A group of musicians when in synch create beautiful pieces of music that is captivating and uplifting. Each musician contributes their unique passion and talent to the creative process, which starts with writing the music and culminates in performing the pieces.

A successful music band that experiences longevity needs to learn to collaborate between recording projects and performances. Some iconic bands like the Rolling Stones seem to have developed the ability to work and stay together for more than 50 years now, while the Beatles only last 7 years.

This makes for a good analogy for a group of employees. What makes employees go from being simply a group to a high performing team that continues to evolve and collaborate?

1. Each member is good at what they do and continue to get better though their own desire to grow in their chosen expertise
2. There is a genuine respect for each other and the unique talent each member brings to the team
3. They can work though differences for the good of the team
4. They help each other when things get tough
5. They find ways to grow as a team and continuously improve

Any band like the Rolling Stones usually has a leader who starts the group and helps it become successful. Of course, music bands will have a manager whose job it is to promote the band and manage the business side.

Business leaders are like the band manager whose job it is to form the team and ensure that their needs are met so they can perform well together. The leader/manager needs to:

1. Bring the right team members with the right talent, skills, and attitude. As the team progresses over time this responsibility can be done as a team
2. Make sure each member is improving on their skill set and discovering new opportunities to grow
3. Challenge the team to take risks to find ways to evolve and improve together
4. Help team members sort out any conflicts or disagreements that could derail the team
5. Involve the team in planning their future so everyone actively participates in the journey

As mentioned in point 1, over time the team itself can collectively take on these responsibilities and thus the original leader gradually shares more and more power with the team.

Who are the artists in your team? What are their talents? How can you continuously have them become more and more synchronized and output a performance that is truly world-class? This should be your goal and at the forefront of your thinking as a leader.