Rick DeStefane, and Why You're Only as Great as Your Team

When Rick DeStefane reflects on the value teamwork holds in business, he likes to reference Michael Jordan. “Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships,” he quotes, quickly adding on: “Entrepreneurs might not get a trophy and a sneaker deal at the end of a profitable quarter, but their triumphs are equally important to the morale of their team, shareholders and customers.”

Over the course of his career as a serial entrepreneur, Rick DeStefane has found success in over 100 different business entities and attributes all of it to the power of his team. DeStefane muses, “Bringing a group of voices together when it works right is kind of like magic.” The reality of creating a team to get tasks done depends on a number of factors. There might be an infinite number of ways to do it, but there are a few key traits found in just about all of the great ones.

He points to size as a key factor. According to DeStefane, every team must be dynamic to take on fresh challenges as they arise. That means that business leaders should err on the side of a smaller group to prevent excessive barriers between members. Even as a company grows, its leaders should want their teams to remain as nimble as possible.

Human limitations add to the problem of size. It depends on the task, of course, but for fostering real trust and communication, its a fact that there are actually proven biological limits on how many people a given individual can enjoy the company of or even remember in their minds. Given this, Rick DeStefane recommends that leaders keep their teams small and shed excess members every now and then when appropriate.

“Fewer cooks in the kitchen leads to more opportunity to create real connections between each team member,” DeStefane explains. Communication is always key in business, and fostering bonds between team members will make for better performance. Recent research backs the lessons he’s gleaned from his hard work and experience.

That said, communication can’t be one-way or dictatorial. “Leaders who manage over their employees’ shoulders inevitably fail,” the entrepreneur states. According to Rick DeStefane, the best teams are made of self-driven, yet collaborative individuals who need to have ownership over their actions and permission to think creatively without a manager supervising their every action. To get the jobs done, your team will need to be empowered to take full ownership of their actions. As DeStefane succinctly advises: “Trust in your team, then let them be great.”

Part of that empowerment, DeStefane notes, is letting the team members clash. Although it might seem counterintuitive, a great team thrives on disagreement. Consensus drives every decision, but it’s best when reached after thoughtful consideration, weighing possibilities and taking in all points of view. A built-in capacity for healthy debate is an asset, not a hindrance, for generating great ideas and pivotal decisions. “A brief look at history proves it,” DeStefane explains, “Just look at President Lincoln!”

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Civil War book, A Team of Rivals, famously recounts Abraham Lincoln’s process of putting together his Cabinet to guide him through what would be the most turbulent times in American history. It had been a highly contentious journey to the White House: Lincoln faced robust challenges in the primary that threatened to tear his entire party apart. But when it came time to build a team to run the country, he took into account the great spirit and knowledge of his onetime foes, and some brilliant voices from the other side of the partisan divide too.

President Lincoln, to his great credit, was able to overlook personal grievances or grudges and enlist the best people for the job at hand. As he put it, “I had no right to deprive the country of their services.” Despite personal feelings and political differences, the talents of the group he put together all coalesced into a force greater than the sum of its parts: the ultimate team. What they accomplished held the country together during many of its greatest challenge.

Of course, it wasn’t their opposing views alone that made them a great team. At the end of the day, they all had the two most important things in common: a shared goal, and a leader who understood how to empower his people. A great team will collectively understand that they’re all there because they bring value to solving problems, and when you can get great, diverse minds on the same page, there’s no limit to what all of you can accomplish.

“If history teaches us anything,” DeStefane finishes, “It would be that nothing gets done in a vacuum. As much as we praise the great leaders who have achieved amazing things, the truth - and the honest ones will tell you as much - is that they’re only as successful as their team allows them to be.”

When it comes time to turn an idea into a reality, entrepreneurs are never going to accomplish their goals alone. Every entrepreneur eventually needs to learn to let go of ego and allow others to share in hard-won glory. Only then can they put their energy into assembling and empowering the most important part of your organization: the people who comprise it.

Rick DeStefane is a serial entrepreneur who divides his time between St. Louis and Hannibal, Missouri.