TZL 1231

9

O P I N I O N

Hiring a team player

I was recently talking with a client who was agitated that she had just made a bad hire. It wasn’t that this new person was inexperienced or unskilled; he was smart and capable, like he’d been in the interview. But he was quickly proving to be a lousy teammate – ego-driven, secretive, selfish, and unproductively competitive. Talent and skill are essential, but keep a close eye on cultural fit if you want to avoid the mistake of bringing the wrong person on board.

❚ ❚ 55 times more likely to have very well-defined goals for the team ❚ ❚ 106 times more likely to give each other tough feed- back We call the best teams “Loyalist Teams” because every member is loyal to one another, the team goals, and the organizational goals. Individuals “We call the best teams ‘Loyalist Teams’ because every member is loyal to one another, the team goals, and the organizational goals.”

Rebecca Teasdale GUEST SPEAKER

Great teams are built intentionally. People often think that the best teams come together by some combination of good luck and good timing, but the truth is a much more deliberate story. We studied thousands of teams in dozens of industries and found that the highest performing teams always had similar traits and characteristics. The individuals on these teams chose to be great team players. When compared to the least functional teams, the best teams were: ❚ ❚ 47 times more likely to work hard to build and main- tain trust ❚ ❚ 50 times more likely to openly discuss conflict when it arose

See REBECCA TEASDALE, page 12

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

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