In previous posts,  have often shared my thoughts on teams and team work.  Being part of a high performing team is a passion of mine.  This is firmly founded in the belief that teams can be more powerful and effective than individuals (in many cases).

How do you feel?

One of the underlying qualities of teams centers around emotions.  simply put, “how does it feel?”  Or in the words of songwriter and performing artist Bob Dylan

“How does it feel, how does it feel?
To be on your own, with no direction home
A complete unknown, like a rolling stone”

It probably feels lonely.  Being part of a group should feel the opposite, but that is not necessarily the case.  You can still feel loney, sad frustrated and unhappy; these emotions can easily apply unless teamwork is occurring and their is some chemistry across the group.

Feeling Good

One obvious way to determine if your group or team can be high performing is to ask do an internal check after a team session.  Did the session make you feel good, invigorated and happy or frustrated concerned and upset?

The answer to that simple question is a key barometer to the team members ability to perform as one. If you feel good, your output is more likely to be positive than otherwise.

It is intuitive to say that team members that feed off of each others relationships and enjoy interacting with each other  will perform better than a group of individuals.