Whether or not you’re the leader of a given team, you’ve got a big say in how well it does. I’ve been involved with any number of groups that had team dynamics of a negative kind. Negative team dynamics include weak leadership, aggressors, negators, withdrawers, glory-seekers, and jokesters. But every one of us has at one time or another found ourselves wearing the mantle of aggressor, or clown, or what-have-you. One of the characteristics of a good team is bringing out the best in people. Sometimes, choosing the right team members means counterbalancing a negator with a jokester so that the effect of either is quickly cancelled out. The negator stops the jokester through a negation and simultaneously paints a bullseye on his own head, while the jokester turns every negative comment from that person into a joke at his expense, and instead of losing morale, the team’s attitude improves. Does this sound familiar? Like, perhaps, your own personal social circle? That’s because it’s the same kind of thing but in a professional environment!

I work in comedy. When you’re putting together a comedy show, it’s a lot like assembling a team. Knowing how to choose the right people is integral to putting on a good show. If you’ve got a silly comic, it isn’t good to put him up with two other comics that have the same schtick. Imagine a Gallagher show if Carrot Top opened for him and Weird Al Yankovic hosted. It’s like a meal of pure dessert! You’d have enough after the first act. But if you’ve got a show with an edgy act, a one-liner comic, and a personable storyteller, all of a sudden people are entertained throughout the performance. As a comic, you have to put on shows in order to have things you can offer to more well-known comedians and thus acquire yourself better engagements. I learned quickly that you can’t categorize shows by “like-minded” comedians. You’ve got to split them up and get some variety in there, or your audience dissipates. You’ve got to understand the dynamics of the team you build, or the project won’t work.

Ways to Engineer Positive Team Dynamics
I didn’t know it at the first show, but I’ve realized since that I used GUDEjob principles to construct my shows. I was Grateful for the opportunity to do a show at the venue, so I did my best to clean up behind guests and put the room together correctly. The performers were likewise Grateful for the booking! We all Understood each other. I Understood my crowd and who I was booking. We were all Determined to put on a good show, and Enthusiastic about what we could bring to the table! This enthusiasm dynamic worked itself out naturally as the lot of us were comedians and had a similar goal in mind. You may not have this advantage working with a group. You may not even be able to pick your team. But if you can pick your team, a good tip on getting the best performance from them is to set them to work at that about which they already have a natural enthusiasm. Not all team members will have such passion, and you’ll have to get creative with the log bumps. But even a bump on a log makes a good doorstop. Following are some worthwhile tips to help you dynamically manage your team. If you’re in a team, you can use some of this thinking to help your team members do a good job as well.

• Get a proper balance. Touched on earlier, if you must put up with both on the same team and can’t pick around such a scenario, then you want to have a negator muted by a jokester. This translates to a proper taskrelationship balance—those most suited to certain tasks end up doing them. If you’re part of a team, you may let the leader know who is best at what.
• If you see a problem, fix it. That goes for team leads and members of a group equally. This will save others time and energy, and contribute to a positive team dynamic.
• Identify goals for the team early on. A lot of new team leaders make the mistake of assuming everyone is on the same page from the outset, when Betty in Accounting thinks she’s been called over to the new division to bring brownies and check everybody else’s work. No, Betty, you need to do the same numbers you were before, but for this side of the office now. See, she may not know that. If you’re part of a team and the team lead doesn’t know his team well, voice your concern; either privately, or if that isn’t possible, where others can see it. If you’re a new team leader, the dynamics of your team will be much more positively inclined should everyone Understand what the part they play is.
• Have good communication. Communication on the work floor is like supply lines on a battlefield. If you don’t have it, the effort is lost. The best way to communicate is to know each member of the group as personally as possible and be on good terms with them. If you’re in a group, be sure and know what your team leader has specified before proceeding. It never hurts to double-check with team leads and other team members.

The Takeaway
Team dynamics are in your hands. You can make help improve them whether you’re a team leader or one of the people working to effect a certain goal. I’ve seen it myself, and know it requires communication. It requires positive attitude (Gratitude). It requires taking the initiative to inform other team members of things they may need to Understand, it requires passion—something that is positively Enthusiastic!—and the Determination to see a task through to completion. You’ve heard the saying, “A captain goes down with his ship”? Well, that’s the kind of Determination you’ve got to have. If you know failure isn’t an option, you’ll be careful to ensure positive dynamics as best you can, whether as a team member or team leader. All these are GUDE principles and will make your team more effective.