AKRON — It would be great to be a superhero. I have always gone back on forth on which power I would want.
Some days it's the ability to see the future, and other days, I would love to read minds. But I'd settle for either. But the big question is what other superheros would be on my team.
Choosing those powers is even more important in some ways, because you would want your team members to have your back. They would need to be able see things you can't, solve problems before you know they're going to happen and help you decide what world problems are big enough to tackle and which need to be left to other people.
Predictions on where I'm going with this? Think about those super powers. They're probably not too different from the personalities you want on your team at work.
In my head, here's what I think my perfect superhero team would look like at work.
Every great team needs a leader — the one who organizes and rallies the team when they need to come together and accomplish something. This person can motivate others to be the best version of themselves, but one of the best parts of his or her personality is selling and communicating goals of the team to other teammates and any customers.
Another important personality to have on your team is the strategist. Missions are made to accomplish. Figuring out how to achieve your goals takes strategy and long-term thinking. The strategist's strengths lie in overcoming obstacles and planning once the goals are set by the leader.
The over-achiever is one of my favorite personalities of the perfect superhero squad. But I hate the phrase “over-achiever,” because I don't think you can really over-achieve. You can just keep achieving. You can never overdo that. Regardless, this personality goes above and beyond what most are willing to do to get the job done. They follow up after others believe the goal is achieved. They make sure things are done as well as possible, and they're always looking to improve processes to become as efficient as possible.
The doubter, otherwise known as the questioner, is another important team member. This person can come across as the quintessential doubter, but this trait is actually an important part of any team. The doubter's role is to question the processes in place by the rest of the team and to find flaws. He or she has a unique way of making others think about questions they may not otherwise consider before moving ahead. They seem to work best with the over-achievers who want to get everything right and as accurate as possible.
The final personality on this philosophical dream team is the public relations specialist. If you have seen Marvel's The Avengers, you'll know they make a mess out of the city during various time of the movie. The public relations specialist doesn't need to be an actual PR employee. He or she can be anyone who's great at public speaking, or reaching out to key people in the industry to get feedback. The strength is customer-facing interactions.
These personalities are all kept together through a great leader who knows how to keep them aware of what goals need to be accomplished. They make up a team that works together to accomplish goals set and can win any invasion they face.