What makes a team great: purpose, trust, and competence

Most team models are either too abstract to use or so detailed they collapse under their own weight.

After 35 years working with teams, in the military and in business, I wanted something simpler. Not a new theory. Just a way to organize what I have seen actually work.

I read a few books, looked at some solid research, and thought about teams I have been part of that worked and ones that did not. After several rounds, I landed on three pillars.

I am not saying this is the definitive model. But I am fairly confident it is not wrong either. Others have probably said similar things.

Here is what I think matters.

Purpose

Why does the team exist beyond making shareholders richer? How does the work matter to people, or to the planet?

Most teams skip this question, or answer it with corporate language that means nothing. That is a mistake. People do better work when they know why it matters.

Trust

Not the “I trust you will not steal my lunch” kind. The kind where you can admit you do not know something. Where you believe the other person has good intentions, even when they get it wrong.

Psychologists call it psychological safety. I just call it trust that goes deeper than politeness.

Competence

This one seems obvious: skills and knowledge. But it is not only about the product or the technology.

It is also how the team works together: processes, meetings, how people communicate. A team full of experts who cannot run a useful meeting is not competent. They are just individually skilled.

Three things. Purpose, trust, competence.

None of them are easy. But at least the list is short.