Most leaders would think to collect as much talent — smart, innovative, dynamic employees — as possible. Too much talent? No problem.
In fact, it might be.
At least that’s the conclusion of a new Columbia University research report titled: “The Too-Much-Talent Effect: Team Interdependence Determines When More Talent is Too Much or Not Enough.” The challenge is described in a piece in Columbia’s Ideas at Work: One segment: “New research shows that an excess of top-tier talent can drag down team performance, particularly when team members must work closely together. ‘When individuals within a team don’t have to rely on each other to get their work done, maximizing talent is a really good strategy,’ says Professor Adam Galinsky, who coauthored the study with Roderick I. Swaab and Michael Schaerer of INSEAD, Richard Ronay of VU University Amsterdam, and Columbia Business School doctoral student Eric Anicich. ‘But when team members are interdependent, you can get the too-much-talent effect.’”
Some of the research comes from sports teams: “Three archival studies revealed that the too-much-talent effect emerged when team members were interdependent (football and basketball) but not independent (baseball). Our basketball analysis also established the mediating role of team coordination. When teams need to come together, more talent can tear them apart.”
Added Scientific American: “Why is too much talent a bad thing? 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.”
A 2010 Harvard Business School study found similar conclusions. Only instead of the sports field, this study goes to the kitchen: “Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth: How High-Status Individuals Decrease Group Effectiveness.”