The Best Leaders Have the Best Teams

There is a clear distinction between leaders who pay lip service to teamwork and those who truly cultivate it. Some leaders highlight “team” in speeches and photo ops, yet operate in silos with poor communication and hidden competition. Others deliberately build environments where people thrive, contribute their expertise, and trust one another. The difference is not cosmetic. It is the foundation of sustainable organizational success.

The image of a rowing team captures this truth perfectly. Each rower has a defined seat, a clear role, and a synchronized rhythm. Alone, their strokes would create splashes. Together, aligned in purpose, they move swiftly and powerfully across the water. This is what the best leaders build: teams where individual strength is respected, yet unified in pursuit of a shared vision.

Building Trust and Unity Over Optics

Research shows that effective teams are rooted in psychological safety, the belief that members can share ideas, admit mistakes, and challenge perspectives without fear of ridicule or retaliation (Edmondson, 1999). Just like rowers who must trust one another to stay in sync, organizational teams thrive when members feel safe to lean into their roles and rely on each other. Leaders who cultivate trust eliminate silos and create the kind of unity that keeps the boat moving forward.

Selecting the Right People

True team builders select not just the “best” people on paper but the right people whose diverse strengths complement one another. In rowing, every seat has a specific purpose, from the bow seat setting rhythm to the powerhouse rowers in the middle. Jim Collins, in his seminal work Good to Great, emphasized that great leaders “get the right people on the bus” before deciding where the bus is going (Collins, 2001). Similarly, great leaders choose people who can work in harmony, not just individually excel.

Recognizing Contributions and Expertise

Recognition is more than a morale booster. It is a driver of engagement and retention. A Gallup study found that employees who feel recognized are 23 percent more likely to be engaged and productive (Gallup, 2023). In a rowing crew, no single oar is the star of the race. The boat only cuts through the water when each contribution is equally valued. Leaders who highlight the efforts of every member send the message that all roles matter to the shared mission.

Importantly, thriving teams do not require members to love one another personally. They require respect. As Katzenbach and Smith (1993) note in The Wisdom of Teams, what matters is commitment to a common purpose and performance goals, not social harmony. Rowers may not be friends off the water, but on the water, they are deeply connected by their collective goal.

Shared Vision as the Anchor

A shared vision unites diverse individuals under a single mission. When leaders clearly articulate why the work matters, they transform a group of professionals into a high performing team. Research in organizational psychology shows that teams aligned around purpose outperform those motivated solely by individual incentives (Sinek, 2009).

In rowing, the finish line is the common goal. The coxswain’s voice becomes the anchor that keeps the crew focused and moving in rhythm. In organizations, the leader’s role is no different, anchoring the team’s focus on the bigger picture, the people and communities they are serving.

Conclusion

The best leaders do not just say “team.” They build one. Like a rowing crew, they create supportive environments where trust replaces silos, where expertise is respected, and where every member rows in sync toward the same destination. Unity in purpose, not surface level optics, is what transforms individual effort into collective strength. And when the team is aligned, the boat glides forward with unmatched power.

References

Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don’t. HarperBusiness.

Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350-383.

Gallup. (2023). State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report. Gallup, Inc.

Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization. Harvard Business Review Press.

Sinek, S. (2009). Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Portfolio.