Many AEC leadership groups operate like golf teams – strong individuals, but little coordination – leaving collective results far short of potential.
As I look around our industry, I see many strong golf teams. That doesn’t sound so bad, except I’m not talking about the group assembled for the annual charity scramble. I am talking about our leadership teams.
Most leadership teams genuinely believe they work well together. Meetings are polite. Goals are stated. Each person’s progress is reported. On the surface, everything looks fine. Yet many of these same teams quietly admit that the results never fully match the talent in the room. There is a subtle but important distinction underneath this frustration: Are you a team of leaders, or are you a true leadership team?
This question reminds me of an analogy shared by Patrick Lencioni: the difference between golf teams and basketball teams. A golf team aggregates individual scores. Each player plays their own ball. Team success is measured by adding up individual performances. You can have an outstanding round and still lose as a team.
Siloed leadership teams struggle to win
Many leadership teams operate the same way. Departments report progress independently. Leaders manage their own scorecards – budgets, utilization, KPIs. Success sounds like “my team met its goal” or “that problem is outside my department.” The hard truth is that golf teams do not fail because people are lazy or disengaged. They fail because the system rewards independence. Incentives and reporting structures quietly encourage leaders to protect their own lanes. Over time, silos form and self-preservation takes over. Letting go of control starts to feel risky.
Basketball teams work differently. There is one ball and one outcome. You cannot succeed alone. Assists matter just as much as points. Players cover for one another, adjust in real time, and sacrifice individual opportunities for the good of the team. Each player still contributes, but always within a shared system. The goal is not to score the most points individually. The goal is to put teammates in the best positions so that the team succeeds.
Some of the best basketball players understand this. The legendary Magic Johnson is one example. As a high school star, Magic could score almost at will. There is a story that after one particular game, his coach pulled him aside and told him, “If you want to score a lot, you can. But if you want us to win, you need to get everyone else involved.” Magic deliberately changed how he played. He focused on assists instead of points. His scoring dropped. His teammates’ scoring went up. And the team won. That moment reshaped how he viewed the game. Leadership, he learned, was not about what he could do alone. It was about what the team became when he trusted them.
Most leaders never have that moment. They keep scoring because they can. They stay indispensable. They solve problems quickly and personally. And without realizing it, they limit the growth of the team around them. Productivity gets mistaken for impact. This is not about lowering standards or diminishing individual contribution. It is about redefining what excellence looks like at the leadership level.
What real teamwork looks like at the leadership level
Real teamwork at the leadership level begins when leaders ask the question, “What does this leadership team need from me right now?” Sometimes the answer is perspective. Sometimes it is alignment. And sometimes it is restraint – choosing not to prioritize your own function so the leadership team can move forward together.
At the leadership team level, “assists” are rarely visible on an org chart or dashboard. But they are easy to recognize. They happen when leaders:
- Remove obstacles for one another instead of defending territory.
- Speak up to clarify direction, even when it is uncomfortable.
- Share information early rather than holding it until it benefits their own area.
- Help the team reach decisions faster, even if the final call is not the one they would have made alone.
It is not easy. You do not become a basketball team just by saying you value collaboration. You become one by aligning incentives, language, and behavior around a shared leadership scoreboard – one that measures collective success, not individual wins. So here is the real test for any leadership team:
- Did the leadership team make better decisions this quarter because you were in the room?
- Where did you help a peer succeed rather than advance your own agenda?
- If you were absent from the next meeting, would the leadership team still move forward with clarity and confidence?
Most leadership teams aren’t playing basketball today. But they can be. Start by clarifying the one outcome that truly matters for the organization. Then take a hard look at how leaders are measured, rewarded, and recognized. Finally, challenge yourself to create at least one “assist” this week – one intentional act that makes someone else more effective.
The teams that win over the long term aren’t defined by individual talent. They win because they learn how to play together.
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Greg Sepeda is a former engineering manager and is currently rewired as a management consultant. Connect with him on LinkedIn. |