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Leaders who can identify, hire, and cultivate employees who are humble, hungry, and smart will have a serious advantage over those who cannot.
Organizations can get more work done with fewer people if they have real team players, who demonstrate trust, handle conflict well, and show commitment.
This is not about hugging or holding hands or catching each other falling off chairs. This is about getting people to admit when they make a mistake on a project. And to argue about the right way to get things done without worrying that they’re going to offend someone. And sticking to commitments, and holding each other accountable.
“Where do we start?” you may ask. First, we figure out how to recognize a real team player—the kind of person who can easily build trust, engage in healthy conflict, make real commitments, hold people accountable, and focus on the team’s results. Then, we stop hiring people who can’t. Finally, we help the people who are acting like jackasses change their ways or move on to different companies.
One dad coached his son in different sports, and the one thing he didn’t have a lot of patience for was the kids who sucked up to him. He didn’t like the kids who treated him differently than they treated one another. Or who treated the crummy players poorly. And he hated when kids on his team were focused on their own stats, or on how much time they played. One time he kept one of his best ten-year-olds on the bench for an entire game because he was a ball hog and wanted to be the leading scorer on the team.
Having no ego, working really hard, and knowing how to deal with people are characteristics of a team player.
We need to hire people who are hungry—which goes beyond hardworking because they go beyond what is required. Passionate about the work they’re doing. Hungry.
In addition, being smart about people. It’s like emotional intelligence, but simpler. It just means a person has to know how to act and what to say and what not to say. People smart. Which is a lot more than being nice.
Then, what’s the opposite of arrogance? Humility. Jackasses aren’t humble.
Consider a Venn diagram—showing the words humble, hungry, and smart next to the circles.
The magic here is just that if even one of the qualities is missing in a big way, you’ve got yourself a jackass.
So how do you look for humility? It’s more about looking for indications that someone is not humble. Arrogance. Condescension. Dismissiveness. Self-centeredness.
Humble is pretty obvious. We can’t abide big egos. Hungry is all about working hard and being passionate about our work. And smart has to do with being aware of the people around you and dealing with them in a positive, functional way.
The humble, hungry, and smart model means that human resources is certainly involved in maintaining the culture, but the leadership team, and their direct reports, are responsible for ensuring that the organization remains humble, hungry, and smart—and owns the culture.
From interviews and orientation to performance reviews and compensation decisions, the three virtues—as they came to be known—were regular topics of conversation. And, of course, there was plenty of hands-on, practical training around the five behavioral manifestations of teamwork: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.
The Three Virtues of an Ideal Team Player
To recognize and cultivate humble, hungry, and smart team members, or to become one yourself, you first need to understand exactly what these deceptively simple words mean and how all three together make up the essential virtues of an ideal team player.
Great team players lack excessive ego or concerns about status. They are quick to point out the contributions of others and slow to seek attention for their own. They share credit, emphasize team over self, and define success collectively rather than individually. It is no great surprise, then, that humility is the single greatest and most indispensable attribute of being a team player. Humility is the single greatest and most indispensable attribute of being a team player.
{Consider these other books on Humility, like Pat Williams’ book by that name; Andrew Kerr’s The Humility Imperative; Biblical Perspectives from my posts in 2014 & 2019; Andrew Murray on Humility; and Lead with Humility: 12 Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis}
There are two basic types of people who lack humility, and it’s important, even critical, to understand them, because they look quite different from one another and impact a team differently. The most obvious kind is the overtly arrogant people who make everything about them.
The next type is much less dangerous, but still worth understanding. These are the people who lack self-confidence but are generous and positive with others.
Truly humble people do not see themselves as greater than they are, but neither do they discount their talents and contributions.
A person who has a disproportionately deflated sense of self-worth often hurts teams by not advocating for their own ideas or by failing to call attention to problems that they see. What both of these types have in common is insecurity.
Hungry people are always looking for more. More things to do. More to learn. More responsibility to take on. Hungry people almost never have to be pushed by a manager to work harder because they are self-motivated and diligent. They are constantly thinking about the next step and the next opportunity. And they loathe the idea that they might be perceived as slackers. Hungry people almost never have to be pushed by a manager to work harder because they are self-motivated and diligent.
