How well a team works together can spell success and failure of a project. Several success stories have been credited to “team effort” and rightly so. Some of the team work skills required to achieve desired results include trust, mutual respect, commitment, communication, taking responsibility and cooperation.

A team comprises a group of people, each with their own personality. It is the personality of each team member more than the individual expertise or ability that each has to offer, which determines how well a team works together and delivers desired results in time. Each one of us has a physical profile (defined by our height, weight, waist size, etc.), intellectual profile and ego profile (my bank balance, car, job designation, locality of residence, size of house, contacts, power, clothes, etc.). Then there is the “soul profile”, which defines our uniqueness and our strengths. It is the soul profile, which defines us as a person, not the physical profile or position in society or occupation.

According to Dr Deepak Chopra, to know your soul profile, ask yourself the following seven questions while sitting in meditating pose or in state of relaxation. The answer to each question should be either in three words or three phrases.

1. What is my purpose of life?
2. What is my contribution going to be for my friends and family?
3. Three instances in my life when I had my peak experiences.
4. Names of three people who inspire me the most.
5. Three qualities which I admire in others the most.
6. Three of my unique talents.
7. Three qualities I best express in my relationship.

The 21 answers to these seven questions characterize your soul profile and define every action you perform in your life.

A team, therefore should be a right mix of personalities (profiles) with jobs assigned that match their profile. These profiles influence the dynamics within a team. When these profiles match, success is a natural and automatic outcome. Conflict results when these profiles mismatch.

To build a great team, a team leader must harness the strength of each member of his/her team. Match these profiles for a more cohesive working. This is also how each member of a team can maximize his/her strengths.