Teams make the difference.
The 23 team principles – each explained in a single sentence, animated and backed by real examples from business, politics, history, sports and film.
Teams in five sentences
The 23 team principles fall into five blocks, each with a guiding question. Know these five sentences and you have the framework. Everything else goes deeper.
- 1Purpose and Scope · Why a team, and how big?
A group becomes a team only through a shared goal – and the goal holds only if it ranks above each person’s own role.
A team is only worth it for a task no one can manage alone. It holds together when everyone has the same goal in sight and the team stays as small as the task allows.
- 2Composition · Who belongs on the team, and in which position?
Everyone has a position where they contribute most – the team wins when everyone is in theirs.
A team is as strong as its line-up. It wins when everyone is in the right position, differences are put to use and no one holds the whole team back.
- 3Interplay · How does the team work together?
A team only learns when no one has to fear speaking up about a mistake or a doubt.
Collaboration lives on trust. A team speaks openly, relies on one another and argues about the issue, not about people.
- 4Drive · What keeps the team moving?
Shared values turn “I” and “the others” into a “we.”
A team keeps moving when “I” becomes “we.” That takes a visible contribution from everyone, confidence and an honest look at where the team stands.
- 5Leadership and Longevity · What makes the team strong in the long run?
Given equal talent, leadership makes the difference – it ensures that what the team needs right now actually happens.
Over time, leadership makes the difference. It gives the team time to develop, invests in its strength and keeps it connected to the outside.
Where does your team get stuck?
Choose a situation you know from your team. You get three team principles that help you understand it.
We talk past each other
Information gets lost and everyone is working from a different picture.
The map of team principles
All 23 team principles in their five blocks. Each card leads to a principle: first the core statement, then four steps as deep as you like – understand, check, connect, apply.
Purpose and Scope
Why a team, and how big?
Team Principle of Necessity
A team pays off only when the task is bigger than any one person – and the bigger the task, the more it pays off.
Team Principle of Direction
A group becomes a team only through a shared goal – and the goal holds only if it ranks above each person’s own role.
Team Principle of Size
Every additional member adds strength and costs coordination – a team should be as small as the task allows.
Composition
Who belongs on the team, and in which position?
Team Principle of Position
Everyone has a position where they contribute most – the team wins when everyone is in theirs.
Team Principle of Diversity
Differences only make a team smarter if it puts them to use – otherwise they split it.
Team Principle of the Weakest Link
Where everyone depends on everyone else, the weakest member determines the outcome.
Team Principle of the Catalyst
Teams need people who get things moving – but stars alone don’t make a team.
Team Principle of the Bad Apple
A single destructive attitude drags the whole team down if no one confronts it.
Team Principle of the Bench
A team’s strength shows in the people who can step in.
Interplay
How does the team work together?
Team Principle of Communication
A team knows only what its members tell one another.
Team Principle of Attunement
A team becomes good when everyone knows what the others know, what they can do and what they will do next.
Team Principle of Reliability
Teamwork begins where everyone can rely on everyone else without having to check.
Team Principle of Safety
A team only learns when no one has to fear speaking up about a mistake or a doubt.
Team Principle of Conflict
Conflict over substance can move a team forward; conflict over the person always harms it.
Team Principle of Dissent
The more a team agrees, the more urgently it needs someone who disagrees.
Drive
What keeps the team moving?
Team Principle of Effort
Where individual contributions disappear into the group, effort declines.
Team Principle of Identity
Shared values turn “I” and “the others” into a “we.”
Team Principle of Confidence
A team achieves what it believes it can achieve together – and success feeds that belief.
Team Principle of the Scoreboard
Only a team that knows where it stands can adjust course.
Leadership and Longevity
What makes the team strong in the long run?
Team Principle of Leadership
Given equal talent, leadership makes the difference – it ensures that what the team needs right now actually happens.
Team Principle of Development
A team is not made by its lineup but by time.
Team Principle of Investment
What you invest in a team pays off – with a delay, and with interest.
Team Principle of External Relationships
A team that only looks inward loses what it needs from outside.
How strong is your team?
115 statements, five for each team principle. You see where your team is strong and where it can grow – with a radar chart and, if you like, a PDF report.
It works best when everyone on your team takes it and you discuss the results together.
Takes about 12 to 15 minutes. Your answers stay in your browser.
Recently published
From every sphere of society.
Xerox PARC and the Team Principle of External Relationships
In the 1970s, the Xerox PARC research center created the personal computer as we know it today – and its own parent company did almost nothing with it. This is a counterexample: it shows the Team Principle of External Relationships through its failure. A team that only looks inward loses what it needs from outside – here, the bridge to those who made the product decisions.
The Charge of the Light Brigade and the Team Principle of Communication
On October 25, 1854, about 670 British cavalrymen ride into a valley under fire from three sides – toward a target their commander-in-chief never meant. The example shows the Team Principle of Communication in failure: a team knows only what its members tell one another. What one person sees and the other does not has to be said out loud.
Kurt Lewin’s Boys’ Clubs and the Team Principle of Leadership
In the late 1930s, schoolboys in Iowa make theater masks after school. The task and the materials stay the same; only the style of leadership changes – and with it, the group’s behavior. The old experiment shows, with some caveats, that given equal talent, leadership makes the difference when it ensures that what the team needs right now actually happens.
Shane Battier and the Team Principle of the Catalyst
8.6 points per game – and yet his team played better when Shane Battier was on the court. The “No-Stats All-Star” shows the Team Principle of the Catalyst: teams need people who get things moving – but stars alone don’t make a team.
Herrnhut 1727 and the Team Principle of Identity
In 1727, the refugee settlement of Herrnhut in Saxony is split into factions. Then its residents commit themselves to shared rules and convictions – and become a community whose influence is still felt around the world today. An example of the Team Principle of Identity: shared values turn “I” and “the others” into a “we.”
The Beatles and the Team Principle of Position
For six years, the Beatles were one band among many. Only when every position was filled in 1962 – on stage and behind it – did their rise begin. Their story shows the Team Principle of Position: everyone has a position where they contribute most – the team wins when everyone is in theirs.
“If we raise the quality of our thinking, we raise the quality of our results.”
Quick answers
What are the 23 team principles?
The 23 team principles describe what makes teams effective – from the Team Principle of Necessity to the Team Principle of External Relationships. They are organized into five blocks: Purpose and Scope, Composition, Interplay, Drive, Leadership and Longevity. Each principle comes with a core statement, an animation, examples and a look at the research.
Where do the team principles come from?
The 23 team principles are WEGVISOR’s own compilation, drawn from two sources: 15 go back to John C. Maxwell’s book “The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork” (2001), and 8 were added from team research. The “Origin” page shows where each principle comes from.
Where should I start?
With the way in at the top of the home page: first the 23 team principles in five sentences, then a situation from your team (“Where does your team get stuck?”), then the map of all principles. The Team Check shows where your team stands. Every principle page begins with a summary you can read in one minute.
Who is this blog for?
For leaders and team leads who want to make their team more effective – and for anyone who wants to understand why some teams achieve more than others.
How do I find out where my team stands?
Take the Team Check: 115 statements, five for each team principle. Allow about 12 to 15 minutes. You’ll get an overall score, your team’s strengths and areas of potential, and a radar chart. The Team Check is a self-assessment, not a validated test.
How can I work on the principles with my team?
WEGVISOR offers three ways to do this: In Team Coaching, you – as a leader or business owner – get clear on what your team needs from you right now (our recommended starting point). In Team Training, you and your team go through the Team Check results together and work on two or three principles through experiential exercises. In Team Consulting, you work over several months on the principles that will move your team forward the most.