Imagine you are leading a team. Great teams get the right balance of decision makers, drivers and deliverers. Decision-makers set the strategy. Drivers act as the gears - they ‘live the message’ and translate the ideas into action. Deliverers produce the goods. People may move between all three roles at times but, by and large, it is important to get the right balance in your team. Let’s explore what this means in practice.

1) Decision-makers.

Decision-makers set the compass. They clarify what mountain the team is climbing, why they are climbing it and when they will reach the summit. They communicate this story in a compelling way and ensure everybody knows their part in achieving the goals. Great teams frequently have two or three people at the centre who take responsibility for setting the overall direction. Depending on the topics to be covered, however, they then involve wider groups. Leaders do this to ensure people have a real sense of ownership regarding their part of their strategy. How does this work in your team? Try completing the following sentences.

The good decision-makers we already have in the team are:

*

*

*

The decision-makers we may need to add to the team are:

*

2) Drivers.

Drivers are the gears of the team. They act as positive models and often lead ‘teams within the team’. They approach the leaders and say: “As far as I understand it, the strategy is … My part and my team’s part in making the strategy happen is … Is that correct? Right, I will go and make it happen.” Leaders must make sure that all their direct reports embody these qualities. Otherwise they will leap-frog them and micro-manage the deliverers. Great football clubs, for example, recruit drivers to form the spine of the team. Spurring-on their team mates, they ensure the strategy is translated into action. How does this work in your team? Try completing the following sentence.

The good drivers we already have in the team are:

*

*

*

The drivers we may need to add to the team are:

*

3) Deliverers.

Deliverers are often experts and do great work. Some deliverers do go on to become drivers - but that calls for them taking a different kind of responsibility. They must be prepared to act as positive models and make tough decisions. Some deliverers therefore prefer to remain brilliant niche providers. This is okay: providing they have a positive attitude, do good work and contribute to helping the team reach its goals. How does this work in your team? Try completing the following sentence.

The good deliverers we already have in the team are:

*

*

*

The deliverers we may need to add to the team are:

*

Super teams get the right balance of decision makers, drivers and deliverers. So, if you wish, tackle the exercise at the end of this piece that brings everything together. Clarify what you can do to get the right people in the right places. This will give your team the greatest chance of success.

Decision-makers, drivers & deliverers. Action plan

The specific things we must therefore do to get the
right people in the right places in the team are:

*

*

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