{"id":3326,"date":"2020-04-26T06:58:51","date_gmt":"2020-04-26T10:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/?p=3326"},"modified":"2026-01-25T10:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T15:46:14","slug":"jasons-thirteen-rules-of-a-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2020\/04\/26\/jasons-thirteen-rules-of-a-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Thirteen Rules for Building Strong Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Great teams are not defined by talent alone. They are shaped by clear expectations, shared responsibility, and leadership that shows up consistently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership<\/em>, I had the great pleasure of welcoming Jason McKerr<\/strong>, Engineering Leader for Management and Automation at Red Hat, to discuss his Thirteen Rules of a Team<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A practical leadership framework<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I first encountered these rules during a mentoring conversation with a member of Jason\u2019s team. What struck me immediately was how practical and grounded they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are not aspirational slogans. They are decision rules<\/strong> \u2014 principles leaders and team members can rely on when things get difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My objective for this episode was simple: to have Jason explain where these rules come from and how he uses them in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Thirteen Rules of a Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are Jason\u2019s thirteen rules for team members and team leaders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Have fun.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Do good work. Make some money.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Take care of the people who work for and with you. The team comes first.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Take care of the user or customer.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Take care of the people you work for.<\/strong>
    Rules 3 and 4 will do most of the work here. The boss always comes last.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. It is the team\u2019s obligation to challenge its leader.<\/strong>
    You won\u2019t get smacked down, you\u2019ll get more respect. Do it appropriately and respectfully. In private.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Once the leader has made a decision,<\/strong> even if a team member disagreed before, it is now their responsibility to support that decision externally as if it were their own.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. There is no such thing as a bad team, only bad team leaders.<\/strong>
    If the team is struggling, it is still the leader\u2019s responsibility to make it better.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. It is the team leader\u2019s job to protect the team from the outside<\/strong> so they can do their work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Don\u2019t ever say, \u201cThat\u2019s not my job.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Passing knowledge on is a core part of leadership.<\/strong>
    Teach others. Share what you know.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. It is a leader\u2019s job to push power and loyalty down, not up.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. See rule number one.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Rules that guide everyday leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    What makes these rules powerful is not their originality, but their consistency<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • clarify responsibility<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • make expectations explicit<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • remove ambiguity when tensions arise<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Jason also explains how he reviews these rules with new team members during onboarding, using them as a shared reference point from day one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A final thought<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Frameworks don\u2019t replace leadership. But the right framework can support it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you are leading a team and looking for principles that are both demanding and humane, this episode offers a clear, actionable reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Listen to the episode to hear Jason walk through the rules, explain how they play out in real situations, and share how they support strong, self-managing teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      As always, I would love to hear what resonates with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n