Talent doesn’t matter in a team. Let me qualify that statement. Talent matters. But I’d much rather work with a friend than a talented jerk. I’d much rather work with someone who wants to collaborate, rather than someone who fights for their ideas until death. I want to work with someone I trust and who trust me.
I have a friend that works with an amazing team. But one of his co-workers is a scrapper. His co-worker fights for his ideas, doesn’t respect the team, and has a difficult time seeing other people’s perspectives. The guy is massively talented. But he probably won’t make it very far in his career. No one wants to work with that. He’s doomed to be the lonely artist his whole life – even if he’s still working with a team.
I’d rather a team of untalented folks who work together and love to let the best ideas win – whether they’re my idea or someone else’s. Teams like that can accomplish amazing things. Where-as, a team full of self-serving jerks will be disjointed and always pursuing their own agendas.
Fortunately, I work with an amazing team full of my friends. We all have ideas, but are quick to back off when a superior idea presents itself. We never have to argue for our ideas because we all respect each others’ ideas.
And how do you work with a team like that? Be a person like that. As you become more and more like that, you’ll surround yourself with likeminded people. Opportunities will abound. People will approach you wanting to work with you.
Be easy to work with. That’s worth more than a metric ton of talent.
Loved this blog post man! I appreciate all of the insight that you give. I believe you are a huge resource for any kind of creative that desires to understand themselves and get better at leading what they do!