The 8 Ingredients Of A Successful Team

Pat Williams
Pat Williams

Less Me, A Lot More We

In great times, the energy is focused around pulling collectively, Williams said. In a successful team, the individuals are independently effective, but when they band together they are stronger. Williams compared a high-functioning team to the Budweiser Clydesdales, which pull more weight together than they could alone. One horse alone can pull a load of 5,000 pounds, he said, but two together can pull 15,000 to 20,000 pounds, and four horses can pull up to 50,000 pounds.
"When we are linked up and pulling in unison, we can do a lot of things," Williams said.

Empowerment

On great teams there is a lot of empowerment, Williams said. You don't have to put forward a big gesture to get the empowerment effect, he said, because a little will go a long way with praise. However, "It’s a lot of building up, undergirding, edifying, the world we live in is not a playground, it’s a battleground...when an empower-er comes along, that man or women will never be forgotten," Williams said.

Respect

Great teams will have an "enormous" amount of trust for their peers, Williams said. Having that trust leads to loyalty, which will ultimately lead to love and friendship, he said. "I think when you've got friendship on team, you’ve got something even more special," Williams said.

Character

It's an old-fashioned concept, but that doesn't mean it's any less important, Williams said. Having a team made up of men and women of character means that the team will hold values of honesty, integrity, responsibility, courage, perseverance, work ethic and a humble spirit, he said. Having a team made up of people of character means that members don't have to be constantly looking over their shoulder, he said.