A successful team is like a well-designed and effectively performing machine. And to most of us, the level of knowledge of what makes it work is similar to our understanding of what lies under the hood of a car. Should we ever look, we are confronted with an indecipherable tangle of wires, tubes, pieces, and parts.

If we are going to build an effective team, fix a broken one, or start a stalled one, we must understand what is under the "hood." What are the characteristics of an effective team? How do the pieces fit together? What are the respective roles and how does the team manage those role boundaries? What constitutes effective team processes?