Reflections on the Power of Teams

Retiring from a fast-paced, successful career is like coming home from an adventure of a lifetime.

• The whirling stops and you find yourself awed by all that you’ve experienced and accomplished.
• You marvel at how challenges that seemed impossible became possible.
• You take time to look at the photos, awards and recognition that you collected along the way.
• And, upon reflection, you acknowledge that you did not achieve success alone.

This past December I retired from a 42-year telecommunications career that took me from an entry-level, assistant manager’s job in Southern Bell’s engineering department in Plantation, Florida, to my final job as vice chairman of AT&T.

Never in a million years would I have guessed the day I joined the company right out of college, that I would retire as its vice chairman, and be inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame.

But it did happen, and over the past few weeks I’ve taken time to reflect on what made a seemingly impossible journey to the C-suite of a Fortune 10 Company possible.

Knowing that LinkedIn readers are looking for ideas that can help them reach their own measure of success, I thought I’d share my thoughts on what worked for me. Of course, other leaders may have different thoughts.

The power of great teams

Without a doubt, what worked for me was harnessing the power of great teams.

Teams like the Cingular Wireless team, which later became the AT&T Mobility team. One of the many teams I had the honor to be associated with over the years.

There aren’t many teams that can claim they grew revenues by over $50 billion (with a B), grew margins by $21 billion, and reduced customer churn by over 50% in the course of ten years (2004-2014).

That team can. It takes a great team to deliver such a sustained performance in a very dynamic industry with constantly changing technology, regulations, and customer expectations.

It can also claim they helped usher in the smartphone revolution, connected cars and the Internet of Things.

All that while competing the right way and providing great customer satisfaction recognized by winning 9 consecutive JD Power Awards for the Wireless Full Service Purchase Experience Satisfaction.

What makes a great team?

I am honored to have been a part of that team. So, it is from that point of view that I offer what I think are the characteristics of a great team:

• It has a clear purpose. Team members know exactly the mission and its goals.
• Team members are inspired and willing to sacrifice to achieve aggressive goals.
• It has a positive attitude, which is essential for the team to overcome obstacles.
• The team operates in an inclusive environment where members can contribute their diverse viewpoints and experiences.
• It’s grounded on trust and open communications.
• And it acts with integrity and in compliance with the law.

Even for teams embodying these characteristics, however, there must be another element for them to achieve true greatness.

I think that element is having the right environment (you can call it climate, culture, or framework) that you, as the leader are responsible for fostering.

As the leader, your role is to make the purpose clear and relevant to the team, to inspire its members to give it their best, to establish a winning mindset, to bring together people of different backgrounds, to foster trust and to define integrity by modeling it yourself.

As I look back on my career, I can attest that the most rewarding moments for me were when I was able to inspire a team to achieve what they did not think was possible.

Nothing can top that.