Four Team Members Don't Make Up a Team - or Do They

We all work with teams, on teams, for teams or have teams working for us. Ever since the rise of the "new economy" back in the 90's we've all been forced to re-think the way we do business. For those who are new to the workforce, this is a no-brainer: teams have always been an integral part of the business ecosystem. But for many people who began their careers in the heyday of the 20th century, teams are still difficult to deal with.

Workers, Drones, Soldiers and Queen Bees

Every beehive has a division of labor and so do organizations. This isn't rocket science at all – we were all hired to basically get one type of task done. But as the economy continues to evolve, this type of division is becoming less important. Another factor that is becoming increasingly important is the set of soft or social skills that staff bring to an organization. Let's look at a few of the most basic categories.

Magicians Create Miracles These are the dreamers we see in our companies. We can see them easily and most of the others in the office also know who they are. While magicians don't always create the wondrous things we hope for, they do tend to come up with more ideas than others. They are well known for wanting credit for these as ideas. But a magician is likely to try and bow out from a project after he or she has come up with the idea. While most people believe that creativity is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration, the magician is likely to argue the other way around.

Diplomats Work for World Peace While everyone wants to work in a friendly environment, diplomats believe that a peaceful office is a specific goal worth going out of their way for. Every organization needs to have people who are good at diffusing arguments in the office, but the diplomat is not going to understand that conflict is an important way of exploring various alternatives, and that it's actually a productive force in organizations. Diplomats tend to be the "yes men" that strong bull-headed leaders like to surround themselves with. Diplomats consider this steadfast loyalty to be one of the contributions they make to the company.

Sovereigns Want to Rule Sovereigns don't want to bother with the details, they would much rather look at the big picture. These people judge and assess the effectiveness of staff based on the contributions made to the goals of the organization. They consider telling others what to do as one of their biggest contributions to the success of the business.

Warriors Win Battles You'll probably find more warriors in your company than any other type – that is if your company is successful. Warriors are the ones we count on to get the work done. They're focused on the specific work at hand for the day, and while they may need a bit of prodding from time to time, they plow through tasks never taking no for an answer and get the work done. Warriors can only see the current project or task they're working on.

Can Peaceful Co-Existence Exist?

The above four categories of people are one way of how we can look at the business community in general. What happens when the balance gets out of whack?

When we have too many Magicians, we may find that we bounce from one idea or plan to the next, but never even get to the point where we test some of these wondrous concepts. Magicians are fun to be with because they inspire us, and they seem to make us feel like we're working for a creative entity. They are important to have around, but they must be kept in check because they are only half the equation.

Diplomats are also important to have in an organization. Struggles and friction are to be expected from time to time, and the diplomats always come in handy here. The danger comes about when we find ourselves surrounded with too many diplomats and all our actions are obsessed with thoughts of doing things politically correctly. Diplomats tend to feel that relationships are an end in themselves.

We've all heard the phrase "too many Indians, not enough chiefs." When we have several people that all want to be the boss, we have sovereign overload. While leadership is important, and good leadership is even more important, having lots of leaders doesn't mean that the quality of leadership increases. Too many sovereigns result in misdirection and once again lack of focus. We also begin to see power struggles even in small companies when we are sovereign heavy. Leaders need followers, and the more leaders you have, the more followers you'll also need.

All organizations need "doers" but when that's all you have, you may find that things are getting done, but perhaps they aren't the best or most important things. Too many warriors in the organization and you'll find that you're all just wandering about aimlessly. Because warriors are so good at getting things done, they don't often plan for the long term, or see where the organization should be headed. Warriors seem the least significant, but perhaps they're the most important category of staff.

Balance Is Best

The extent to which you have each staff member on your team really depends upon the culture of your organization. Some types of jobs will need to have a specific category of staff whereas other types of positions will only result in failure if the incumbent is the correct category.

The End of the Story

No, this isn't the end! The fact is, there are countless different roles and types of team members that each team needs. The four categories mentioned above are just the beginning. And while it's easier to think of the four types of people as succinct personality types, in reality, they are just different modes of behavior. People can and should fluidly move from one role or behavior to the next. And the most effective teams are staffed with people who can slide into and out of each of these roles without even thinking.

The good news is that your awareness of these various personality modes now means that you'll be in a much better position to coach those on your teams who don't seem to be helping you make progress right now.