The Law of the Niche

In book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, author John Maxwell stresses the importance that all players have a place where they add the most value. Maxwell calls this the Law of the Niche.

If you were the leader of the free world, how would you decide what job to give the person who’s capable of doing any job—including yours? If you wanted everyone to win, you’d use the Law of the Niche.

Having the right people in the right places is essential to team building. A team’s dynamic changes according to the placement of people, according to Maxwell:

• The Wrong Person in the Wrong Place equals regression.
• The Wrong Person in the Right Place equals frustration.
• The Right Person in the Right Place equals confusion.
• The Right Person in the Right Place equals progression.
• The Right People in the Right Places equals multiplication.

In the world of Strategic Communications, it is vitally important to build the right team. This, sometimes, is easier said than done because individuals have individual talents and skills. Building a solid communications team can take time, but when your company’s reputation depends upon the ability to do the right things quickly, it is no time to force a square peg into a round hole.

It is my opinion that the longer a team works together, the better the team becomes. You have to look no further than the world of team sports to recognize the value of allowing individuals to become teams. The same holds true in nearly every industry. So when you find the right people for the right places, do all that you can to keep that team together. They will learn to anticipate rather than react, which is gives your organization a competitive advantage.

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