Three Essentials of an Effective Team

In this digest of the best current learning on teams, three essentials for success are identified: commitment, competence, and a common goal. The article stresses the significance of co-location; team commitment benefits measurably from having team members working in the same geographic place. Likewise, the size of teams is significant--teams of more than 20 members (really even more than 10 members) rarely reach exemplary performance. Core competencies of members are a critical determinant of team effectiveness, for teams with vastly competent members embrace conflict as the price of synergy and set good idea against good idea to arrive at the best idea. Finally, the best teams begin with their end in mind, because "serendipity, spontaneity, and surprise" can work only when everyone fully understands and agrees on the objective.