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Chapter 1

Rosa Parks was Badass

Rosa Parks was 42 years old when she was arrested in 1955 for breaking the bus segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama. She was bailed by ED Nixon and Lawyer Durr, who offered to represent her in her legal fight against segregation. Like her husband, Raymond Parks, Rosa had been an activist even before her marriage in 1932. Civil activism was dangerous as there was a risk of being killed. Rosa was one of the first women to join the Montgomery Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1943. After multiple attempts, Rosa gained her voting rights in 1945 after passing the literacy test that barred Black people from voting. She states that she was tired of giving in to the Whites, which prompted her to violate the bus segregation law. Rosa was dedicated to her Church, the Civic League, and voting rights efforts. Although she was not the first Black person to refuse to give her seat, she was the first activist. Her action elicited a 382-day bus boycott that forced the Supreme Court to rule out the bus segregation law. The community to which Rosa belonged gave her the strength to challenge the unjust law.

A diverse team means that people from different identity groups and backgrounds work together in our modern concept. Diversity entails myriads of races, sexual orientations, and cognitive diversities. Diverse teams impact positively on business organizations. However, diversity does not automatically produce benefits to an organization. Throwing people from different identity groups can cause more conflict than productivity. There should be a change in the group's power dynamics. Being genuinely valued and respected involves more than just feeling included. Diversity should involve the power to set the agenda, influence the activities of the organizations, have one's needs and interests considered, and contributions recognized.

Diversity brings commitment that saves the organization from collapsing. A diverse team should care about each other and the organization's well-being. For example, the team that saved Apollo 13 Spaceship when it experienced problems in space involved young engineers at the mission control who had military experience and grew up in rural and working-class America. The team's focus and drive to get their teammates home succeeded after working for 80 hours non-stop. The mission control team and Rosa's community at Montgomery succeeded because the team members cared about each other. The way teammates are connected results in exceptional teamwork..

Chapter 2

Q Theory: The Small World of Teamwork

 The iconic lyrics, "Mariaaaa. I just met a girl named Maria," was first sung on Broadway in 1957 at the West Side Story Premiere. Six collaborators created the hit production before two team members were reported for Communist Party activities and blacklisted. Hollywood studios denied artists on the blacklist employment. Despite disloyalty and reliance on an inexperienced lyricist, the team was wildly successful both artistically and financially. At first, it was risky, and the team thought that they would not survive beyond a few months. The team succeeded because it had the right small world network score or Q number. Within small-world networks, communication between teams is enhanced. The networks are made up of tightly knit teams with the right mix of seasoned experience, fresh perspectives, and previous collaborations. Ideas and resources flow because communication is easy between the teams. A highly bonded team but does not interact with other teams is isolated and less likely to flourish. A team can succeed even when some members are inexperienced as they can always learn from the experienced ones. Creativity is essential for success, and it cannot result from one member of the team. Creativity happens when the team members bring their unique sets of knowledge to the group. For example, in music, each artist has experience with a certain set of tools, standards of dance, music, and theatre in their respective fields. When they bring those standards to contribute to a new production, innovation happens.

The team is likely to succeed when diverse sets of knowledge are more accessible via connections within a small-world network structure. Strong relationships between members across teams help give each other's ideas validity and accept each other's new works more rapidly. The built-in insider clout acts as a safety net or incubator net for new ideas. For example, Derek Fisher was Kobe Bryant's all-time favorite teammate, yet he was never ranked among the top point guards. However, Fisher played a critical position as he controlled where the ball goes

Chapter 3

Why Teams Fail: The Lessons of Jane Elliot

Jane Elliot experimented with a group of all-white students by separating them into two depending on the color of their eyes. The blue-eyed students in one group and the brown-eyed in the other group. She subjected each group to discrimination based on the color of their eyes. At some point, the blue-eyed were treated as inferior to the brown-eyed. The positions would reverse the following day, and the previously inferior group becomes the superior one. Out of her experiments, Elliot realized that the "inferior" position performed poorly compared to the "superior" one. She later established that the performance of all the students improved after the experiments. A deeper understanding of discrimination contributed to better performance. The students realized that they are great and their performance increased as they responded to what they knew to do.

