Finding the right people is crucial.At Talent4Performance (T4P), we are often asked: What makes an ideal team player? How do you assess applicants and current team members to ensure they possess the right qualities?
Selecting the right people is always a challenge. In today’s competitive labour market, getting it wrong can be costly. Poor hires impact morale, increase turnover, and damage team cohesion. However, these risks can be reduced significantly by improving your recruitment approach from the start.
Eligibility is easy to measure. Checking qualifications, experience, and references gives you a clear view of someone’s ability to perform specific tasks. Suitability, however, is much harder to assess. It is about how well an individual aligns with your company’s values and culture.
Suitability determines whether someone will enjoy the role, engage with their team, and contribute positively to the business. Assessing it helps you understand if they will be passionate about the job and thrive in your organisation.
Fortunately, tools now exist to support this. Using a Job Success Formula (JSF), you can define the Essential, Desirable, and Traits to Avoid for each role. This approach makes recruitment decisions more objective and aligned with long-term success.
Essential Traits: The Foundation of Success
Essential traits are critical. They determine if someone will enjoy their job and perform well. Research by psychologists such as Dr Dan Harrison highlights that enjoyment and job performance are strongly linked. Employees who enjoy their work contribute discretionary effort, learn faster, and stay engaged.
For example, in finance roles, traits like being precise, analytical, and organised are non-negotiable. Without them, employees will struggle to succeed.
Desirable Traits: Important, But Flexible
Desirable traits support performance. While they are not critical, their absence can cause issues. A case study involving Parking Attendants revealed that moderate levels of being ‘Helpful’ correlated with strong performance. Low levels, however, were linked to poor outcomes.
Desirable traits enhance performance, but they do not need to be dominant.
Traits to Avoid: Preventing Performance Issues
Some traits can derail success. In customer-facing roles, for example, being defensive, blunt, or harsh will damage relationships and business performance.
By including Traits to Avoid in your JSF, you can reduce the risk of hiring individuals who may be unsuitable for the role.
Patrick Lencioni, renowned for his work on team performance, highlights three essential virtues in his book The Ideal Team Player: Humble, Hungry, and Smart.
Humble individuals prioritise the team over personal recognition. They acknowledge others’ contributions and avoid egotism.
Hungry people are driven. They seek opportunities to contribute and grow, often exceeding expectations without being pushed.
Smart team players possess strong interpersonal skills. They are aware of how their behaviour affects others and communicate effectively.
For a brief overview of his model, check out this short video
Our colleague Anne Sandberg, Managing Partner at Harrison Assessments International, applied behavioural analytics to measure Lencioni’s virtues. Using their advanced tools, each virtue was mapped to specific measurable traits.
Humble
Essential: Open/Reflective, Self-improvement, Collaborative
Desirable: Helpful, Cause Motivated, Frank
Traits to Avoid: Blunt, Authoritarian, Defensive
Hungry
Essential: Takes Initiative, Wants Challenge, Enthusiastic
Desirable: Optimistic, Handles Autonomy, Experimenting
Traits to Avoid: Non-finishing, Defers Decisions, Unresourceful
Smart
Essential: Enlists Cooperation, Influencing, Analytical
Desirable: Diplomatic, Healthy Self-esteem, Intuitive
Traits to Avoid: Blindly Optimistic, Insensitive, Evasive
This approach allows for objective assessment, helping you identify and develop ideal team players more effectively.
By using tools like the Job Success Formula and Behavioural Competencies, you can make better hiring decisions and avoid costly mistakes. You will be able to predict workplace behaviours and performance more accurately.
Perhaps most importantly, these tools also support development. T4P’s solutions offer coaching exercises to help managers nurture these virtues in both new hires and existing team members. This proactive approach supports continuous improvement and builds team capability.
Wise leaders know that hiring is only the beginning. Ongoing development builds resilient, adaptable, and high-performing teams.
Through behavioural analytics and tailored coaching, your leaders can gain deeper self-awareness. This improves decision-making and promotes the personal and professional growth of their teams.
When people understand their strengths and potential blind spots, they make better choices. They are more motivated, communicate more effectively, and are naturally driven to improve.
A workplace where individuals are inspired to give their best every day — and where team performance thrives.
If you would like to explore how we can help you assess and develop Ideal Team Players for your organisation, get in touch.
When it comes to understanding teams . . . stay curious!
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© Talent4Performance 2023
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