*The assumption is made that the individual already displays the necessary qualities for the job at hand. This assessment identifies if they will fit on your team.

The Ideal Team Member is a combination of all three attributes.  They possess adequate measures of humility, hunger, and people smarts.  The have little ego when it comes to needing attention or credit for their contributions, and they are comfortable sharing their accolades or even occasionally missing out on them.  They work with a sense of energy, passion, and personal responsibility, taking on whatever they possibly can for the good of the team.  Finally, they say and do the right things to help teammates feel appreciated understood, and included, even when difficult situations arise that require tough love. 

Humble

a.     Team players lack excessive ego or concerns about status.

b.     They are quick to point out the contributions of others and slow to seek attention for their own.

c.      They share credit, emphasize team over self, and define success collectively rather than individually.

d.     CS Lewis:  “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”

e.     Humble Only:  The Pawn   Pleasant and kind hearted people who don’t feel a great need to get things done and don’t have the ability to build effective relationships.

Hungry

a.     Hungry team players are always looking for more.

b.     More to do, more to learn, more responsibility to take on.

c.      Hungry people hardly ever must be pushed by a manager to work harder because they are self-motivated and diligent.

d.     They are constantly thinking about the next step and the next opportunity.

e.     They loathe the idea that they might be perceived as a slacker.

f.      Hunger can be taken to the extreme where work becomes too important, consuming the identity of an employee and dominating their life.

g.     GOAL:  A manageable and sustainable commitment to doing a job well and going above and beyond when it is truly required.

h.     Hungry Only:  The Bulldozer   These people will be determined to get things done, but with a focus on their own interests and with no understanding or concern for how their actions impact others.

Smart

a.     It is not about intellectual capacity.

b.     In the context of “team”, smart dimply refers to a person’s common sense about people.  It has everything to do with the ability to be interpersonally appropriate and aware.

c.      Smart people tend to know what is happening in a group situation and how to deal with others in the most effective way.

d.     They ask good questions, listen to what others are saying, and stay engaged in conversations intently.

e.     A better term might be emotional intelligence.

f.      Smart people have a good judgment and intuition around the subtleties of group dynamics and impact of their words and actions.

g.     As a result, they don’t say and do things – or fail to say and do things – without knowing the likely responses of their colleagues.

h.     Smart Only:  The Charmer    They can be entertaining and even likable for a while, but have little interest in the long-term well-being of the team or their colleagues.

Humble & Hungry Only:  The Accidental Mess Maker – They genuinely want to serve the team and are not interested in getting a disproportionate amount of attention and credit. However, their lack of understanding of how their words and actions are received by others will lead them to inadvertently create interpersonal problems on the team.

Humble & Smart Only:  The Loveable Slacker – They aren’t looking for undeserved attention, and they are adept at working with and caring about colleagues.  Unfortunately, they tend to do only as much as they are asked, and rarely seek to take on more work or volunteer for extra assignments.  They have limited passion for the work the team is doing.

Hungry & Smart Only:  The Skillful Politician – These people are cleverly ambitious and willing to work extremely hard, but only in as much as it will benefit them personally.  Unfortunately, because they are so smart, skillful politicians are very adept at portraying themselves as being humble, making it hard for leaders to identify them and address their destructive behavior.

IDEAL TEAM PLAYER ASSESMENT

Use the scale below to indicate how each statement applies to your actions on the team.  Respond as honestly as possible, as this will allow you to most accurately identify any areas of development that you may have.

SCALE:  3 = Usually    2 = Sometimes     1 = Rarely

HUMBLE

My teammates would say:

____ 1.  I compliment or praise them without hesitation.

____ 2. I easily admit to my mistakes.

____ 3. I am willing to take on lower-level work for the good of the team.

____ 4.  I gladly share credit for team accomplishments.

____ 5.  I readily acknowledge my weaknesses.

____ 6. I offer and accept apologies graciously.

____ Total Humility Score

HUNGRY

My teammates would say:

____ 7. I do more than what is required in my own job.

____ 8.  I have passion for the mission of the team.

____ 9. I feel a sense of personal responsibility for the overall success of the team.

____ 10. I am willing to contribute to and think about work outside of office hours.

____ 11. I am willing to take on tedious or challenging tasks whenever necessary.

____ 12. I look for opportunities to contribute outside of my area of responsibility.

____ Total Hungry Score

SMART

My teammates would say:

____ 13.  I generally understand what others are feeling during meetings and conversations.

____ 14. I show empathy to others on the team.

____ 15. I demonstrate an interest in the lives of my teammates.

____ 16. I am an attentive listener.

____ 17. I am aware of how my words and actions impact others on the team.

____ 18. I adjust my behavior and style to fit the nature of a conversation or relationship.

____ Total Smart Score

Scoring:

 Remember, the purpose of this tool is to help you explore and assess how you embody the three virtues of and ideal team player. The standards for the “ideal” are high.  An ideal team player will have few of these statements answered with anything lower than a ‘3’ (usually) response.

·       A score of 18 or 17 is an indication that the virtue is a potential strength.

·       A score of 16 to 14 is an indication that you most likely have some work to do around that virtue to become an ideal team player

·       A score of 13 or lower is an indication that you need improvement around that virtue to become and ideal team player.

Once you have completed your assessment consider asking three teammates to fill out the assessment rating how they view you in each of these three areas.  Compare your scores to theirs.  What areas do you need to focus on and strengthen to become the ideal team player?