Why Smart Leaders Make Poor Teams

Your approach to teamwork could be killing team culture

David Clode/Unsplash

The unexpected call shattered David Moyes’ dream. Just ten months into what was supposed to be a six-year job, he was being fired.

Moyes succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson to manage Manchester United—a global powerhouse with 13 Premier League titles and 38 trophies. Under his leadership, the team suffered one of the most spectacular collapses in sports history. They finished seventh. Seventh. Their worst performance in a quarter-century.

But here's the thing that should terrify every leader: The players didn't suddenly forget how to play football. The talent was still there. The powerful Manchester United machine was still there. Yet somehow, in just a few months, a winning team had become a group of frustrated individuals.

What happened?

The rot started with arrogance, not in the locker room, but in the manager's office.

Moyes, determined to create his own imprint, made a fatal assumption. He disregarded team culture as if it were just Ferguson's old way of doing things. This…