According to Elliot's experiments, teams strike out along fault lines. Divisions within groups or fault lines can be flashpoints for internal conflict. Conflicts affect the overall performance of the group leading to failure. Groups with weaker fault lines perform better than those with stronger fault lines. Internal divisions are the leading cause of failure in a group. Research shows that teams with more internal conflicts experience the low performance as their internal subgroups or fault lines become more defined. Although diversity sparks creativity and innovation, it also creates the potential for internal conflict. The deepening of internal conflicts leads to lower team performance. However, diversity and differences amongst team members do not mean that conflict and division will necessarily result. In a globalized workplace, leaders are faced with deep fault lines. The leaders should build strong, diverse teams across the differences. Differences must be discussed openly and experienced so that all members feel seen, heard, and understood. Leaders should mobilize their groups towards a common purpose. It is also essential for the leaders to give the members time and space to open themselves to change. Teams do not fail because of their differences; they fail when those differences are used to divide the people. We do not need to avoid conflict on our teams; rather, we must cultivate resilient foundations of respect and trust that can ground conflict in strong person-to-person relationships.

Chapter 4

The Three Rules of Teamwork

 Inclusion is crucial for a team's success as everyone's contribution is essential. At the beginning of his career, Jordan thought he could win championships with his talent alone. However, he realized that he could not achieve his goal despite his best efforts. Jordan later moved to the Chicago Bulls and won several awards as an individual. However, his team did not win any championship together. It took the coach's intervention to convince Jordan that he had to bring out the best in his teammates for the team to win a championship. Teams thrive when each person performs at their best in service of the team's shared goal. Jordan agreed to push his teammates to excel, and finally, they defeated their archrivals and won a championship. A team's cohesion is essential for a good performance.

Creating cohesion in a team requires a dedicated and skilled leader. For example, the Chicago Bull's coach brought his team together by encouraging them to be selfless in service of the team's goal. Leaders should endeavor to repair relationships in the service of building a stronger team. Openness, communication, and dialogue are key for the team to grow together. Honest and constructive feedback is integral to effective teamwork. The 1990s Bulls created a championship-winning team by applying the inclusion rule and being selfless. How successful we are at including each other has far-reaching implications, from the battlefield to public housing, to policy decisions that impact millions.  

Chapter 5

The Inclusion Rule is the New IQ

Performing selfless acts rather than selfish ones creates the most advanced level of social behavior. When people work as a team, they can achieve impossible things for any individual. All team members should completely commit to achieving the group's goal. Every member should use their talent at the right time to achieve the team's goals. The group should amplify the leader's strength to implement her idea. High-performing groups exhibit collective intelligence. Individuals focus on the group's goal and maximize the talents of their fellow teammates. The type of intelligence which relies on one's ability to make the teammates better is called "inclusive intelligence." Human beings need to live in groups to survive as our existence depends on our membership in cooperative, interdependent groups. Everyone must contribute their resources and effort to the group.

An individual's social identity and sense of self depend on differentiation, the feeling of being an individual who is different and special from the people around us. People should belong to groups without losing their identity. Businesses are inclusive when they act and make changes instead of just talking about making changes. Teams achieve high performance when the employees have a voice and feel connected. Employees feel highly included when they are treated fairly and respectfully. Like teacher Jane Elliot found, engagement improves dramatically when both diversity and inclusion levels are high. People want to show up to work and offer their talents. As employees feel more included, they seek to differentiate themselves and come back into balance. Strong teams can not only withstand differences but thrive because of them.

Chapter 6

The Power of Personality

 The science behind team chemistry is called "team composition." A highly agreeable personality does not mean that one agrees with everything said. Depending on the context, teams require different mixes of personalities. A balance of extroverts and introverts makes sense on a corporate team. However, a team should balance extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. According to research, positive affective presence has tangible results on others. People with this positive effect on others display consistent agreeableness and extraversion personality traits. People who are more skilled at personal emotional management can more consistently elicit positive responses in others. Personalities can have life-changing impacts far beyond our small teams. For example, research has found that accidents are associated with drivers who have anxiety, guilt, and risk-taking personalities.

The business world has largely ignored personality when creating teams because personality is hard to measure. Instead, businesses focus on a person's functional role. Reputation is different from personality as it is a collection of past and present behaviors described by others. Reputation is the best predictor of future job performance. There is nothing like "best" personality. The right mix of personalities is tailored to each team's specific needs that are key to high performance. Team performance is related to five types of personalities: results-oriented, relationship-focused, process-oriented, innovative, and pragmatic. A deep understanding of personalities and working together is essential to creating successful teams. Our personalities shape the way we interact with others and the world. As a result, our networks look different. Each personality type brings necessary skills and value to the table. The power of personality is not a mandate to change who you are; it is an invitation to discover how you work best.

