May 22, 2014

A Great Team

“My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other's kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they're done by a team of people.”
- Steve Jobs

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

This week I'm writing about a tremendous team that I am proud to have worked with. It was the Steering Committee for the PDSummit (Professional Development Summit) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The PDSummit was the grand finale of eight months of planning and preparation by a team of about ten people. Our team met every week (except Christmas) on the phone for half an hour to plan, come rain or shine.

Each meeting had an agenda put together by the Chair. The Chair also distributed minutes right after each meeting. Some members of this team had been together for a few years, and other members were brand new.

Why did this team work? I think a large part was the great leadership, including the roles being allocated and processes defined and followed. Another large part was the attitudes of the team members, which contributed to the collaborative culture.

I did some research on great teams (thanks Internet!) and here are some links about strong teams. I believe this team met all the criteria stated in the following articles: