What makes a good team player? Personality and team effectiveness

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262 DRISKELL, GOODWIN, SALAS, AND O’SHEAable social interactions at the expense of efficientmanagement of task demands” (p. 66).Social PerceptivenessWe view social perceptiveness as the capacityto accurately gather and process informationabout others (Costanzo, 1992), and argue thatsome people are poor decoders of social information(Lieberman & Rosenthal, 2001). Moreover,Nickerson (1999) has noted that thosewho are less adept at inferring others’ thoughtsand feelings may be less apt to develop theshared knowledge or transactive memory requiredin interdependent teams. We predict thatthose who are more adept at reading and interpretingothers’ intentions and feelings are morelikely to identify when other team members areoverloaded or require assistance (adaptability),develop common ground with other team members(shared situational awareness), be moreadept at conflict resolution and social tasks (interpersonalrelations), be more accurate in interpretingor receiving communications fromothers (communication), and be more skilled atperceiving others’ opinions and inputs in decisionmaking (decision making). We believe thatsocial perceptiveness will have intermediate effectson performance monitoring and feedback,team management, and coordination.ExpressivityWe believe that those who are interpersonallyexpressive are likely to be viewed as more positiveand likable (Riggio & Friedman, 1986),and are likely to be more energetic and effectivecommunicators (DeGroot & Motowidlo, 1999;Gallaher, 1992). Moreover, Ambady, Hallahan,and Rosenthal (1995) have noted that somepeople are more “legible” that others, that expressivityis related to accuracy in transmittingnonverbal information to others. We predict thatthose who are interpersonally expressive areeasier to read and adapt to (adaptability), morelikely to communicate contextual informationto others (shared situational awareness), likelyto be viewed more positively (interpersonal relations),communicate more effectively (communication)and are more likely to express theirfeelings and opinions effectively in decisionmaking (decision making). We believe that expressivitywill have intermediate effects on performancemonitoring and feedback, team management,and coordination.FlexibilityWe noted that flexibility is advantageous interms of interpersonal relations (Paulhus &Martin, 1988), as well as in instrumental orproblem-solving situations (Zaccaro et al.,1991). In fact, because different abilities andprocedures are required for different types oftasks, some have suggested that perhaps theonly universally effective task strategy may bethe capacity to change or adjust to differentconditions (Hackman & Morris, 1978; Shiflett,1972). Thus, we view flexibility as relevant toall teamwork behaviors.TrustFollowing Dirks (1999), we propose that hightrust leads to greater commitment, greater effort,and greater cooperation. We believe thathigh-trust team members are more likely to seekand receive feedback from others (performancemonitoring and feedback), engage in activitiesto resolve conflicts and ensure smooth interpersonalrelations among team members (interpersonalrelations), communication more openly(communication), and pool information in decisionmaking (decision making). We expect thattrust will have intermediate effects on adaptability,shared situational awareness, coordination,and team management.CooperationThose who are cooperative place the demandsand interests of the group over personaldesires (Wagner, 1995). We believe that teammembers who pursue cooperative or group interestsversus self interests are more likely toshare contextual team and task information withother team members (shared situational awareness),provide backup support to other teammembers (adaptability), perform actions to addresssocioemotional requirements (interpersonalrelations), and exchange information withother team members (communication). We expectthat cooperation will have intermediate effectson decision making, performance monitoringand feedback, coordination, and team managementbecause, as LePine and Van Dyne
PERSONALITY AND TEAM EFFECTIVENESS263(2001) have noted, whereas cooperative personsvalue smooth interpersonal functioning, theymay be less prone to exhibit the more directivetask behaviors required of these activities.DependabilityAshton (1998) found that responsibility wasnegatively related to delinquent workplace behaviors,and Borman et al. (1995) found thatdependability was related to higher performanceratings by both supervisors and peers.We predict that team members who are reliableand dependable can be counted on to backupother team members’ behaviors (adaptability),monitor team progress and provide feedback(performance monitoring and feedback), planand manage team activities (team management),regulate the pace and coordination of team activities(coordination), and exchange informationin a timely manner (communication). Webelieve that dependability will have intermediateeffects on shared situational awareness, interpersonalrelations, and decision making. Inthe case of interpersonal relations, althoughthose who are more dependable are more likelyto follow social protocol (Witt & Ferris, 2003),those who are more rule-bound can be perceivedas rigid and inflexible (Hogan, 1986).Moreover, being organized and cautious maydetract from some aspects of decision making,such as idea generation, and enhance other aspects,such as the evaluation of alternatives.DutifulnessResearch suggests that those who hold agreater sense of duty, loyalty, and sacrifice forthe team tend to engender greater group cohesiveness(Prapavessis & Carron, 1997), areviewed more favorably by coworkers (Ellemerset al., 1998), and are more likely to act in thebest interests of the group (Moon, 2001). Wepredict that those who have a stronger sense ofduty are more likely to share common perspectiveson the team and the task (shared situationalawareness), contribute to team pride and morale(interpersonal relations), and perform supportiveactivities related to team goal achievement(performance monitoring and feedback). Webelieve that dutifulness will have intermediateeffects on adaptability, team management, coordination,communication, and decision making.AchievementWe believe that team members who areachievement oriented are likely to be more motivatedto pursue group goals and to ensuregroup success (Hough, 1992; Zander & Forward,1968). We predict that team memberswho are achievement-oriented, hardworking,proactive, and take the initiative in team activitieswill be more likely to adjust to other teammembers’ behaviors (adaptability), developcommon ground with other team members(shared situational awareness), monitor teamprogress and provide feedback (performancemonitoring and feedback), participate in the directionand coordination of task activities (teammanagement), manage the pace and sequencingof team activities (coordination), communicatemore (communication), and participate moreactively in decision making (decision making).We expect that achievement will have intermediateeffects on interpersonal relations—whereas achievement orientation is not directlysupportive of social relations (Barry & Stewart,1997), team members who work harder for theteam should support team morale.DiscussionWe begun by asking a basic question: Whatmakes a good team player? We then attemptedto provide a foundation for addressing thatquestion, which then became: What specifictraits define a good team player in relation to theactivities required for effective teamwork? Wedescribed the personality facets that we believeare most relevant to team performance, and thenderived predictions linking these facets to coreteamwork dimensions. This approach offersseveral benefits. First, this approach extendsprevious research on personality and team performanceby offering greater precision in specifyingthe role that team member personalityplays in team effectiveness. Second, this frameworkprovides a foundation for further empiricaltesting and validation of predictions. Third,this approach suggests useful avenues for selectionand training interventions to enhance teameffectiveness.
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What makes a good team player? Personality and team effectiveness

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