In short, the answer is yes. However, Cindi May—a professor of psychology at the College of Charleston—offers a fuller explanation on the Scientific American website, where she explains new research on the benefits of limiting talent on teams.
Here, May writes about why too much talent is bad.
“Think teamwork. In many endeavors, success requires collaborative, cooperative work towards a goal that is beyond the capability of any one individual. Even Emmitt Smith needed effective blocking from the Cowboy offensive line to gain yardage. When a team roster is flooded with individual talent, pursuit of personal star status may prevent the attainment of team goals. The basketball player chasing a point record, for example, may cost the team by taking risky shots instead of passing to a teammate who is open and ready to score.”
Even though the study focused on sports teams, May writes that the finding’s implications “extent beyond the ball field to any group or endeavor that must balance competitive and collaborative efforts, including corporate teams, financial research groups, and brainstorming exercises.”
Check out the full article at Scientific American to learn more.
(photo credit: xavi talleda via photopin cc)
