What makes a great team...?

Some teams perform really well. They have that magic ingredient that means that the tasks and work get done, to a high standard, and on time. Usually this magic ingredient also delivers enjoyment of the work and of being in the team for the members also, and it makes the team a happy, successful and vibrant place to be.
Some teams do not perform quite so well. They have disagreements, problems, misunderstandings, breakdowns in communication and those wonderful things we all call 'personality clashes'. They are not the nicest of teams to be in, and the work that they produce may not be of the required standard, may be late in arriving, and may not justify the pain and negativity that has taken place to get the work done.
Why is this? Is there really a magic ingredient that makes some teams do well and others fail? Of course not. Sometimes it is down to luck, sometimes experience of who works well together, and sometimes it is the result of careful planning. The good news is that the careful planning involved is neither long-winded nor complex.
When you are putting together a team of people, whether for a short-term project or to work together in the long term, understanding the people involved, and their ability to work together, is key in gaining success for that team. More specifically, it is not just understanding the people, it is understanding how they work as part of a team that really matters. Any team needs 'ideas people', people who 'do', people who will give a logic check, people who will keep an eye on time scales and quality and many other types of people to succeed. The great thing is that most of us can naturally fulfil various different roles in a team, so we don't need to have teams of many people to get it right. Identifying the different roles that people will naturally take on, and making sure that all necessary roles are covered, is the way to ensure a winning team.
If you get the balance of people right, your team will 'fly' and produce great results for you. Get it wrong, and the trail of destruction will be visible for all to see....