Most 1-to-1s between managers and their team members are a wandering waste of time.
Sound familiar?
Stop trying to build a basketball team. Your sales force is a team of Olympians.
Rethink Teamwork for High-Performers
Most traditional leadership advice is built around tight-knit, interdependent teams—think basketball. Everyone passes the ball, covers each other, and plays the same game, at the same time.
But if you lead a high-autonomy sales team, this model breaks down.
Your people aren’t playing the same game.
They’re each chasing gold in their own event.
You’re not coaching a basketball team.
You’re leading a team of Olympians.
What Is a Parallel Team?
A parallel team is a group of high-performing individuals, each with their own targets, timelines, and challengesbut aligned around a shared mission and values.
They don’t need hand-holding. They need clarity, coordination, and occasional coaching.
Why This Model Works for Sales
- 🥇 Autonomy is an asset. Your best performers thrive on independence—not micromanagement.
- 🧭 Direction beats control. Give them the “what” and the “why.” Let them figure out the “how.”
- 🤝 Connection still matters. Even Olympians need a coach, a team culture, and shared rituals.
How to Power-Up Your Parallel Team
Here’s your practical toolkit:
- Set shared goals but allow individual paths.
- Run structured 1-to-1s focused on development, not dashboards.
- Use shared visibility tools to keep everyone aligned without constant updates.
- Celebrate individual wins and track team momentum together.
- Coach the person, not the play. Every athlete needs different support to win.
Ready to Build Your Podium?
If you want your sales team to hit new levels of performance, stop forcing team huddles that don’t fit the way they work.
Start thinking like a coach at the Olympics.
Empower your performers.
Fuel their independence.
Align them around something bigger.
Because the future of high-performance leadership?
It runs in parallel.
Paul Morton
CEO, Practical Leadership Academy
PS: Want the full playbook on building and leading high-autonomy teams?
Let’s talk about how we can equip your managers to coach Olympians, not just team players.
https://hello.practical-leadership.academy/teamplaybook
