Fast Company Daily The key to high-performing teams isn’t more talent or perfect leaders
Dec 3, 2025
Discover how having too much talent can actually harm team performance. Learn about the importance of emotional belief in leadership through an intriguing dinner experiment. Explore the success story of LEGO, focusing on reasoning, attention, and resources. Uncover the Super Chicken experiment that highlights the power of cooperation over competition. Finally, understand how glue players, like Shane Battier, play crucial roles in team success by fostering cohesion among star players.
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Teams Beat Stacked Stars
- Teams win by combining efforts into something greater than individual talent alone.
- Skill matters but cooperative systems determine real performance.
1980 College Team Upsets Pros
- The 1980 U.S. college basketball team beat pro all-stars in exhibitions despite being less talented on paper.
- This example shows that cohesion can trump raw individual skill.
Quibi's Insulated Leadership Failure
- Quibi raised nearly $2 billion but failed because leadership ignored feedback and became insulated.
- The company's overconfidence and lack of responsiveness led to rapid shutdown.
