Is There An Ideal Team Player?
By Shirley Wu
The Stepping Stone, November 2024
On July 26, the Joint Risk Management (JRM) and Leadership & Development (L&D) sections held their regular book club session to discuss The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni.
The Ideal Team Player explores the three essential virtues of a successful team player: humility, hunger and smart. It follows the story of Jeff Shanley, who takes over his uncle's construction company and faces a challenging project with a tight deadline and a dysfunctional team. Through trial and error, Jeff learns how to identify, hire, and cultivate ideal team players who embody the three virtues and work well together. Through Jeff’s story, Lencioni provides practical tools and tips to apply the model to your own teams and organizations.
Humility
Jeff Shanley learns that humility is not about being weak or insecure, but about being confident and gracious. Humble team players recognize their strengths and weaknesses, admit their mistakes, and appreciate the contributions of others. They are not driven by status or recognition, but by the desire to serve the team and the organization. True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility makes team players more collaborative, cooperative, and supportive of each other, which enhances the team's performance and culture.
Hunger
Hunger refers to an individual's drive and ambition. Ideal team players are self-motivated to keep growing and improving over time, always looking to progress toward reaching their full potential, and can create a culture of taking the lead without being asked. They demonstrate a strong work ethic and a commitment to contributing to the team’s goals. Hunger makes team players more productive, resourceful, and reliable, which increases the team's efficiency and quality.
Smart
Being smart is not about being intellectually superior or having advanced technical skills, but rather being aware of the social and emotional cues that influence the team dynamics. A “smart” team player has the ability to interact effectively with others in a variety of situations.
Smart team players are good listeners, empathetic, respectful, and adaptable. They always consider how their words, actions, and behaviors affect the group and adapt their communication styles accordingly to avoid potential misunderstandings. Smart team players also have a sense of humor and can use it appropriately to diffuse tension, build rapport, and foster a positive team culture. Being smart makes team players more likable, trustworthy, and influential, which enhances the team's cohesion and morale.
Combining the Virtues
It may be hard to find a combination of all three virtues in any one team member. It is equally important to ensure there’s diversity within a team where everyone can learn from each other. Leaders would then focus on developing team players individually, ensuring that all three virtues are present across the team.
This book club session split the 20+ participants into four breakout rooms where participants could share with each other comfortably on a range of questions related to the book. The questions are included here, for those who are interested in thinking through them—whether you are a manager, a department lead or a team player. You could even use these as the basis for your own brainstorming session with your team.
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses:
How can we encourage self-reflection among team members to identify their strengths and weaknesses, aligning with the virtues of an ideal team player?
Recruitment Strategies:
In our hiring process, how can we modify our interview techniques to assess candidates for qualities such as humility, hunger, and smart as outlined in the book?
What qualities do you consider indispensable in a team member, and why are they important to you?
Cultivating a Culture of Humility:
What practical steps can we take as a team or organization to foster a culture of humility, where individuals are open to feedback and acknowledge their mistakes?
In what ways do you demonstrate humility?
Where is there room for you to grow in this virtue?
How could you invite your team to participate in your growth?
Promoting Hunger for Success:
How can we motivate team members to proactively seek opportunities for growth and contribute to the team's success with a hunger for achievement?
How is success defined within your team and how do you encourage hunger for it?
If your team is struggling, what are some of the factors causing the breakdown?
Integrating Smartness into Collaboration:
In our day-to-day interactions, how can we leverage the different smart attributes (people smarts, street smarts, and self-smarts) to enhance collaboration and decision-making within the team?
As a leader, how do you go about observing smarts in your people?
What are some indicators that help you measure the strengths and weaknesses of this virtue among your team members?
Conflict Resolution through Humility:
Can you share a specific workplace conflict scenario and discuss how applying the virtue of humility could have led to a more constructive resolution?
Team Building Activities:
What team-building activities or exercises can we implement to strengthen the bond among team members and promote a sense of shared responsibility and hunger for success?
Effective Communication Strategies:
How can we improve communication within our team to ensure that information is shared openly, honestly, and in a way that reflects the smart attributes outlined in the book?
How do you acknowledge when change does occur?
In what ways could you improve?
Recognizing and Rewarding Team Players:
Are we adjusting our criteria for performance evaluation and recognition systems to ensure that individuals who embody the virtues of an ideal team player are appropriately acknowledged and rewarded?
If not, how do we ensure that?
Leadership Development Programs:
How can our organization enhance leadership development programs to instill and reinforce the virtues discussed in the book, ensuring that our leaders are effective team players and role models for the team?
The main message of The Ideal Team Player is that building a cohesive and high-performing team requires more than just technical skills or personality traits; it requires a combination of humility, hunger and smart that can be assessed and developed in any team member.
The SOA Book Club just read The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in September. Stay tuned for an article on the discussion!
If you haven’t done so, register for the November 7 book club session on Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman on the SOA website!
The SOA Book Club is always looking for volunteers to facilitate book club sessions. If you are interested in hearing more, please reach out to Shirley via her contact information below.
Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the newsletter editors, or the respective authors’ employers.
Shirley Wu, FSA, MAAA, is the Bermuda Chief Actuary and Head of Strategic Initiatives at Equitable. She can be reached at aywushirley@gmail.com or via LinkedIn.