“It is relatively easy to find talent; it is hard to form teams. In hiring I suspect most companies and organizations pay too much attention to the former and too little to the latter.... Obviously good teams take advantage of each members comparative advantage, but there is something else going on here, some chemistry that leads to the inner transformation of individuals, providing bursts of confidence, bursts of loyalty to one another, bursts of hard work and commitment. I wish I understood it. The key to success is not found in the individual members but in the quality of the space between them. I can only note that a good team is based on some sort of mutual love, and we want to honor what we love and become what we love.”
That’s it exactly. I know what he is talking about and have experienced this very deeply in my working life. I found that the Bells had a hard time describing that ‘space between’ and likewise does Brooks. “I wish I understood it” he says. So what is that? I think we intuitively know it when it is there but somehow lack the formulas or pathways to this place, let alone describe exactly what it is. I have seen that ‘inner transformation’ the bursts of confidence, loyalty, hard work, and commitment. I think the key might be in the last line. We do want to honor what we love and become it ourselves, personally and communally.