Thread by @KieranSnyder

1 Proposed: In any successful team, four roles show up over and over again, no matter what the project. Every effective team includes an Inspiration, an Organizer, a Questioner, and a Peacemaker. Thread >>

2 On a given project, you may find the same person playing multiple roles, but I think it works best when the roles are played by different people. You may also find that you play different roles in different groups, but I think most people have recurring tendencies.

3 The Inspiration suggests the ideas that sit underneath the team’s work. They may not be an inspiring communicator, although they often are.

Either way, they’re the person who sees the opportunity to build/make/invent/create something that other people don't see.

4 If the Inspiration is a clear communicator, the people around them see their vision and help to make it real. If they’re not a clear communicator, then someone else in the group has to recognize their vision and translate it for others. (This person is often the Organizer.)

5 The Inspiration sees what is possible where other people don’t. They are often good at turning problems upside-down and sideways. They may not be talkative, but their words have outsize impact.

6 The Organizer is the Inspiration’s most essential partner for making their vision real. The Organizer can break down a vision into the tasks and assignments that make it a reality; without the Organizer, there is no project execution.

7 The Organizer can hold a room’s attention. They are a clear, precise communicator in person and in writing. They excel at seeing the strengths of the team and aligning the right work to the right people, such that both the work and the people succeed.

8 Sometimes an Organizer can be such an effective communicator than team members confuse them for the Inspiration, but they usually need an Inspiration partner to lead effectively. The Inspiration and the Organizer make a symbiotic partnership.

9 At their best, the Questioner finds the gaps in the plan that others don’t see. At their worst, they can be read as negative or fault-finding. But most projects turn out worse if a constructive Questioner is not part of the team.

10 The Questioner and the Organizer can come into conflict; the Questioner often slows down execution while the Organizer is working hard to accelerate and expedite it. A good Organizer figures out who the Questioner is early on and enlists their help.

11 The Questioner and the Inspiration often get along; a good Questioner makes the Inspiration’s ideas more robust. A good Questioner also sees past the Organizer to the Inspiration and cultivates that relationship directly, since the Inspiration always has the Organizer’s ear.

12 Every effective group has a Peacemaker as part of the mix. They can play any functional role. Regardless of their day job, their most important team contribution is helping other teammates find workable solutions to disagreement.

13 The Peacemaker may broker compromises or they may help make one side more comfortable with the other’s suggestions. In either case, they are a great restater of ideas and tradeoffs.

14 An Organizer with a strong personality (and they often have strong personalities) needs a Peacemaker by their side to get their work done, especially where there are a lot of Questioners on the team.

15 I was reflecting this morning on successful teams that I have led or been part of, and realizing that the teams that work best have all these roles present. I can also see clearly who is playing which role.

16 The reflection is making me think a little differently about intentional team composition, and what balance of roles is needed as a team grows.

I'm usually an Organizer and sometimes a Peacemaker; I am seeing my Inspirations and Questioners with additional gratitude. 🌠