Chapter 7

The "It" Factor

The right mix of specific personalities propel teams towards steady achievement. These key personalities are informal captains, team players, and charismatic connectors. They form a dynamic yet reliable combination necessary for high-performing teams when in balance. Informal captains have incredible emotional control, high conscientiousness, and grunt work. Team players create bonds throughout the team and are always looking to collaborate. They are the glue that holds the team together. Charismatic connectors go beyond their teams to build bridges with other teams. This allows them to bring back key knowledge to spark innovation and creativity. Informal captains are steady, consistent workers who lead with their character. Their fellow teammates like them, but they do not let this go to their head or stop them from calling people out for poor work.

Team players do not necessarily get along well with others. However, they cultivate cohesion or a shared understanding of each other. While the top dog teams rely on talent and money, the under-dog teams rely on deep, shared experience on the field. They know better than the other team how their fellow players will respond throughout each play. This understanding gives team members a shared mental model (SMM). SMM help complex problem-solving teams during high workload to adapt fast and efficiently to changing situations. They also enhance the team's performance and communication processes. Like informal captains, team players focus on what will bring the best outcome for the team.

Charismatic connectors do not talk too much, and they listen as much or more than they speak. They add unique value because they link their circle to outside groups. One can bring out underused charismatic connector qualities in team members by creating opportunities for conversations. Creating the right mix of people who maximize each other's abilities lays the foundation for team success. 

Chapter 8

The Plus Principle

The plus principle operates in two parts: the critique and the suggestion to improve. It flips the traditional thinking about idea generation on its head. The original rules of brainstorming included both "Do not criticize one another's ideas" and "Expand and elaborate on existing ideas." The plus principle recommends following the second rule. Including critique as part of the creative process helps combat social loafing. Contrary to traditional thinking that critique limits creativity, the opposite is true. Group members feel more comfortable critiquing ideas because they know they won't be ostracized. Encouraging participants to do the forbidden may be very liberating and even stimulating. With their creativity unlocked, team members feel free to let their ideas flow. When employed in a safe framework, plussing spreads the creative load amongst all team members. Everyone has a stake in pointing out mistakes and fixing them together. Everyone is on equal footing, and no one has the authority to enforce their opinion on others. This level playing field supports each person to speak up without fear of someone else taking their comment personally. The plus principle cultivates productive conflict skills within teams. To create safety, everyone needs to discuss together what each person's roles and responsibilities are and where those spheres overlap.  

Chapter 9

Plus Points as Moments that Matter

Every moment is a chance to make a new decision. One's last decision does not dictate their next decision. Each moment is a fresh opportunity, although it is not always easy to implement. Countless moments, big and small, are moments that matter and are called "plus points." Plus points are opportunities to improve team performance during communication, conflict resolution, creative problem-solving, and change. On high-performing teams, team members leverage their abilities to be inclusive, work towards the team's goal, and fulfil their psychological role during each plus point.

Communication has the power to bring a team together, though it can also split people apart along pre-existing fault lines. An officer's words can either communicate respect and understanding of a citizen's perspective or contempt and disregard for the voice. Intentional communication strengthens a team across fault lines. Conflict should not be feared as they create chances to strengthen the group. Moments of conflict resolution are important plus points. Conflict resolution requires full attention as they are moments to deepen fault lines or bridge them. Inability to solve conflicts breaks the team down along fault lines and may dissipate into a low-performing group of lone wolves. There is no one right way to resolve conflicts. Large and small challenges that a team faces daily require creative problem-solving. People should embrace change as it is the only constant thing. Moments of failure can be more plus moments for a team to learn what went wrong and how to improve in the future.  

Chapter 10

Make Each Moment Meaningful

People with rich inner life can withstand constant pain, hunger, and the threat of death better than those who lack spirit. Someone can survive by finding meaning in his own suffering. According to research, meaning alongside support and transcendence are human needs. People who lack consistent and meaningful relationships with others have high suicidal tendencies. Our relationship with each other gives meaning to our lives. High-performing teams do not rely on leadership, vision, or huge change initiatives. They rely on social capital or the bonds between people. One can create meaning through relationships in each interaction. In the absence of social capital, the team no longer clicks. It no longer offers team members meaning via healthy relationships. Acts of incivility affect team performance. Kindness given and received amongst teammates is not a whimsical suggestion. Kindness shows that we care about each other and matter to each other. The weakness of a bond does not indicate that meanness exists in that relationship. Civility, kindness, and respect towards each other are always the rule. Our behavior towards each other impacts the entire team's performance. Even if improving your team's performance does not motivate you to be kind, improving your well-being may compel you. Being kind and compassionate towards each other is contagious. One's efforts to build healthy relationships at work are not in a vacuum. The person you say thank you to may echo that goodwill in a meeting or on the train. When you build a team of informal captains, team players, and charismatic connectors, you are baking in folks who exhibit prosocial behaviors.