Stallone-Obaraemi Samuel: Building a Winning Team
Team players are not necessarily born with inherent attributes of being humble, smart and hungry for knowledge and growth. However, according to Patrick Lencioni, president of the Lafayette, Calif.-based Table Group, a management consulting firm - they come to embrace the essential qualities through life experiences, work history or personal development. Studies have shown that it's much more difficult to build an effective team when a team member lacks just one of these essential virtues. In his book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" he points out in a very simplistic way, what the essential attributes of a team player are.
Humility - Humility is the most important virtue of the three. Great team players don't have big egos or concerns about status. They do not seek self-attention, but generally point out the contribution of others. They commend rather than condemn. They define success collectively and not individually. People who are not humble are unable to be vulnerable or build trust and are incapable of engaging in honest conflict. Remember, conflict is not always wrong. It has the potential to bring out the hidden strength of others. Humble people are respectful of others in the team, even when they disagree.
Hunger - Hungry people are always looking for more, more and more to do. More to learn. More responsibility. They rarely have to be pushed to work harder because they're self-motivated and diligent. They're always thinking about the next step and the next opportunity. People who lack the virtue of hunger won't achieve results. This is no truer in a network marketing team. The hunger for success and the desire to help others is what drives a true team player. His/her eyes are fixed on the big picture. The ultimate goal.
Smart - In a team, being smart does not mean being the most intelligent, but having simple, common-sense about people and situations. Smart team players tend to know what is happening in the group and how to deal effectively with others. They ask good questions, listen to what others are saying and stay engaged in conversations. People who aren't smart in this regard will create unnecessary problems, especially when involved in productive conflict and holding people accountable for their actions.
According to Patrick, all three of these attributes are necessary for the ideal team player. If even one is missing in a co-worker, teamwork becomes much more difficult and sometimes even impossible.
It is worthy of note that Patrick mentioned what recruiters need to look out for in great team players during the interview process.
1. Don't be generic. Be specific in your questions about targeted behaviors and attributes.
2. Debrief each interview as a team. Avoid a individualistic approach; after each interview, talk to other interviewers about their observations.
3. Consider group interviews. Talk to candidates in a room with multiple team members
4. Ask candidates to do some real work. See how people perform in real-world situations.
5. Don't ignore hunches. Pay attention to nagging doubts about a person's humility, hunger or people smarts, and probe further to understand them better.
In the end, he says, the best way to create a culture of humility, hunger and smarts is to constantly keep an eye out for people who exhibit those virtues and publicly hold them up as examples.
Stallone-Obaraemi Samuel is an executive coach, a corporate learning and development consultant and keynote speaker. He currently serves as the lead consultant and CEO at DellonVille Global Associates.
Stallone.samuel@dellonvilleltd.com; obaraemicity@gmail.com
