October 22, 2020
Book Review: Ideal Team Player
The staff of Miller Management gathered to dive into this concept of being the “Ideal Team Player.” Not because we feel we are significantly lacking in that area {Really!} but more because we want to have this as our starting point for hiring.
And, to be honest, we can all be better players in the game of life. Or in our case, work.
Here is a video series from Patrick Lencioni himself on this topic.
The Big Ideas
The three big ideas from Lencioni are the virtues of being Humble, Hungry, and Smart.
- “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” – C.S. Lewis {page 158}
- Hungry people don’t need to be pushed by a manager. They are already thinking about the next step or opportunity. They never want to be perceived as a slacker. {page 159}
- “…smart simply refers to a person’s common sense about people. It has everything to do with the ability to be interpersonally appropriate and aware.” {page 160}
All three virtues together are how you achieve an Ideal Team Player. If only one of these pieces are missing, it can make teamwork harder, or in some cases, impossible.
Staff Takeaways
Our team thought skits would be the best way to get our points across; so each department was given the stage to portray the three virtues.
To help us be more Humble, we should recognize and acknowledge our weaknesses; and acknowledge what others are doing well.
Thinking outside of ourselves and focusing on the company’s overall mission and vision will help us be more Hungry.
To better hone our people Smarts, we will ask more questions, work on building relationships, and re-read emails before we send.
Team Player Applications
It is worth noting that Lencioni mentions there is room for improvement even within The Ideal Team Player. He suggests peer coaching, where everyone is the coach and also receiving coaching.
This book focuses on how to coach employees through each lacking virtue.
“Great team leaders won’t be afraid to call out a simple act of teamwork when they see it. They’ll acknowledge an act of humility, hunger, or people smarts not because they want to be seen as sophisticated or clever managers, but because they want everyone to know exactly what kinds of behavior they expect and appreciate.” {page 210}
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All of these concepts can help us be better co-workers, employees, and staff members; but there is also much to be gained when we apply these same strategies in our personal lives.
The author ends with referencing how to apply the three virtues to our personal life. Essentially, it all comes down to humility. The greatest example being Christ. And with that, there’s not much more to be said.
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