Hunger here refers to the healthy kind—a manageable and sustainable commitment to doing a job well and going above and beyond when it is truly required.
Smart simply refers to a person’s common sense about people. It has everything to do with the ability to be interpersonally appropriate and aware. Smart people tend to know what is happening in a group situation and how to deal with others in the most effective way. They ask good questions, listen to what others are saying, and stay engaged in conversations intently.
Smart people just have good judgment and intuition around the subtleties of group dynamics and the impact of their words and actions.
What makes humble, hungry, and smart powerful and unique is not the individual attributes themselves, but rather the required combination of all three.
One who is not humble will not be able to be vulnerable and build trust, making them unable to engage in honest conflict and hold others accountable. And they’ll have a hard time committing to decisions that don’t serve their interests. A colleague who lacks hunger will not be willing to engage in uncomfortable conflict, hold peers accountable for their behaviors, or do whatever it takes to achieve results, choosing instead to take an easier path. And a person who is not smart about people will most likely create unnecessary problems in the entire teambuilding process, especially when it comes to tactfully engaging in productive conflict and holding people accountable for behaviors.
The Categories
1 for 3
Humble Only: The Pawn
Hungry Only: The Bulldozer
Smart Only: The Charmer
2 for 3
Humble and Hungry, but Not Smart: The Accidental Mess-Maker
Humble and Smart, but Not Hungry: The Lovable Slacker
Hungry and Smart, but Not Humble: The Skillful Politician
3 for 3
Humble, Hungry, Smart: The Ideal Team Player
Application: There are four primary applications of the ideal team player model within an organization: (1) hiring, (2) assessing current employees, (3) developing employees who are lacking in one or more of the virtues, and (4) embedding the model into an organization’s culture.
Application #1: Hiring
The Interview Process
- Don’t Be Generic
- Debrief Each Interview as a Team
- Consider Group Interviews
- Make Interviews Nontraditional
- Ask Questions More than Once
- Ask What Others Would Say
- Ask Candidates to Do Some Real Work
- Don’t Ignore Hunches
- Scare People with Sincerity
Many people will try to get a job even if they don’t fit the company’s stated values, but very few will do so if they know that they’re going to be held accountable, day in and day out, for behavior that violates the values.
Interview Questions
Humble
- “Tell me about the most important accomplishments of your career.” Look for more mentions of we than I.
- “What was the most embarrassing moment in your career? Or the biggest failure?” Look for whether the candidate celebrates that embarrassment or is mortified by it.
- “How did you handle that embarrassment or failure?” Again, look for specifics about how he accepted responsibility, what he learned from it, and if he actually acted on what he learned. “What is your greatest weakness?
- “How do you handle apologies, either giving or accepting them?” Look for and ask for specifics. Humble people are not afraid to say they are sorry, and they accept other people’s genuine apologies with grace.
- “Tell me about someone who is better than you in an area that really matters to you.” Look for the candidate to demonstrate a genuine appreciation for others who have more skill or talent.
Hungry
- “What is the hardest you’ve ever worked on something in your life?” Look for specific examples of real but joyful sacrifice.
- “What do you like to do when you’re not working?” Look out for too many time-consuming hobbies
- “Did you work hard when you were a teenager?” Look for specifics, usually relating to schoolwork, sports, or jobs. Look for examples of difficulty, sacrifice, and hardship.
- “What kinds of hours do you generally work?” Hardworking people usually don’t want to work nine to five, unless their unique life situations demand it.
Smart
- Put her in situations that are not like traditional interviews. Observe how she deals with waiters and waitresses, store clerks, and cab drivers.
- “How would you describe your personality?” Look for how accurately the person describes what you are observing and how introspective he is.
- “What do you do that others in your personal life might find annoying?” Everyone annoys someone, sometimes.
- “What kind of people annoy you the most, and how do you deal with them?” What you’re looking for here are self-awareness and self-control.
- “Would your former colleagues describe you as an empathic person?” or “Can you give me an example of how you’ve demonstrated empathy to a teammate?” Some people use the word empathetic
- Would I want to work with this person every day?
