I came across a quote recently that said: 

“A team is not a group of people working together; it is a group of people who trust each other.”

I thought "that makes sense". I’ve been part of and built several teams over the years. Some that thrived beyond expectations, and others that taught me lessons I’ll never forget. I’m sure we’ve all been in teams of both types - teams with members you respected and trusted completely to lift each other up and teams without that dynamic. 

Naturally, I brought it up with my husband over dinner (because philosophical discussions pair beautifully with food 😄).

I said, “The best teams are ones where you’re able to trust your teammates”

And he goes, “Not really. You can trust someone to work against you.”

Touché.

That threw me off for a second but what he said made perfect sense. You can absolutely trust someone to act in a certain way but that doesn’t automatically make the team a great one. Trust in the wrong direction builds caution rather than collaboration.

So What Really Makes a Team?  See more...