Are too many Superstars in a team a bad thing?

Being an Internal Recruiter in Sales, it is always easy to lean towards taking on the cream of the crop and creating a team of “Superstars”. The benefits of having a Superstar team are obvious however what are the negatives and can a company become too “Superstar” heavy?

Whilst the top talent is clearly a must have for any business, a recent study published in Psychological Science suggests that when it comes to team performance, there may be a talent-saturation point.

This study along with various others have analysed anything and everything from how sports teams interact to the laying habits and behaviours of chickens. The majority of them have uncovered that having too many Superstars within a team can diminish returns for a business. This is why;

Superstars are keen to stand out in the crowd

They tend to hog the lime light and aim to be the centre of attention which can detract from other members of the team. Superstars also find it hard to bond with other team members making cohesion within the group challenging.  

Superstars are driven to reach their personal goals

This is great for a business that want results and high billings however it can be detrimental to the end goal of the team and / or business. For example, the basketball player chasing a point record may cost the team by taking risky shots instead of passing to a team mate who is open and ready to score.

Superstars like being dominant

When hen colonies have too many dominant, high-producing chickens, conflict and hen mortality rise while egg production drops. Although gladly we do not see the extremes of this in sales, dominant individuals can have a negative impact on the moral of the company and therefore decrease productivity.

So before breaking the bank to recruit superstars, team owners and industry experts might want to consider whether the goal they are trying to achieve relies on individual talent alone, or a cooperative synergy from the team. If the latter, it would be wise to reign in the talent and focus on teamwork.