Annual planning season is upon us. This is the time of year that many of my clients have their two-day offsite annual planning sessions. It’s their opportunity to reflect on last year’s successes and misses, as well as getting clear on where to focus their time, energy, and resources over the coming year.

In a recent annual planning session with a financial services company, the six-person leadership team had an a-ha moment. They are all very polite, friendly people who are hard workers, but they didn’t fully trust each other. They trusted each other to do their jobs and get stuff done, but they didn’t have a vulnerability-based trust. What does this mean?

I took up crew rowing in an 8-oared shell at age 50 with a local community club here in my hometown. One thing I learned quickly is that we must each trust one another to do our jobs — and with perfect timing — or the boat simply won’t go fast, or worse, won’t go at all.

This has become the perfect team metaphor for me. Rowing relies more on the perfect cohesion of a team than any other sport. In a game like football or basketball, one star player can carry an otherwise mediocre team to victory, but that’s not so in rowing. No single rower can make the boat go faster by himself, but it only takes one rower being just the tiniest bit off to slow it down a lot. The same thing goes for your company’s leadership team.

The best basketball players in the league get it. The original Dream Team’s Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird come to mind. They understand the game so intuitively, it’s second nature to them. They make playing seem effortless. 

In my article on building your business dream team, I stated that you must have players who passionately share your vision and have the skills to help your business win consistently. Your players must get it, want it, and have the capacity (GWC™ in Traction terms) to consistently deliver what their position on the team requires.

So what does “get it” really mean?

Imagine the scene: you enter the packed press room and immediately sense the energy from the crowd of reporters. You take a seat at the long table amidst what seems like a sea of cameras, microphones, tangled wires, and bright lights. A reporter from Entrepreneur Magazine stands to ask the first question, and a hush falls over the room. “How confident are you that your team can take you all the way to the championships this year?”

How would you answer? Are you confident in your current business team? If you were struck with fear at the thought of answering that question honestly in front of reporters and cameras, or anyone for that matter, keep reading.  

We learn through our failures. Nowhere is this more apparent than in my garden. My beloved crepe myrtle has succumbed to a blistering attack of withering leaf mold. With loving care four years ago I planted it in a sunny, well-ventilated spot that was guaranteed to ensure long-term vitality. What happened? I happened.