A guest post by Courtney Grenville

When I was looking at applying to business school, I researched many schools’ websites trying to find that perfect fit. What I didn’t notice at first was that each one promised a certain set of skills that I would have in my toolkit at the end of the program. One school offered leadership, while another touted innovative thinking or a global perspective. I had to ask myself, what skills did I value most? Which would serve me best in the coming years of my career? What areas did I most need to develop? The search for skills essentially became my business school roadmap, gently guiding me throughout the journey. Now more than halfway through said journey, it’s time to reflect on how well this approach has served me, and look ahead to strategies for the future.

Lessons learned

I can now say that it’s not only my own skills that have affected my success in the MBA, but rather, the combined skills of a team have proven to be much more important than those of any one contributor. What’s more, the fit of the team plays a much bigger role in successful outcomes than I could have ever predicted. By fit, I mean how personalities mesh, strength and weaknesses complement (or not), and the team dynamic. You have probably heard of Tuckman’s stages of group development: forming, storming, norming and performing (adjourning was added later). This framework was introduced in his 1965 paper ‘Developmental sequence in small groups.’ I’ve found that if a team has a good fit, the forming and storming stages become virtually non-existent and the team can transition much easier to a high level of performance.  In the end, the people who have worked with me get a very different sense of me as a person than those who haven’t. As such, my previous teammates are better able to sing my praises because they know me on a deeper level.

When teams get it wrong

On the other hand, I’ve seen that it can go very wrong when the team has a poor fit and skill match. When skills are mismatched or duplicated between teammates, it can be hard to achieve harmony. There is competition for work, one-upmanship and wheel spinning, none of which lead to enhanced productivity. These teams that never seem to leave the forming and storming stages of team building. People get perpetually stuck in the struggle for status. Skills are not applied, and no team members can reach their full potential. Speaking from personal experience, if skills mismatch could be predicted and avoided teams would have a much higher chance of success. However, all is not lost! When teams don’t mesh this provides an excellent learning experience. By recognizing where I don’t fit, I am better equipped to notice where I do.

From notebook to briefcase

I am back in the workforce for a summer internship and while I have seen this team-building phenomenon play out in the classroom, I now see it in the boardroom. What I’ve realized is that we are all trying to fulfill our own physical and psychological needs, which incites the team-building cycle to continue. Everyone wants a chance to show what they’re good at – that is, their competence, talent or facility in a certain function. Teammates and colleagues alike measure this by looking into the past as well as the future; prizing what people can do based on what they have done. Assembling the right combination of skills really is the backbone of any successful endeavor. What I know for sure is that I will leave my internship and then business school with an enhanced skill set. Ultimately, the truth is: my skills are only as good as the team on which they’re used.

Courtney is a student in the University of British Columbia’s MBA program. Read her blog at courtneyinbusiness.com.

MORE READING FOR YOU