--- title: "The Leadership Playbook: How Teams Work | The Sales Blog" description: It takes time for a group to become a team. It takes time and communication. That is how teams work. image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_167024144.jpg --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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Most days the team that works at this particular Starbucks does an exceptionally good job managing high traffic. On days when someone is missing, the traffic backs up. Traffic is particularly backed up at the drive-through window. Because the Starbucks is located in suburbia, there might be 20 cars waiting to order a drink. But some days, when there is a new team, even the large staff can’t manage the traffic. It isn’t because they’re not good people, and it isn’t because they don’t care about their work. They just are not clicking well together. They don’t have a rhythm. They can’t anticipate what customers need or how best to help each other. And this is the nature of teams. When people have the right chemistry, when they’ve worked together and know how to work as a single unit, they are highly effective and highly efficient. But a team that doesn’t have the right chemistry, that hasn’t spent time learning how to work as a team can be inefficient and ineffective–even though individually each member of the team is perfectly competent. In fact, changing just one member of an effective team can have a detrimental impact on the team’s effectiveness and efficiency. Even if that one individual should be, by all accounts, perfectly qualified to generate the outcomes necessary to perform on that team. - **Time**: For a team to gel together the members need time. Sometimes you can be lucky enough for someone to step in and immediately fit with the team, but more often it’s a matter of spending time as part of the team. - **Communication**: For a team to work well together, there needs to be exceptional communication. After a team has worked together, they don’t need to communicate as frequently or with great direction, because they know how each other thinks. In fact, they think as a team. But that competency was only developed because there was so much communication at some point. But the new member wasn’t there when the team learned to work together, and now the new member needs that same communication to succeed. - **Expectations**: A new team member needs to know what that team expects of them to be effective. They need to know what good looks like. The team has a [standard](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2014/08/03/the-leadership-playbook-leaders-teach-values/), and a new person on that team will not be familiar with that standard. The team has to teach the new member. It takes time for a group to become a team. It takes time and communication. That is how teams work. ###### Tags: [Leadership](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/leadership) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on September 20, 2015 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at [iannarino@gmail.com](mailto:iannarino@gmail.com) [Follow me on my website](https://www.thesalesblog.com/anthony-iannarino) [Follow me on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/thesalesblog) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/iannarino/) [Follow me on Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/iannarino) [![AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg?width=400&height=400&name=AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/authority) [![ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg?width=318&height=179&name=ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/free-cold-calling-video) ![how-to-lead-ebook-v3-1-cover (3)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/how-to-lead-ebook-v3-1-cover%20(3).jpg?width=768&height=994&name=how-to-lead-ebook-v3-1-cover%20(3).jpg) ### How to Lead: The Leadership E-Book As leaders, we're faced with decisions everyday—not all of which are easy to make. Learn how to make those tough decisions, hold yourself and your team accountable, and build a legacy with How to Lead: The Leadership E-Book. [![DOWNLOAD EBOOK](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d345d648-812a-428a-81e4-53ce30822212.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d345d648-812a-428a-81e4-53ce30822212) ## Are You Ready To Solve Your Sales Challenges? ![Anthony-Solve-Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Anthony-Solve-Sales.png?width=290&height=221&name=Anthony-Solve-Sales.png) Hi, I’m Anthony. I help sales teams make the changes needed to create more opportunities & crush their sales targets. What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2022-01-20T4:29:11 PM", "datePublished" : "2015-09-20 21:32:46", "description" : "It takes time for a group to become a team. It takes time and communication. 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