Business leaders need to take a good hard look at their key assets.

Sure, every individual has valuable contribution to make within an organisation. But it is the core team that makes the difference between corporate success and mediocrity. The core are the key strategic, mission-critical roles driving the organisation. The rest is just window dressing.

If you consider the dynamics of the world’s ultimate sporting teams, it is the spine of the team that spells great team success. With the England ’66 squad it was Banks, Moore, Charlton and Hurst. For the long unbeaten Australian cricket team, it was McGrath, Warne, Waugh, Gilchrist and Ponting. And then Vickery, Johnson, Dallaglio, Dawson and Wilkinson delivered in spectacular form as the legendary 2003 Rugby World Cup team.

History tells us that behind each of these sporting team triumphs was a beautifully crafted core in which not one player, but the entire critical backbone of the team was equally outstanding. A strong core team can also afford to support remaining players with lesser skills and experience without compromising overall performance.

And if you translate this sporting analogy into a business context?

It is about the effectiveness of the corporate core, working as an elite team driving the corporate direction, living and breathing its vision. But make no mistake -  organisations require more than competent, experienced individuals to fill these key roles. Business excellence demands that the calibre of the core team is best-in-class.

Without exceptional appointments in the core, organisational success is badly diluted. Surely this is never more important than in a challenged economic climate.

About the Author:

This is a guest post by Christina Sage, an ambassador for CMI, a leading source of management training in the UK