As I mentioned last week, Dane recently sat down with Dr. Dale Marsden to discuss what makes for a great team and high-level teamwork. In their discussion, Dale revealed a simple formula for a high-functioning team: (1) Effective leaders utilize power with rather than power over, and (2) team members need to be humble, hungry, and smart. In this article, I’ll focus on part two of the formula: team members need to be humble, hungry, and smart.
Dr. Marsden is referring to the principles outlined in Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Ideal Team Player. In his book, Lencioni argues that to thrive in the workforce, or anywhere really, people have to be team players. From his perspective, if you hire and manage people’s ability to be team players you can predict who will succeed at the company and explain failures.
The Three Qualities of the Ideal Team Member
Lencioni defines the ideal team player as someone who is humble, hungry, and smart. He concedes that this is a simple premise but argues it is valid. Here’s how he defines these concepts:
Humble
“Great team players lack excessive ego or concerns about status. They are quick to point out the contributions of others and slow to seek attention for their own. They share credit, emphasize team over self, and define success collectively rather than individually (Lencion 2016: 157).”
Hungry
“Hungry people are always looking for more. More things to do. More to learn. More responsibility to take on. Hungry people almost never have to be pushed by a manager to work harder because they are self motivated and diligent (Lencion 2016: 159).”
Smart
Smart “refers to person’s common sense about people. It has everything to do with the ability to be interpersonally appropriate and aware. Smart people tend to know what is happening in a group situation and how to deal with others in the most effective way. They ask good questions, listen to what others are saying, and stay engaged in conversations intently (Lencioni 2016: 160).”
If you have an employee on your team who embodies all three qualities, you likely have the ideal team player.
In a fun, but informative exercise Lencioni then explores what happens when people only have one or two of the qualities required to be the ideal team player. He believes that people who lack all three will likely have a hard time making it through the interview process.
People Lacking Two of the Three Qualities
Humble Only: The Pawn
Pawns are pleasant, unassuming people who don’t feel the need to accomplish much work or to create productive relationships with colleagues. Pawns can last a while on a team because even though they aren’t making waves, they aren’t causing problems either.
Hungry Only: The Bulldozer
The bulldozer is determined to accomplish things, but doesn’t care to think about how their actions impact others. The bulldozer can be easily identified, but may last on the team if an organization values production over teamwork.
Smart Only: The Charmer
The Charmer will be entertaining and likable for a while. However, they have little interest in the team’s well-being or accomplishments. Because they are likeable, they may last longer than the pawn or the bulldozer, but their inaction will eventually grate on the team.
People Lacking One of the Three Qualities
According to Lencioni, individuals lacking one of the three qualities can be just as much trouble for a team as someone missing two of the qualities. However, these individuals are harder to identify within the organization.
Humble and Hungry: The Accidental Mess Maker
These individuals don’t have a large ego and they want to help the team produce work. However, they don’t always think about how their efforts could affect others and, therefore, accidentally create interpersonal problems for the team. Lencioni believes these people are the least dangerous members of a team as they are not intending to create the problems they make and they are usually capable of growth.
Humble and Smart: The Loveable Slacker
These individuals don’t seek out acknowledgement for the work of teammates and they are great at working with others. The problem is that they will only do as much work as they are tasked with and will ultimately hinder the team’s ability to produce.
Hungry and Smart: The Skillful Politician
According to Lencioni, these individuals are the most dangerous member of teams. Skillful Politicians are willing to work extremely hard and they seemingly work well with others – but only if it benefits them. Because they are so smart, they are able to portray themselves as humble, which often leads to them quickly rising in rank. Once leadership discovers there is a Skillful Politician on the team, it’s possible they have already left a wake of destruction through manipulation and intimidation of their more humble team members.
Lencioni’s analysis is compelling. Many of us have adored The Loveable Slacker and watched The Accidental Mess Maker unwittingly rub a co-worker the wrong way. However, when an individual possesses all three of these characteristics, they will make the ideal team player. This is because they have:
- Little ego when it comes to contributions at work
- An understanding that success requires teamwork
- Energy, passion, and personal responsibility for their work
- The ability to help others feel included, appreciated, and understood at work
Lencioni challenges his readers to reflect on people they have worked with who are humble, hungry, and smart. It’s an interesting exercise and helped me realize that many of the people whose work ethic I admire are humble, hungry, and smart.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to listen to Dane’s podcast, check it out here:
References
Lencioni, Patrick. 2016. The Ideal Team Player. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, Inc.