Of Teamwork, John Maxwell noted that great teams have great depth. What John knows is championship organizations are rarely built around one or two exceptional performers. They are built around layers of people who can contribute when opportunities arise and pressure increases.
Recently, two teams from different sports demonstrated this principle.
On May 13th, the Colorado Avalanche closed out the Minnesota Wild 4 games to 1. Afterwards in this article, Colorado team captain Gabriel Landeskog discussed the ingredients behind the team’s success saying, “It’s just belief in this room, confidence in this room, determination: those three things. You sprinkle in the skill that we have and the depth that we have. It’s a powerful combination.”
Landeskog pointed out something many leaders miss: confidence is strengthened when people know they are surrounded by capable teammates.
Avalanche forward Parker Kelly added, “We’ve been trying to build trust. I think you want to be able to be trusted in those situations. … You can’t have (Nathan MacKinnon) and (Gabriel Landeskog) and the really good shutdown guys out there all the time. And I think it’s just kind of a kudos to the depth. It could be anyone going out there to try to buy some time, shut it down quick, and kind of keep the game going in our direction.”
An Ascending Organization
Similarly, the Pittsburgh Pirates have started the season with a 24-21 record. It is the first time in a decade they have looked like legitimate postseason contenders. When discussing the team’s turnaround, manager Ben Cherington said in this article, “The simplest thing is we’re deeper, and we have fewer guys that are struggling as big-league hitters. I think it’s sustainable, because I actually don’t believe we’ve gotten to our best offense yet. We’re not quite clicking against left-handed starters.”
Depth does not simply help you survive today. It gives you confidence that success will be sustainable.
7 Reasons Depth Is the Leadership Secret Behind Every Winning Organization
From these two teams we learn seven benefits of building great depth within an organization:
1. Depth builds confidence.
People perform better when they know they are not carrying the entire burden alone.
2. Depth multiplies talent.
Individual ability becomes more powerful when combined with capable contributors throughout the organization.
3. Depth provides trust during high-pressure situations.
Pressure reveals whether leaders trust only a few people or whether they trust the entire team.
4. Depth gives you margin.
Strong organizations have room to absorb injuries, setbacks, challenges, and unexpected circumstances.
5. Depth protects you from individual poor performance.
Everyone experiences difficult seasons. Depth prevents one person’s struggles from becoming everyone’s problem.
6. Depth makes success sustainable.
Long-term success is rarely dependent upon one star performer.
7. Depth positions your team for continual improvement.
Great depth means future growth still exists because more people can continue developing.
Conclusion
Many leaders spend their time searching for stars while overlooking the importance of building depth. Stars may win moments, but depth wins seasons. It creates belief, develops trust, and gives organizations the ability to withstand pressure and keep moving forward.
The Colorado Avalanche called it a “powerful combination.” The Pittsburgh Pirates called it “sustainable.” When everyone on the team is prepared to contribute, success stops depending on a few people and starts becoming part of the culture itself.