Candidate References
- Put the Reference Provider at Ease
- Ask the reference to serve as a consultant, one whose job it is to ensure that there is a fi t that will benefit everyone.
- Look for Specifics
- Focus on Areas of Doubt
- Pay Attention to References Who Don’t Respond
- Ask What Others Would Say
Application #2: Assessing Current Employees
There are three outcomes of this evaluation: (1) confirming that the employee is an ideal team player, (2) helping the employee improve and become one, or (3) deciding to move the employee out.
What happens when a manager can’t decide if an employee has the will or ability to improve? Lencioni’s recommendation is to err on the side of caution and keep working with the employee. It’s important not to misread his advice as permission to tolerate people who don’t fit, though.
Manager Assessment
Humble
- Does he genuinely compliment or praise teammates without hesitation?
- Does she easily admit when she makes a mistake?
- Is he willing to take on lower-level work for the good of the team?
- Does she gladly share credit for team accomplishments?
- Does he readily acknowledge his weaknesses?
- Does she offer and receive apologies graciously?
Hungry
- Does he do more than what is required in his own job?
- Does she have passion for the “mission” of the team?
- Does he feel a sense of personal responsibility for the overall success of the team?
- Is she willing to contribute to and think about work outside of office hours?
- Is he willing and eager to take on tedious and challenging tasks whenever necessary?
- Does she look for opportunities to contribute outside of her area of responsibility?
Smart
- Does he seem to know what teammates are feeling during meetings and interactions?
- Does she show empathy to others on the team?
- Does he demonstrate an interest in the lives of teammates?
- Is she an attentive listener?
- Is he aware of how his words and actions impact others on the team?
- Is she good at adjusting her behavior and style to fit the nature of a conversation or relationship?
Employee Self-Assessment
The best way to allow employees to do self-assessments is to give them explicit questions to consider, and phrase those questions in ways that encourage honesty. A gentler approach asks team members to simply rank the three virtues for themselves, starting with the one they feel they demonstrate most clearly, followed by the second, and then the third.
Consider peer discussions. Sitting down as a group and having teammates reveal and discuss their own relative weaknesses related to humble, hungry, and smart is a powerful way to ensure that all of this will lead to change and that teammates will be one another’s best coaches.
Application #3: Developing Employees Who Are Lacking in One or More of the Virtues
Sometimes the cause of struggle with humility, or with the other virtues, can be traced back to an employee’s personality type.
Leaders need to not only value humility but also do their best to demonstrate it.
Hunger is the least sensitive and nuanced of the three virtues. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s the hardest to change. Find a way to connect your team member to the mission and the importance of the work being done. This is most effective when done as a team. When a slightly non-hungry employee hears his colleagues describe their motivation and connection to the mission, they can’t help but change.
Employees need to know that their manager is hungry and that he does his best to demonstrate it.
One key to helping someone become smarter is to make it clear, to everyone involved, that a deficiency in this area is not about intention. Then, offer basic training.
Application #4: Embedding the Model into an Organization’s Culture I believe that teamwork is not a virtue, but rather a choice.
Be Explicit and Bold
Why aren’t more organizations explicit and bold about their culture of teamwork? In many cases, they aren’t serious enough about it to put it out there with confidence or integrity.
Be constantly on the lookout for any displays of those virtues. And when they see those displays, they should hold them up as examples for everyone to see.
Great cultures tend to be appropriately intolerant of certain behaviors, and great teams should be quick and tactful in addressing any lack of humility, hunger, and people smarts.
Final Thought from Patrick Lencioni—Beyond Work Teams
A humble, hungry, and smart spouse, parent, friend, or neighbor is going to be a more effective, inspiring, and attractive person—one that draws others to them and serves others better. But apart from the other two virtues, humility stands alone. It is, indeed, the greatest of all virtues and the antithesis of pride, which is the root of all sin, according to the Bible. The most compelling example of humility in the history of mankind can be found in Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.
Jesus Christ attracted people of all kinds when he walked the earth, and continues to do so today, providing an example of humility that is as powerful as it is countercultural. And so, it is Lencioni’s hope that readers of his book will take something else away with them and apply it in their lives: an appreciation for the true gift that it is to be humble and the divine origins of that virtue.