Teams are individual personalities working together toward a unified goal.

Large teams are individuals in multiple teams, each with its own personality.

 

A good team:

• has a common purpose
• watches each others’ backs
• models itself historically after the Three Musketeers: “all for one and one for all.”
• follows the motto of science fiction’s Mr. Spock’s on Start Trek: “The good of the many supersedes the good of the one.”

The best team leaders:

• earn the position. they’re not ones who take over
• are willing to be the point of the arrow head
• present goals in a way that gets others to buy in
•  set the tone by example
• step up and take responsibility
• adjust as situation demands
• demonstrate how to follow effectively
• seek direction from a moral compass

What personalities may you find on your teams?

• the brain trust
• the moral compass
• the enthusiast
• the discontented also-ran
• the jealous striver
• the quick trigger
• the steady Freddy
• the Willy-Nilly who can’t quite totally buy into the team concept
• the jokester
• the free thinker
• the rote worker
• as many other personalities as there are people

An effective team has members who:

• play their parts
• adapt personal preferences so as not to disrupt teamwork with jealousy
• respect and are accountable to each other
• are motivated to work with the team toward their goal