There are seven primary requirements for the successful management of effective teams.

1. Strong Leadership

Every team has a leader .  Leaders are fundamental to highly effective teams because they set the vision and they bring the team together.  The most effective leaders are the ones that are sought after by the team.  They are in the leadership position not just because of some artificial authority, but because the team recognizes that without their leadership, the team would not be the same, and might not even exist.

2. Trust

Highly effective teams are built on trust.  Trust exists among team members and with the leader.  There should never be a reason to doubt the motives of a team member.  Highly effective teams understand that at times some members of the team will be in the spotlight, but eventually everyone gets their chance to shine.

3. Respect

In a highly effective team, team members respect each other and their leader.  The respect is based on the team members’ ability to contribute.  Each team member knows and values the others’ capabilities, and as long as they keep on contributing, the respect stays strong.

4. Unity

Highly effective teams are unbreakable.  Groups or companies come and go.  Projects come and go.  Victories and defeats are shared.  Through it all the team stays together.  In a highly effective team there is a sense of family, a sense of connectedness, a sense of belonging.

One of the characteristics of highly effective teams is loyalty.  Team members are loyal to themselves and to their leader.  This loyalty transcends the boundaries of projects, companies or other organizational forms.

5. Complementary Skills

In a highly effective team, skills are complementary.  Everyone brings something to the table that makes the whole bigger than the sum of the parts. Team members are not afraid of admitting what they don’t know.  They don’t need to prove anything to anyone.  They know exactly how they contribute, and they are respected for it.  They are not afraid of making mistakes.

6. Open Communication

Highly effective teams communicate openly and often.  Communication is direct.  Words do not need to be carefully chosen.  People are not afraid to speak their minds.  There is no need to worry about someone being overly sensitive to how things are said and getting offended.  Even when someone goes a bit over the top, he is forgiven and the team just moves on.  No one holds a grudge for long.

7. Lack of Selfishness

Last, but not least, in highly effective teams there is no selfishness.  The cliché that there is no “i” in “team” is absolutely applicable to these teams.  Team members are not out seeking credit.  They know that credit will be given where credit is due.