Synergy isn’t a Concept, it’s a Reality.
One Clydesdale can pull 2,000 pounds, while two together can pull 10,000 pounds. This is synergy in action. Teams in all areas of life have the opportunity for this as well, the scenario where the sum of the parts together is much greater than the sum of the parts individually. Depending on what you are putting a team together for, you will have to have various types of people.
The types of skills and abilities necessary to make a good team will vary depending on the nature of the pursuit, so for this article I’m moving past the actual pursuit, and past the specific skill sets, and going to the deeper aspect. This perspective is about character traits, not competencies. In general, unless you need expertise, you can develop competency in practically anything.
And having said that, you can also find plenty of people on the planet who have expertise should you need it, so look for character first, or eventually you will wish you had chosen someone else!
What To look For…
The first thing I look for is NICE. You might laugh at that, and that’s okay with me, but in my opinion, life is too short to spend it with people who aren’t nice, and definitely too short to purposefully work with someone who isn’t nice.
A close second to nice is RESPECTFUL. The simple truth is that you cannot be a good teammate if you aren’t respectful. Everyone is different, and often has different ideas and opinions. This is normal. It’s imperative that someone respect someone else’s perspective even if they don’t agree with it, or you will have serious problems in the team.
The next one is some demonstration previously of WORK ETHIC. It doesn’t really matter what it is, but I like to know that someone has had to work diligently at something before. If there is no track record of this, it definitely needs to be discussed ahead of time.
The other things I look for are POSITIVE ATTITUDE, OPEN-MINDED, and SELF-DISCILPINE. I certainly have worked with people who didn’t bring these to the table to start. And then they developed them…or they wouldn’t have lasted. But given the chance to know, these are preferred!
The Life Experience Kicker
One of the biggest challenges in general when you are recruiting, is that you are really only seeing what someone wants you to see, and your perspective of these attributes. The problem with this, is that you can’t see the single most important thing: HEART. Heart is the ultimate key. Not intelligence, or appearance, or any certification. One of the best indicators of heart is life experience.
I like to work with people who have been through some struggles. They have been knocked down in some way at some point. It’s certainly not a requirement, but it is helpful when you are trying to accomplish something of substance. One of the truest things is that whatever you are building a team for is likely going to be hard. It’s going to have ups and downs and twist and turns and times when it seems like it’s not working…
Someone who has had difficulties in life, understands that these challenges aren’t the end of the road…they ARE the road.
You may have some other traits that you look for. I respect that. There are lots of traits that are integral in someone succeeding, but in case you didn’t, stick to these and they won’t steer you wrong!
Was this helpful for you? Please let me know in the comments below and feel free to share with your team or on Social Media.
Many Blessings,
Todd
P.S. If you are looking to take your performance to a new level, you might consider coaching. If you’d like to chat about it let me know.
Join my Facebook Fan Page where I do Live Training.
