The best teams I've ever been on -- in athletics and business -- shared a common trait.
Yes, they had talent.
Yes, they worked hard.
Yes, they were driven.
But that's not what made them special.
What did?
They lead themselves.
They didn't rely on the coach or the boss for leadership.
They didn't need an authority to hold them accountable.
They didn't need to be motivated.
They built on the tone the leader set and then took ownership.
It usually started with one person. One person deciding they wanted to be great.
That rubbed off on a second person, then a third, then a fourth ...
Eventually, that became contagious.
If you didn't want to be excellent, you were the outsider. You were left behind.
I believe all excellent teams -- regardless of domain -- operate this way.
The "leader" can establish the standard.
But for the team to become special, ultimately leadership must come from within.
You can tell the potential of a team by determining the source of its leadership.
Does it come from the top?
Or does it come from within?
Yes, both are important.
But no team can be great if it doesn't have the latter.