How To Build Teams That Grow Together and Outperform 'Genius with Helpers' Models
In a mid-sized software company, two teams were tasked with building competing versions of a new app. Team A was led by one well-known star developer, with others mostly following instructions. Team B, less flashy on paper, operated under a group agreement: honest critique was welcomed, mistakes meant deeper learning, and every team member was empowered to challenge assumptions and propose alternatives.
Over the months, Team A delivered rapid results at first, but ran into integration issues and morale faltered when a bug went public—most members deferred to the lead and hesitated to voice concerns. In Team B, heated debates sometimes slowed them down, but after each stubbed toe, the team ran debriefs to identify and address process gaps.
Six months in, Team B’s product, though initially less polished, was more robust and had more user-driven features. Their learning loops made them adaptive to feedback and open to innovation, and eventually their product was adopted company-wide. Employees from Team A later requested to transfer to Team B, citing the healthy environment for personal and professional growth.
Academic studies confirm what Team B discovered: teams that prioritize collective growth, welcome open critique, and share process learning outperform teams organized around individual 'stars.' This isn’t touchy-feely—it’s a repeatable performance advantage.
In your next team, try making it clear that the goal is not for any one person to prove how smart they are, but for everyone to solve hard problems together through open critique and process reviews. Invite dissent, assign roles to question decisions, and make frequent reflection a routine. See how quickly you build both trust and performance.
What You'll Achieve
You’ll create a more resilient, innovative, and higher-performing team, where members are motivated by learning and collective achievement rather than status or ego.
Foster Group Growth Mindset Through Open Dialogue
Set a group norm for continual learning and honest feedback.
Explicitly communicate that mistakes and disagreements are expected and valued as opportunities for the team to learn.
Invite dissent and alternate viewpoints during decision-making.
Assign a 'devil’s advocate' for each meeting or project so different perspectives are always considered.
Focus on process improvements, not just individual achievement.
After setbacks, review as a team what strategies worked and what could change, rather than seeking culprits or protecting ego.
Reflection Questions
- How does your team currently handle disagreement or mistakes?
- What would change if everyone openly shared learning experiences?
- What group norms could you shift to make team learning the goal?
Personalization Tips
- A business project team includes reflection time at the end of each sprint to ask what they learned and what they’d do differently.
- A school faculty builds protocols for challenging existing practices and encourages students to propose new ideas.
- A sports team openly discusses failed plays, focusing on group tactics rather than blaming individual players.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
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