The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues (My 3 Takeaways)
In his 2001 bestselling book, “Good to Great,” Jim Collins described leadership lessons from Chief Executive Officers of the world’s greatest organizations. One of the most essential elements employed by those great leaders was getting “the right people on the bus,” or the “first who, then what” principle.
Collins explained, “If you have the right executives on the bus, they will do everything within their power to build a great company, not because of what they will ‘get’ for it, but because they simply cannot imagine settling for anything less… The right people will do the right things and deliver the best results they’re capable of, regardless of the incentive system.”
The “first who, then what” principle naturally prompts one to ask, “How do I find the right people?”
Enter Patrick Lencioni and his 2016 book, “The Ideal Team Player.”
In his best-selling book, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team," Lencioni provides a framework for teams to tackle destructive and dysfunctional behaviors in the workplace. In “The Ideal Team Player,” Lencioni turns to the individual, and identifying three virtues that are important when hiring any person in any role in any organization to be successful. Or, on the flip side, how to avoid hiring a “jackass.”
Lencioni admits that while the three virtues themselves are easy to understand, they are much harder to practice and to commit to developing in our organizations and ourselves:
Humble
Hungry
Smart
The author refers to these as “virtues,” not only as a synonym for “asset” or “quality,” but because Aristotelian virtues were moderated, not becoming extreme in one direction or the other. At the end of the book, Lencioni also offers specific strategies for applying the Ideal Team Player model to hiring new employees and assessing current employees.
Here are my three biggest takeaways.
Takeaway #1 - Humble
In the context of teamwork, humility Is the most essential ingredient of being a team player. Humble people neither possess excessive egos, nor do they discount their own talents and contributions. Lencioni quotes C. S. Lewis in saying, “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”
Lencioni characterizes those who possess humility, but who are not hungry or smart, as “The Pawns.” They are people who are pleasant and unassuming, but they may not have a lot of urgency around getting things done and may not effectively build relationships with others. They do not make waves, and they have little impact on the organization.
On the flip side, Lencioni says those who are hungry and smart, but not humble are “The Skillful Politicians,” who are ambitious and work hard, but only as much as it benefits them individually. Because of their high “people smarts,” it can be difficult to identify them and the destructive effect they have on a team. “By the time the leader sees what’s going on, the politician may have already created a trail of destruction among their more humble colleagues who have been manipulated, discouraged, and scarred.”
Takeaway #2 - Hungry
The second virtue Lencioni describes is “hungry,” the diligent and self-motivated people who are always looking for more, whether more to do, more to learn, or more responsibility to take on. As was the case with humility above, it is possible to be both too hungry, as well as not hungry enough. It is possible for hunger to be taken to an extreme, where work becomes all consuming and too important to a person’s life. Of course, when somebody isn’t hungry enough, they are content to do the bare minimum. They are dispassionate and under-productive.
Those who are hungry, but not humble or smart, are "The Bulldozers.” These people are clearly motivated to get things done, but they are focused only on their own interests and are unaware of (or ambivalent toward) how their actions impact others. Lencioni warns that, although they are destroyers of team cultures, they “can thrive and go uncorrected for long periods of time” in environments that prioritize productivity above all else.
For people who are humble and smart, but not hungry, they may be perceived as “The Lovable Slackers” of a team. Although they do not tend to attract a lot of attention and oftentimes genuinely care about their colleagues, “they need significant motivation and oversight, making them a drag on the team’s performance” due to a lack of passion for the team’s work.
Takeaway #3 - Smart
The third and final virtue, smart, is best described as “people smarts,” and it is clear it is not at all connected to one’s intelligence.
“Smart people just have good judgment and intuition around the subtleties of group dynamics and the impact of their words and actions.”
Of course, just because somebody is “smart” doesn’t mean they always use those talents for good and noble purposes.
Lencioni identifies smart people who are not humble or hungry as “Charmers.” The downside of those who lack humility and hunger is that, although they may be likeable for some time, they don’t have true interest in the long-term well-being of the team or the people they work with.
Those who are humble and hungry, but not smart, are “The Accidental Mess-Makers.” Although these people have good intentions and work hard, they may be oblivious to the impact of their actions and words on others, which may create interpersonal problems on the team. “While colleagues will respect their work ethic and sincere desire to be helpful, those colleagues can get tired of having to clean up the emotional and interpersonal problems that accidental mess-makes so often leave behind.”
Bonus Takeaway #4 - Humble, Hungry, & Smart
The Ideal Team Player, then, is the combination of high levels of aptitude across all three areas; they are humble, hungry, and smart.
“They have little ego when it comes to needing attention or credit for their contributions, and they are comfortable sharing their accolades or even occasionally missing out on them. Ideal team players work with a sense of energy, passion, and personal responsibility, taking on whatever they possibly can for the good of the team. Finally, they say and do the right things to help teammates feel appreciated, understood, and included, even when difficult situations arise that require tough love.”
