Have you ever been a member of a lousy team? Maybe the team leader didn’t provide good direction. Perhaps one person slacked off on crucial deadlines. Or maybe someone just didn’t pull her weight. I been fortunate to mostly have had great team experiences. Still the bad ones stick in my mind.

I remember so clearly my worst team experience.

Three years ago I was working on my executive MBA. As part of a week-long public policy class in DC I was teamed up with four other MBA students from two other business schools to complete a project due at the end of the week. Even though we had never worked together before and barely knew each other, we would be graded as a team. Of my four team mates, three checked out of the project almost from the beginning forcing my remaining teammate and I to complete the task on our own.

We labored over our project for three long, late nights each hoping the other wouldn’t bail out at the last minute. And while we earned a good grade on the project, the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth and gave me a definite point of view about what made a good team.

Show me a successful project and I’ll show you a really great team.

While there are lots  of academic studies about what makes a high-performing team, I’ve got my own theories about the kind of people every team needs in order to be successful.

It got me thinking.

If I had to choose five key people to be on my team, who would they be?

The Mad Scientist. Every team needs an idea person, someone with a creative, counter-intutive mindset who can come up with an idea that can be blindingly obvious and yet totally novel at the same time. They are natural innovators. The Mad Scientist will challenge group think when the team falls into a rut or is playing it too safe. His ideas are often ahead of their time and may get dismissed for being too impractical or too difficult to pull off because of organizational politics.

But you need this kind of thinker so protect him, make sure he doesn’t get discouraged by naysayers and allow him to challenge you to keep your team’s thinking fresh.

The Data Cruncher. Every team needs a member with superior analytical abilities. It’s not just about someone who can pull together a spreadsheet (that’s essential too) but a good Data Cruncher is able to weave together seemingly disparate streams of information and create meaning from them in a variety of formats that are easy for laypeople to understand.  Whether you are pitching a new idea to your boss, preparing for a presentation to your Board or just doing foundational research for an idea you are exploring, you need him.

Data Crunchers are naturally curious people who ask good questions that often others on your team haven’t considered. The best  have a high degree of organizational credibility so don’t be afraid to ask him or her to be a co-presenter when it’s time to make your pitch your Big Idea.

The Empathic. Hard-charging, ambitious teams need this role in particular. The Empathic will make sure you don’t run roughshod over your colleagues. Their talent is being the team’s conscience. They will remind you that the”minor system upgrade” that’s no big deal to you will create a mutiny if you don’t get buy-in first. These people tend to have well-developed F traits on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator.

Empathics are tactful, worry about group harmony and generally are sensitive to the needs of others. If this is a blind spot for you, this role becomes even more crucial. The Empathetic is particularly useful if you are introducing new ideas that will require culture change as she will make sure you don’t inadvertently step on cultural or political land mines.

The Utility Player. Put a Utility Player into any role on the team and he’ll deliver. They are as comfortable being followers as they are being leaders. People in this role often fly under the radar because they are so unassuming. They may not be dynamic or magnetic personalities but give them any job and they’ll get it done without a lot of fan fare or ego. Smart and focused, Utility Players are heavy lifters and can outwork most of their colleagues.  Key to this role is they are not just doers but thinkers and make great thought partners and are good for gut-checking ideas.

The Field Marshall.  The Field Marshall can create order out of chaos. She is able to keep the big picture in mind while minding the details.  You can spot the Field Marshall by her detailed lists, charts and timelines. She is pragmatic, action-oriented and highly networked within her organization. She can call on the right resources in a pinch to get things done. You never have to look over her shoulder or micro-manage her because she is highly-motivated and self-directed.

Field Marshalls have a sense of urgency so when there is a deadline to be met, you can be sure she’s going to work like hell (and make sure everyone else does too) to get the job done.

Of course there are many important roles on any team but from my experience, these five are essential for success.

Now your turn. When you need to pull a team together what kind of people do you typically call on? What’s been your best or worst team experience? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Let’s face it, business travel and motherhood often don’t mix but if you are committed to your career, it is an essential part of the job. I love and loathe business travel. I love it because it’s one of the only times I can get seven uninterrupted hours of sleep; I don’t have to worry about grubby fingers shoved  up my nose or a little face pressed up against mine at the crack of dawn demanding, “Mama, no more sleeping! You wake up NOW!”

