What if I told you that most leaders and organizations don’t know how to build teams? Does that seem possible? Would that make you lean in?

I have been visited by the Teamwork spirit. I will reveal to you these truths. No, actually I think it was indigestion from too many refried beans. Nevertheless here are some keys to building a good team.

Collaboration

Good teammates know how to work together. There is no room for a lone wolf. Perhaps a strong leader. But no solo Joe!

“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” — Amy Poehler

Bryan, Ken, and I enjoyed working together. We had a lot of fun and got things done. It made work an exciting adventure.

Objectives

Simon Senek reminds us to start with why. Similarly, with a team, we need to understand its why. What is this team for? To create software for the sales team at Dunder Mifflin.

These team objectives need to be established. Then periodically revisited. Agile teams create working agreements. When a new team member joins the team they come back to them. We should do the same with the team objectives.

Trust

The great teams I have been on always had trust. In Patrick Lencioni’s book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team he starts with trust. He points to the absence of trust.

“Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” — Patrick Lencioni

In the book, the new CEO Kathyrn Petersen opens up about her weaknesses to build trust. She shows invulnerability to facilitate a conversation around trust.

This is not easy and she runs into challenges. However, this is a good starting move. It brings about more growth for the team.

Accountability

Jeff was in my Organizational Behavior group in college. He said he would write the introduction for the paper. We asked him repeatedly where it was. Jeff never finished it.

Accountability can be tough in groups. In the book, Agile Conversations, they have an Accountability Conversation as one of the five every group should have. Here is what they say about accountability:

What do we mean by being accountable? We mean simply being obligated to render an account of what you have done and why. Accountability is akin to ownership, to responsibility, and to agency.-Agile Conversations

Teams need this mirror to be held up. Did you do what you said you would? If not, then what? I find it helpful to call things like this out in a team agreement.

Assess The Team

I was lost on a college campus recently. I wondered a bit and saw a map. It had a star that said, “You are here.” Okay, now I know where I am.

Working on a team we need to assess where we are. What are the team's strengths and weaknesses? This can help us determine what our next steps should be.

Ok, we wound up 5–11! Not very good! But there was some worse ‘un us. I guess that’s one positive way to look at it, we weren’t the worst team in the league. -Steve Spurrier

Assessing the team can be difficult. Unlike Lake Woebegone, all teams aren’t above average. Some tough decisions might need to be made. Perhaps some frank accountability will help.

Activities

Here are a few activities to develop a teamwork model for your group.

Drawing exercise

Gather your team together. Have them list 4–6 key skill sets of a team player. Then brainstorm how to draw these without using the words. Stick figures are just fine. Remember this won’t go in a museum.

Team Agreement Exercise

After you have done the previous exercise review the skill sets. Solicit ideas for team norms or rules. For instance, a good starting point is working hours. All team members should be available from 10 AM to 2 PM Eastern time.

Additionally, what should the team do when someone is not meeting expectations? Call this out early on. Outline the minimum standards for the team.