You have what it takes to be part of a winning team

What separates a winning team from an average one? Talent? Resources? Luck? Having seen all kinds of teams, I can say that the most significant difference is you who do things properly. You who take ownership of your work. Are highly accountable. Put in the effort to get things done. It sounds simple, but this kind of commitment is such a luxury for high performing teams.

Mediocrity is clearest in a team’s inability to trust each other’s work. Balls get dropped, tasks remain half-done or undone, commitments aren’t upheld, communication is so so, and weak predictability and workflow management create unnecessary burden. Small inefficiencies snowball into bigger problems.

But you know better. Success doesn’t always come easily and you can’t foresee everything. Deadlines get pushed, priorities shift and mistakes happen. Things happen. That’s part of business. However, because you want to be part of a winning team, mastering the basics is built into your way of working — not the conditions. And that is what you do right every single time.

I appreciate how you honestly evaluate yourself and your actions, and seek feedback to support that evaluation. You keep asking yourself:

“What can I bring to the table?”

The real accountability is about how your actions impact the team. I can count on you to follow through. You work transparently, so no one has to chase after you. You actively develop your skills to stay relevant. You add value instead of just consuming resources.

Hiring people smarter than yourself and attracting top performers does not free anyone from responsibility. On the contrary, you raise your own level all the time. You inspire and get inspired, you develop, learn, and keep moving forward. You continuously ask yourself: “How can I be even better for my team?” 

And you don’t take this as a competition, but as an opportunity to do your best so that we, all the talented professionals around you, can also perform at our best.

Another thing winning teams do, they gravitate towards the work that brings the most value. Often, those tasks that actually move the needle for the team’s common goal aren’t the most exciting or comfortable ones. They’re the tedious and unglamorous, but essential ones. 

Thank you for levelling up and stepping up for the team. You know that if you don’t, you are weighing down the entire team and shifting the burden onto someone else. You take on those tasks not because they’re fun, but because they matter. You are the ones who tackle the dull but critical work so the whole team can operate at its best.

Being part of a winning team is about consistently doing the right things. Taking ownership, following through, and making sure your contributions actually move the team forward. It means doing everything you can for the shared goal, each according to their role.

So, I thank you for keeping up the high standards. It is not just your experience and expertise that make us strong, but your rock solid execution, accountability, and reliability, meaning the absolute basics. You belong to our winning team.

Now, who comes to your mind?