On business trips I get the whole bed to myself and don’t have to worry about stepping on a toy and losing a toe on  the way to the bathroom. I can sit down and eat an entire meal without getting up to clean up a box of Cheerios that mysteriously dumped itself on the kitchen floor.

When I travel I love meeting with clients and colleagues, seeing new places, and doing the occasional sightseeing trip when I can squeeze it in. Yes, there are lots of reasons to love business travel.

I loathe business travel mostly because I miss my little boy terribly. I can’t count the number of times I’ve awakened hanging off the edge of my hotel bed because I’ve grown so accustomed to having a little sleeping body wedged next to mine. I miss that warmth. I miss the bedtime rituals and early morning chats over oatmeal.

At D2′s age (he’s almost three), being gone more than a few days means I’ve missed something new he’s learned to say or do.

After D2 was born, I didn’t start traveling again until he turned one. When I did start traveling again I’d whip myself into a frenzy until the moment I stepped on the plane. In addition to making sure all of the household chores were done, I would spend the weekend before my trip grocery shopping, running errands and cooking extra meals for D2, his nanny Eva and Dr.D.

I taped an emergency contact sheet on the fridge door and checked Dr. D.’s mobile phone contacts to make sure poison control, our pediatrician and advice nurse’s numbers were pre-programmed.

Before every trip I emailed Dr. D. a long list of dos and don’ts.  Here’s a sample:

D2 goes to bed at 8pm. Not 8:30 or 8:45, 8pm. Make sure to tuck Elmo, his dump truck and his train Old Puffer Pete into bed with him.
Don’t give D2 milk after 7:30pm otherwise he’ll soak his pull-up in the middle of the night and wake up.
D2 likes yogurt, veggie straws and an apple in his pre-school snack (but don’t cut the apple up or he won’t eat it).
D2 needs to eat at least two vegetables and two fruits every day to stay regular.
D2 needs to poop every day (ask his teacher too). If he misses a day, give him an extra apple. That’ll do the trick.

And so on.

I wish I could say I was kidding about the list but I’m not. Not only did I have The List, I called home every night to check on D2. How did his day go? What did he eat? Does he miss me? Dr. D. answered all of my questions patiently. He’s fine. Yes, he pooped. No, he didn’t sleep too long at nap time. We gotta go, we’re eating fried chicken, barbecue chips and ice cream for dinner. Ha, ha. Just kidding!

Apparently, I am not the only mom who went into overdrive before traveling for business. Earlier this spring I came across this New York Times article on working mothers and travel. The moms featured were instantly familiar to me because I saw myself in them. It was humbling and a bit embarrassing.

While I could feel smug that at least I wasn’t pre-packaging a week’s worth of D2′s outfits in ziplock bags, the article made me think hard about my behavior and the message I was sending my husband. Was I was unconsciously telling him that I didn’t trust him to take care of our son? Was I intimating that I didn’t think he could make good decisions while I was gone?

I think so.

So I made a change. It’s taken me three years to grudgingly accept that while Dr. D.and I have very different parenting styles, I know he will move Heaven and Earth to make sure D2 is safe and happy. Would I like it if he made sure D2 ate all of his fruit before tucking into yet another bag of goldfish? Yes.  

Would I be happier if he didn’t mix D2′s Boden plaid pants with his striped t-shirts? Sure. But you know what? Seeing how happy and content D2 is when I return home is all I need.

These days I’m much more relaxed before I travel for business. I still grocery shop and make sure the refrigerator is well stocked (that’s just the mommy in me) but gone is the honey-do list and multiple check in calls. All of the time I used to spend on pre-travel prep insanity is now spent hanging out with D2, showing him where I’m going on the map and talking about what we’ll do together when I return. I’m calmer and Dr. D. is relieved that I’m no longer checking up on him.

An added benefit to my being gone is Dr. D. and D2 get to deepen their own father-son bond. What’s not to love?

Your turn. How do you prepare your family for your business trips? Do you ever find yourself going overboard? Let me know what  you think in the comments.