John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Personal Success

Idea 69: The hallmarks of an excellent team

Hallmarks (from Goldsmiths' Hall in London, where gold and silver articles were assayed and stamped) are official marks stamped on gold and silver articles in England to attest their purity. Here are the characteristics or features that distinguish an excellent team from its copper or brass fellows:

• Clear, realistic and challenging objectives – The team is focused on what has to be done, broken down into stretching but feasible goals, both team and individual. Everyone knows what is expected of him or her.
• Shared sense of purpose – This doesn't mean that the team can recite the mission statement in unison! Purpose here is energy plus direction, what engineers call a vector. It should animate and invigorate ...