Regular readers of this column will be aware of my in-depth knowledge of, and love for, our national game, and appreciate that, as a Peterborough United season ticketholder, I am used to watching fast-flowing and attractive football.

So, like millions of fellow football aficionados, I and the rest of the Moreton household will be lined up on the sofa next Saturday to watch England's first game of the World Cup complete with my newly acquired England Supporters t-shirt and curly St George's wig, of course!

Anyone involved in retail will have been building up to the football extravaganza in South Africa for months, and so for the past few weeks shelves have been stocked with everything from the red and white car flags and those very fetching matching wigs to the repackaged Mars bar.

Looking at this from the people perspective has got me thinking about the nature of teams, teamwork and team spirit, and the best way to motivate and manage a group of individuals to come together and work as one cohesive unit.

We've all worked in businesses where there have been a few outstanding individuals even the odd prima donna. These people can be inspiring and great fun to work with but we all know that a team full of outstanding individuals doesn't always run away with the honours.

Any England supporter can recount the numerous occasions over the past 30 years when we've supposedly had the 'best team' in terms of the number of so-called "super star players", yet the only time we've managed to win the World Cup was in 1966, when arguably the side that won that day was the antithesis of today's star-focused culture it was simply the best team a cohesive unit focused on the task in hand and all working towards the same goal individual egos left in the dressing room!

In any football team there will always be the star players, the ones who score the goals and grab the limelight, but in every successful team you also need great back-up and support a few old pros, maybe, who've been there, got the T-Shirt etc.

Wayne Rooney might be the man that we expect to be putting the ball in the back of the net, but Fabio Capello isn't expecting him to win us the World Cup on his own. He's looking to create the best working environment for him to do what he does best. He's looking to build a world-class team it's all about getting the balance right. That's the key to success on the field, and in business it's no different. Individuals can provide real inspiration and moments of magic but time and again it's the top teams that deliver consistent results just ask the Germans, Brazilians and Italians.

Here's hoping that in five weeks we'll be adding England to that list!

Guy Moreton is director of recruitment practitioner MorePeople.

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