Here’s a wild experiment that explains why your “dream team” might be failing.
A researcher wanted to boost chicken egg production. He tried two approaches:
- Group 1: Average chickens, left alone
- Group 2: Only the top-performing “superchickens” bred together
After six generations? The average chickens thrived. The superchickens had pecked each other to death.
The Business Version
We do this all the time. Hire the smartest people in the room, give them resources, expect magic.
What we get instead: politics, competition, people hoarding information. The “stars” succeed by suppressing everyone else.
What Actually Works
MIT tested hundreds of teams on hard problems. The winners didn’t have the highest IQs. They had:
- High empathy
- Equal speaking time
- Better collaboration
The magic wasn’t individual talent. It was how people connected.
The Real Secret
Companies don’t have ideas—people do. And people do their best work when they trust each other enough to ask for help.
Maybe stop looking for superstars. Start building teams where everyone matters.
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