Creating Great Teams

Relationships Are the Deciding Factor

Across the different self-selection events we’ve been part of, it’s been fascinating to observe what people base their squad selection on. The most important factor we’ve seen has been their personal relationships—participants make decisions almost exclusively based on who they want to work with—and in some cases who they don’t want to work with. That said, it can be hard for people to admit up front or even after the fact that they based their decision on their relationships with others. They seem to feel that the correct answer is the type of work or the opportunity for learning. Perhaps that’s the kind of thing people have had drilled into them since early in their career.

In a survey we conducted after ...