Four Essential Qualities Of Great Teams

By Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, 11.12.10 - Forbes.com

As revealed by decades of research.

They can happen in the middle of the day, night, or even during a traffic jam, the "aha" or "light bulb" moments in our lives--those thoughts of clear brilliance where the proverbial light bulb appears over our head.
What does a light bulb moment have to do with teamwork?

Charles Batcheldor was a machinist. John Kruesi was a clockmaker. Ludwig Boehm was a glassblower. Francis Upton was a mathematician. Together, they shared a light bulb moment with the inventor Thomas Edison. After all, the commercially viable incandescent light bulb was the product of an entire team, not the single inventor we were taught in fifth grade. In fact, our research about teamwork shows that there are no great leaders without great teams.

For the past few decades we have buried ourselves in research into the drivers of human performance. Growing out of that research, our latest book, The Orange Revolution, includes the results of a 350,000-person study that measured the characteristics of extremely productive teams. We found a lot of what we had theorized there in the data. Just like that night in Menlo Park when Edison and his team knew their bulb would light but had no idea how long it would stay lit, we were staring at the glimmer of our own light bulb moments.

Please click on the link below to continue reading about the four essential qualities that might change the way you lead or participate on your work teams.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/12/teams-essential-qualities-leadership-managing-engagement.html