Listen closely when a team introduces themselves. You can learn a lot very quickly. If they say “I work for such and such” or “I work under such and such”, you may be hearing that they are part of a hierarchy. You hear command and control. You may also hear that they know who’s responsible. If they say “I work with…” or “I’m on such and such team”, you may be hearing that they feel like they are part of a team, part of a cohesive group. You may also be hearing that they don’t know who makes decisions when they can’t agree. It cuts both ways. If you hear a leader say that “this person works for me” or “I’m in charge of this team”, you may be hearing command and control, hierarchy. But you also may hear accountability and responsibility. If you hear a leader say “this person is on my team” or “I’m with this team”, you may be hearing a servant leader, you may hear consensus. You may also hear unaccountability. Listen for whether the team uses titles, words like “with” or “under”, listen for “my” or “our”. It only takes a few words to tell how the team feels and communicates, and how the individuals feel about themselves on the team. Don’t make value judgments, just observations and maybes. But listen intently, because it’s subtle. It may help you understand a team’s style and how to work with them. And when it’s your turn to introduce yourself, choose your words wisely. They mean a lot.