I’ve worked as a freelance product manager for most of my career, allowing me to work on various products in a wide range of companies. Each opportunity allowed me to help a new team form and grow.

Through my work with all of those teams, I’ve developed a first-hand, in-depth understanding of what it takes to make a team work and the specific steps to take as you form teams to maximize your effectiveness.

If you were to ask me what I know now that I wish I had known when I started working with teams, I’d be quick to say, “Apply Whole Brain^® Thinking.”

Thankfully, Stop & Think - Herrmann’s new Whole Brain^® Thinking app in Microsoft Teams - provides powerful insights and application tools that have helped me create new teams and add new members to existing teams in a way that ensures that teamwork actually makes the dream work.

Here’s a look at what makes an effective team and how I’ve used Stop & Think to instill those characteristics in teams I’ve started and grown.