315th Command Chief coaches team concept Published Nov. 9, 2009 By Chief Master Sgt. Ben Futrell 315 Airlift Wing CHARLESTON AFB, S.C. -- One of the first lessons we learn as children is how to play sports on a team. Under the watchful eye of their coach, the kids are formed into groups, taught the fundamentals of the game, practice working together playing the sport, and finally, they are put to the test by competing against other teams. The team concept is a powerful thing. I would bet that most people cannot recall much about their first grade teacher or even the marks they received, but they can remember their first coach, their first team and how they did together. When looking at what makes some teams, companies and organizations more successful than others, it can often be attributed to leadership. Great leaders know how to motivate teams of people to achieve their goals. However, there is much more to a great team than the leader. In his book Leading from the Heart, Mike Krzyzewski, the coach of the United States men's national team and the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, noted that there are five fundamental qualities that make a team great - communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride. Communication - Leaders have to get team members to talk to one another. The leader cannot do all of the talking. Communication has to permeate throughout the group in order to quickly recognize when improvements need to be made, as well as, highlight successes. Progress and successes must be shared. Trust - In leadership, there is nothing more important than trust. The leader's job is to give honest feedback to team members and the team members must trust in the leader to do this job adequately. The team members should expect to be notified of their successes, as well as, their missteps up front and as soon as possible. Collective Responsibility - People are human and will make mistakes. However, there should be no finger pointing or excuses when a team member does not perform to standards. Great teams embrace responsibility. They win together and lose together. Caring - Personal attention and one-on-one time demonstrates and reinforces the concept that being part of a team is very much like being a part of a family. Knowing they are cared about drives team members into action. It causes members to work harder and to care more about the job they are doing for the team's performance. Caring can be a powerful motivator. Pride - Those who take personal pride in their work tend to give it their own signature. Great teams have members who look at their work as having their team's signature on it. Their efforts are the team's efforts. Look around. You can see team everywhere. They can be as large as thousands of people or made up of only two. Their performance can be great, mediocre or failing. In great teams, the five qualities will be apparent. What kind of team are you on?