By Trent Peters, Principal and Chief Technology Officer at Umbrella Managed Systems
One of the things we’re focusing on as an organization is a teamwork. And as we continue to grow our team, we want to hire the right people for our culture… not just for their technical skills.
Heath discovered an excellent book by Patrick Lencioni called, “The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues” It tells the story of a construction company that is trying to build their team with the right people. The CEO was able to focus on three key attributes during the hiring process that made all the difference. And it’s an easy read because this “business” book is in story form instead of a collection of topics and ideas in a chapter format.
The three key attributes of a team player are Humble, Hungry and Smart
I highly recommend you read the book to understand how these words and attributes became the marching orders for hiring at the construction company in the story. But the high-level definition is as follows:
Humble = does not think less of self; thinks of self-less
Hungry = aggressively pursue goals
Smart = emotionally smart, that is, in interactions with others
We’ve decided to weave these concepts into our organization. Our employees have been given the book as required reading, and now we’re talking about the concepts in our teams. We even made up mouse pads and wrist bands (see the pic) as good reminders for the three key attributes of being humble, hungry, and smart.
What’s interesting about these concepts is that they were built for a specific company as metrics for hiring. But do a simple Google search and you will find half a million results of people talking about the concepts and they’re implementing them in their businesses also. They are simple truths, but powerful when you combine all three when you’re considering adding someone to your team.
Have you read “The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues” or heard of it before? If so, let me know! It really is worth your time to read it, even if you rarely read books.
