I agree, I think this is aspect of the article is a huge mistake (although I generally agree with the rest of it).
The notion that a great team has good communication seems pretty obvious. But drawing people from the exact same pool of talent is not necessarily a good thing to do at all -- in fact, it can be down right detrimental to the team. But to be clear, I am not saying that diversity is a cure either -- having too many opinions on how something should be done is also problematic.
I agree with the main premise of the article that you need a team of complimentary individuals. I think this touches on something that is similar to the notion of 'how to hire someone who is smarter than you are.' So hiring people that are like you, or the rest of the team, could be a mistake. Hiring people that compliment the current team is, IMHO, the right way to build a team.
I have experienced both sides of this coin: one team that on paper was probably not all that impressive, but came together and made a brilliant team. And the opposite, where the team was a collection of brilliant individuals from the same school who were unable to function effectively as a team because there was no leader and everyone thought their approach to a given problem was best.
So while communication is hugely important, I think that it is also essential to avoid hiring people who are like you or who you feel comfortable around simply because of a shared background.
The notion that a great team has good communication seems pretty obvious. But drawing people from the exact same pool of talent is not necessarily a good thing to do at all -- in fact, it can be down right detrimental to the team. But to be clear, I am not saying that diversity is a cure either -- having too many opinions on how something should be done is also problematic.
I agree with the main premise of the article that you need a team of complimentary individuals. I think this touches on something that is similar to the notion of 'how to hire someone who is smarter than you are.' So hiring people that are like you, or the rest of the team, could be a mistake. Hiring people that compliment the current team is, IMHO, the right way to build a team.
I have experienced both sides of this coin: one team that on paper was probably not all that impressive, but came together and made a brilliant team. And the opposite, where the team was a collection of brilliant individuals from the same school who were unable to function effectively as a team because there was no leader and everyone thought their approach to a given problem was best.
So while communication is hugely important, I think that it is also essential to avoid hiring people who are like you or who you feel comfortable around simply because of a shared background.