I love food! Comfort food, traditional fare, new dishes, I’m a fan of most any cuisine. But talk about cooking and I come up short.

In the kitchen, my only chance of success is a good recipe.

That said, over time I’ve enjoyed refining my chicken BBQ skills. Years ago, I purchased a ‘mini pit’ from a local farmer who is well known for his mouth-watering, finger-licking chicken. Fortunately, it included his ‘secret’ family recipe which contained thorough instructions, specific ingredients, and careful reminders requiring full attention to detail. Amazing chicken BBQ is part science but involves some time-tested artfulness as well.

Creating and maintaining a healthy leadership team has parallels to great food preparation.

When I was involved in a startup, the founding partners used a simple litmus test for building our team: Would you want this person at your BBQ? Business author Jim Collins says it this way—first who, then what—but the idea is the same. Like a great meal, a great team begins with the right ingredients.

At North Group, we believe who someone is matters more than what they can do or where they have been. Simply stated, character trumps skills and experience. Character comprises the inner qualities of a person; the deeper things that make them unique. This is different from skills, which can be taught, and from experience, which can be gained.

The unique composition, competence, and personality of a successful team clearly matter—these are all important ingredients. However, it’s the presence of a specific individual and collective character traits that will take a team further, faster. The key ingredients in every healthy leadership team are that each member is:

1. team oriented.
2. genuinely invested in the success of each peer leader.

Simple in concept, difficult in practice.

Team orientation ensures leaders prioritize the whole organization. This eliminates silos and turf‑protecting behavior, ensures decisions support shared goals rather than competing departmental priorities, and speeds up the pace because leaders operate from a common purpose rather than individual agendas.

Being fully for each peer leader ensures deep trust, authenticity, and support of one another. Leaders actively advocating for each other builds a culture of mutual respect and vulnerability. This allows for honest conversations, healthy conflict, and true collaboration. Without this, the leadership team may be polite but not honest, or honest but not kind. Neither supports high performance.

These two combined characteristics build trust, unity, and shared purpose that fuel high performance, transforming a group of great leaders into an extraordinary team. If a healthy portion of these two ingredients are part of your leadership team recipe, you can be assured of a delicious meal that nourishes all who partake at your table.

I’ll look for you at the BBQ!