Hiring the Ideal Team Player

After reading the best-selling book Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, I took a deep dive into what he was saying and got his companion book Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators which proved invaluable in my facilitating a series of offsite meetings with the leadership teams from several of my clients. The results were amazing.

Then Lencioni authored another great book, The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues which I also loved and made its principles a part of my team-building lectures, interactive LearnShops, and consulting engagements. Lencioni maintains there are three primary traits leaders should look for when hiring or assigning team members and that these are not only integral to individual performance but critical toward building a successful team. He believes these people should be:

Humble — Team players who lack excessive ego or concerns about their status. They’re quick to point out the contributions of others, slow to acknowledge their own and emphasize the team over themselves. “When a person can’t be humble,” says Lencioni, “not only won’t they be a great team player, but they’re going to be a dangerous team player.”

Hungry — Team players who want more, whether it’s opportunities to learn, responsibilities to shoulder or additional work to be done. Self-motivated and diligent, hungry players rarely need prodding to push toward their next goal.

Smart — Team players with emotional and organizational acumen. They understand how everyone fits on the team, recognize strengths, and weaknesses, and can work effectively with others.

Frank Manfre www.frankmanfre.com