The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player: Becoming the Kind of Person Every Team Wants

The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player is yet another book written by John Maxwell, the leadership guru. This particular text is the follow-up... (show more)

The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player is yet another book written by John Maxwell, the leadership guru. This particular text is the follow-up companion to “The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork.” The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player is a clear character sketch of the ideal team player on staff or in a business. Maxwell uses the book to emphasize several qualities of a good team player. He pushes the reader to become what it is that will help anyone become a better person to work with. His book has a quote, a story and then a brief evaluation of what he is trying to convey to the reader for each quality. Maxwell uses 17 qualities to describe a successful team player: adaptable, collaborative, committed, communicative, competent, dependable, disciplined, enlarging, enthusiastic, intentional, mission conscious, prepared, relational, self-improving, selfless, solution oriented, tenacious.
Each chapter begins with a short story about a historic figure's accomplishments, and his or her success through difficulty. The short stories demonstrate the lessons that Maxwell then briefly discusses in the rest of the chapter. Memorable quotations and sidebars that support the author's main points then round off each lesson. This text is divided into seventeen chapters, with each chapter dealing with one of the essential qualities of a team player. First, the tam player must be adaptable. If you won't change for the team, then the team will change you. Second, is collaborative. Working together precedes winning together. Collaboration is the key word when it comes to meeting challenges as a team. Cooperation is merely working together agreeably, but collaborating means working together more aggressively. Every team player must bring something more to the table, and not just put in his minimum required work just to get by. Third, is committed. There are no lackadaisical winners. Commitment usually is discovered in the midst of difficulty. Committed people don't surrender that easily. It does not depend on gifts or abilities; rather, it is the result of choice. Commitment lasts when it's based on values. If it's something you believe in, it's easier to keep. Forth is communicative. A team has many voices but a single heart. They are constantly looking at how to make the team better as a unit. Fifth is competent. If you cannot then your team will not. Competent does not mean simply having adequate skills to perform a job. It means the individual must be highly qualified to do the job well. Sixth is dependability. This means that you must strive to become the team’s go-to player. The must know that if you are on it then it is as good as done! Seventh is disciplined. Maxwell believes that where there's a will, there's a win close by. Discipline is doing what you really don't want to do, so that you can do what you really want to do. It means paying the price so you can have the reward later. Eight is enlarging. Basically, this is adding value to teammates which is priceless for a team. Team members love a player who is able to inspire them to become more successful. The ninth quality is enthusiasm. One must realize that their heart is the source of energy for the entire team. A team player must bring an enthusiastic attitude to teamwork. Tenth is intentional. This deals with making every action count. Being intentional means working with a strong sense of purpose. Successful individuals are never scattered and random. They have a clear reason why they are doing what they are doing. For a team to be successful, it needs intentional people who are focused and productive; the kind of people who can make every action count. Eleventh is mission conscious. The Big Picture is coming in loud and clear and “I” am not what is most important, the mission is. Twelfth is prepared. Preparation can mean the difference between winning and losing. Thirteenth is relational. If you get along, others will go along. Teams want people who are relational. Fourteenth is self-improving. To improve the team, improve yourself. Never be content with where you are as a leader or team player. Fifteenth is selfless. There is no "I" in team. As a team member you must cultivate an attitude of selflessness. Sixteenth is solution-oriented. Make a resolution to find the solution. Your personality type, upbringing and personal history affect how solution-oriented you are naturally. Anyone can become solution-oriented. Lastly is tenacious; never, never, never quit. Being tenacious means giving all that you've got, 100%, not more than you have. It has something to do with working with determination, not waiting on destiny. Tenacious people do not rely on chance or fate for their success. When conditions become difficult, they keep working. Quit when the job is done, not when you're tired. Push yourself beyond what you think you are capable of.
During the time spent reading this book I wrestled with some things that are apart of the author’s material but over all, nothing was flagrantly wrong with the content. As a whole, Maxwell does a great job in presenting his ideas on being a great team player. He takes the aches out of knowing what makes a team function properly. If you want to have a better team, you must develop better players. Great team players, like great teams, are formed from the inside out. The qualities that Maxwell teaches throughout his book quickly take you to the heart of teamwork. Anybody can understand them and apply them–whether at home, on the job, at church, or on the ball field. If you learn the 17 essential qualities of a team player, you can become the kind of person every team wants. If everyone on your team does it, there will be no holding you back.
With all this said, I would recommend this book. This book is both inspiring and informative. Each chapter is about eight to ten pages long, which makes it perfect for someone to read a chapter a day and not feel as if they must dedicate four hours a day just to drudge through a chapter. This text reads very easy and is simple to comprehend. Overall, I have found much to ponder in this book, and I believe that anyone wishing to better their team as well as to better them personally will too.
Jeremy (show less)