There are several characteristics common to traditional teams.
- A team gains a shared understanding and purpose among team members, as distinguished from a group.
- Teams require mutually agreed-upon operating principles such as agendas, procedures, and decision-making processes.
- A team is interdependent; everyone works for the good of the team, not for oneself.
- Effective teams distinguish task from process. How they do things (the process) is just as important, if not more important, than what they do (the task).