- Home
- Team principles
The 23 team principles
The 23 team principles describe what makes teams effective – and what holds them back. They follow five questions: from purpose through composition, interplay and drive to leadership and longevity.
Five blocks instead of 23 separate pieces
The 23 team principles follow five questions. Choose a block to see its principles, each in one sentence.
Purpose and Scope
Why a team, and how big?
Whether a team is worth it, what it is for and how big it should be.
- 01NecessityA team pays off only when the task is bigger than any one person – and the bigger the task, the more it pays off.
- 02DirectionA group becomes a team only through a shared goal – and the goal holds only if it ranks above each person’s own role.
- 03SizeEvery 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?
Who belongs on the team and in which position – and how strengths and weaknesses interact.
- 04PositionEveryone has a position where they contribute most – the team wins when everyone is in theirs.
- 05DiversityDifferences only make a team smarter if it puts them to use – otherwise they split it.
- 06Weakest LinkWhere everyone depends on everyone else, the weakest member determines the outcome.
- 07CatalystTeams need people who get things moving – but stars alone don’t make a team.
- 08Bad AppleA single destructive attitude drags the whole team down if no one confronts it.
- 09BenchA team’s strength shows in the people who can step in.
Interplay
How does the team work together?
How a team talks, relies on one another and handles disagreement.
- 10CommunicationA team knows only what its members tell one another.
- 11AttunementA team becomes good when everyone knows what the others know, what they can do and what they will do next.
- 12ReliabilityTeamwork begins where everyone can rely on everyone else without having to check.
- 13SafetyA team only learns when no one has to fear speaking up about a mistake or a doubt.
- 14ConflictConflict over substance can move a team forward; conflict over the person always harms it.
- 15DissentThe more a team agrees, the more urgently it needs someone who disagrees.
Drive
What keeps the team moving?
What makes effort, team spirit and confidence grow.
- 16EffortWhere individual contributions disappear into the group, effort declines.
- 17IdentityShared values turn “I” and “the others” into a “we.”
- 18ConfidenceA team achieves what it believes it can achieve together – and success feeds that belief.
- 19ScoreboardOnly a team that knows where it stands can adjust course.
Leadership and Longevity
What makes the team strong in the long run?
What sustains a team over time: leadership, development, investment and an outward view.
- 20LeadershipGiven equal talent, leadership makes the difference – it ensures that what the team needs right now actually happens.
- 21DevelopmentA team is not made by its lineup but by time.
- 22InvestmentWhat you invest in a team pays off – with a delay, and with interest.
- 23External RelationshipsA team that only looks inward loses what it needs from outside.
All 23 with animation
Every team principle as a tile with animation, organized by the five blocks.
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.