Comment by mlhpdx

Wonderful. In rowing there is a practice called “seat racing” where different combinations of people are rotated in and out of the eight positions to determine the combination that is the fastest. Individual strength is an indicator but it’s the team speed that determines who is in the boat for races. The inevitable result is that the fastest combination rarely includes the eight strongest rowers. There is very often one or two “magical” people who don’t look better “on paper” but make almost any boat faster when added to the mix. They have subtle ways of improving the set, rhythm and power of others. Not all coaches take this happily and resist it, with the obvious result of fewer wins.

This is very, very analogous to software teams. It’s the mix and results that matter most.