Smart Teams, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 2Qualities of a smart team

Whatever your favourite sport, I am sure you will recognise the value of the good ‘team player’. Someone who goes beyond personal glory for the good of the team, who makes their teammates look good. A player who always works tirelessly to get the result the team needs.

No doubt your colleagues work hard at being team players. I truly believe that most of us want to do our jobs to the best of our ability, and to support each other to deliver outcomes.

But when it comes to productivity, sometimes we let the team down. We don't mean to, but we get busy, stressed, overwhelmed, and it all starts to slip a bit. This is where a smart team player steps up to support the rest of the team from a productivity perspective. (To be clear, ‘smart’ here has nothing to do with intelligence; it refers, rather, to a team that has evolved a different, more effective way of working.)

To build a smart team, we need to get everyone on the same page, so we all agree on what productive behaviours would look like. This shared understanding will help your team to practise the right behaviours and to cooperate in a way that creates flow.

To work productively as a smart team, each team member needs to review and be prepared to change their behaviours.

The starting point for this is to explore the qualities that a smart team player models.

While a smart team player has many qualities that make them excellent at their job, there are four qualities that have a direct impact ...