Organizational psychologist Adam Grant said something pretty obvious: Putting people in a group doesn't automatically make them a team.

It made me think how often in the arts we put people in a group and expect them to be a team. It’s like we expect people to just read each other’s minds, know what we’re doing here, and know how to proceed. 

What actually makes a group of individuals different from a cohesive team?

4 necessary components come to mind for me:

1. Shared goal - purpose and sense of belonging. We need to know where we want to go and that everyone wants to go there too.

2. Interdependence - individuality and mutual reliance. We need to know who excels at what and why we need them.

3. Trust - respect and accountability. We need to know it is safe to be ourselves and that we can count on others to do their part.  

4. Communication - clarity and understanding. We need to know that what needs to be said is said so we are on the same page.

In many artistic teams I’ve worked with, these components are missing - at least at the beginning. What happens is they develop over the course of the project. And by the time we’ve clarified our shared goal, learned about everyone’s assets, developed trust, and figured out our communication needs, the collaboration is over. And we move on. 

That is a shame. I wonder what would happen if we doubled down on these things right from the start.

First, we need to realize that putting people together in a group doesn't automatically make them a team. 

This is where a leader comes in. We can make a point to articulate the shared goal, recognize who’s good at what, establish trust, and encourage open communication. This is what engineering a culture is to me: creating conditions where a group of artists become a team from the beginning. 

How would you do this for your artistic teams?

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