“Teams outperform individuals.”

It sounds obvious.

But most businesses don’t actually operate that way.

They measure individuals.Reward individuals.And optimise for individual performance.

Especially in sales.

And in doing so, they miss something important.

This idea was shared with me by Lars Tewes, and it challenges a very common assumption.

That the best way to drive performance is to measure output.

Usually revenue.

But revenue is just the outcome.

Not the process that creates it.

“It is not as simple as just waving a magic wand and walking away with the order.”

Every meaningful piece of work—especially in sales—happens in stages.

For example:

* Initial contact

* Relationship building

* Opportunity development

* Proposal creation

* Closing

And here’s the key insight:

Different people are good at different stages.

Your top performer?

They might excel at:

* Building relationships

* Creating opportunities

But struggle to close.

Another team member might:

* Be average at early stages

* But exceptional at closing

And yet, if you only measure revenue, one is rewarded…

And the other is overlooked.

This is where performance gets distorted.

Because the system rewards outcomes—but ignores capability.

And when that happens, you don’t fully utilise the talent in the team.

This applies far beyond sales.

In operations.In delivery.In any structured process.

Wherever work happens in stages, the same principle holds.

Here’s what we’ll explore next:

* How to break down performance into meaningful stages

* How to identify strengths across your team

* How to use peer coaching to raise overall performance

* Why team incentives matter alongside individual ones

How to Use Team Strengths to Drive Better Results

Start by mapping the process.

Break the work down into its key stages.

In sales, that might include:

* Prospecting

* Relationship building

* Opportunity development

* Proposal creation

* Closing

Clarity here is essential.

Measure performance at each stage.

Instead of only tracking final outcomes:

* Assess who is strongest at each step

* Identify where individuals consistently perform well

This reveals hidden strengths.

Leverage those strengths across the team.

Encourage:

* Peer coaching

* Knowledge sharing

* Demonstration of best practice

For example:

* Strong closers help others improve closing skills

* Strong prospectors improve early-stage performance

This raises the baseline for everyone.

Introduce team-based motivation.

Individual incentives drive personal performance.

But team incentives:

* Encourage collaboration

* Reward shared success

* Align effort across the whole process

Both are needed.

Shift your mindset from individual output to collective capability.

Because a team that improves across every stage:

* Becomes more consistent

* Reduces bottlenecks

* Delivers stronger overall results

The real advantage isn’t having one standout performer.

It’s building a team where everyone contributes their strengths.

And where those strengths are shared.

That’s when performance compounds.

That’s when teams outperform individuals.

Play your business leadership cards right by Bob Bradley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

They’re written for those responsible for leading organisations and making decisions where the answers are rarely straightforward.

I also work with leadership teams through workshops, talks, and one-to-one conversations.

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