Why Great Leaders Don’t Rely on One Star Player

Most leaders don’t find out until it’s too late. Here’s what to do before that moment comes.

EXPERT OPINION BY BERNARD COLEMAN, PEOPLE LEADER, DESCRIPT @BERNARDCOLEMAN3

Illustration: Getty Images

When I was a kid, one of my favorite football players was a running back, Barry Sanders. Watching him was like watching magic. You couldn’t believe what one person could do with so little talent around him. He played for the Detroit Lions, a perpetually terrible team, and stayed loyal for ten long seasons. Then, in his prime, he abruptly retired.

I honestly think he got tired of losing. And can you blame him? The question that always bugged me is, why didn’t they get that man some support? You have something great going on. Why wouldn’t they surround him with more talent so they could actually win?

I see this in organizations all the time. They’ll have this star performer, they know what they’re capable of, and then they load them up with an extraordinary amount of work and responsibility. The leader says, “I know they can handle it,” and so the leader gives them more. And the leader dresses it up as a reward, “We trust you with this.” That’s not a reward. That’s a trap (and sometimes a punishment).

If the championship is the goal, the management trap is believing that loading up one player will carry you there; it is a talent strategy that guarantees you never arrive. The fix isn’t complicated, just hire complementary people who collectively make the win possible. As a leader, ask yourself what are you actively doing to build around your best people. That’s designing complementary roles, work streams, and skill sets that elevate the whole team, not just the star. Championships are won by rosters, not résumés.

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Sports have figured this out. Load management is when you strategically rest your star player, not because they’re weak, but because you understand their capacity. You know if you push them too hard, too often, they’ll eventually break down. They won’t have enough left in the tank when it matters most.

The same is true at work. Your best people can’t deliver in the moments that define the business if they’ve spent them on the moments that don’t. That requires a supporting cast. Managers need to map their team’s capacity like a coach reads a roster. The load has to be shared, or it will be carried until it can’t be anymore.

The thing about your star players is that there’s no off switch. They’re one-gear, and that gear is always on. On vacation, they’re thinking about work. At a wedding, they’re thinking about work. A baby is born, and somewhere in the back of their mind, work.

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