What makes an ideal team player?
If you were to ask a room full of people what makes some teams more successful than others, you are likely to get a variety of answers. This should come as no surprise; after all, the ‘secret sauce’ that helps a team excel does not consist of a singular ingredient. Exceptional teams are multi-faceted, dynamic, and continuously enhanced by the unique characteristics and talent(s) of each member. While considering this subject, I recently came across a great TedX talk by Patrick Lencioni, the founder of The Table Group and the pioneer of the organizational health movement. Lencioni is the author of 12 books, which have collectively sold over six million copies and have been translated into more than 30 languages. His credentials are undeniably impressive, and his talk on “What Makes an Ideal Team Player” showcases his insights on the topic in a way that is not only interesting, but simple to understand and put into action.
In his presentation, Lencioni identifies three characteristics of an ideal team player:
- Humility
- Hunger
- Smarts
With these characteristics identified and contextualized, Lencioni goes on to acknowledge that while having all of these traits in equal measure would be ideal, the reality is that we all have these traits in differing levels.
Let’s first consider his definitions. Humility, as he describes it, is not your traditional “the meek shall inherit the earth” philosophy. Rather, in this case it means “not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking about ourselves less. Put others first, lift them up.” Hunger, on the other hand, is what you would expect, “having a strong work ethic, the hunger to get stuff done”. Finally, smarts is characterized as “emotional intelligence and how we understand people.”
Once you have a grasp on these characteristics, Lencioni suggests taking a step back to adopt an introspective lens. How would you rank (in order) these attributes when thinking about yourself? What about other members of your team, your social circle, your family members? Understanding to what level people that you interact with on a regular basis possess these attributes can give you a valuable glimpse into how they function and process information, and therefore act in team and social settings. As you can surely imagine, this is all very useful information to be applied within our personal and professional lives, especially as we look to work effectively with others.
Lencioni then goes on to create categories that encompass a person’s two strongest characteristics. According to Lencioni, if someone is strong in hunger and humility, they can be classified as an “Accidental Mess Maker” – someone who is likeable, means well and works hard, but inadvertently creates problems that need to be addressed. If someone is strong in humility and smarts, Lencioni classifies them as a “Loveable Slacker” – someone who gets along well with people and is pleasant to have around, but doesn’t get much accomplished.
Finally, someone who is strong in hunger and smarts can be described as a “Skillful Politician” – someone who can say the right things, is hungry but they are all about themselves and can be very difficult on a team.
Of course, these are generalizations and simplifications, but I believe there is great value to be found in Lencioni’s lecture and in the exercise of using these characterizations as frameworks when interacting with people both at work and socially. Next time you are interacting with a group of people, sit back and take some time to try to determine what characteristics are best represented and, more importantly, how those characteristics impact the dynamic (and overall success) of the group.
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