Great teams that work in any creative field will have a culture of excellence that shares many of these qualities:
- Optimistic aspiration to greatness – individuals and teams seek out excellence on their own.
- Shared vision – people and teams are aligned around the same vision and goals, minimizing conflicts and wasted effort
- Swift and effective conflict resolution – teams minimize waste and maximize speed
- Results count, not effort – people are oriented on what matters
- Best ideas win regardless of source – improvements are accepted without politics
- Interest in improving team performance over time – people work to create an environment that supports personal and team growth
- Creative intimacy – cross-functional teams that work closely together, and include engineering, business, and user experience people for example
- Proactive self-organization – teams decide what to do and do it, and do not wait to be told what to do
- Great decisions are the norm – and meetings are mainly held to make decisions, not pass along information
- Mistakes and learning are celebrated and encouraged – maximizing learning and encouraging growth
- Healthy relationship to authority – people lead and follow as necessary without cynicism
- Grit – passion and perseverance for long-term goals; ability to transcend significant obstacles
- Flow of great work – the team regularly delivers products, services, or other accomplishments that move it closer toward its goals
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Inclusive – the team is welcoming and supportive of new members and collaborators no matter who they are (genders, skin colors, sexual orientations, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, etc.)
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Effective collaboration – the team has clear, warm, and effective collaboration and communication with other teams and stakeholders
(Thanks to Michele McCarthy and David Socha for their help writing this list.)