The effective team has no hidden agendas. Members feel comfortable communicating during and outside of meetings. Team members must not be afraid to voice their opinion for fear of retaliation. Work assignments and roles are clear . The conductor would not think of driving the train nor would the engineer come back to the passenger cars and take tickets.
Work is distributed among team members fairly and according to job skills.
There are specific expectations for each job assignment and team member. Everyone is willing to accept his or her part of the total team responsibility and complete the assignments on time. There is a formal leader for every effective team. Leadership functions can shift, however, depending upon the circumstances, group needs and individuals skills of the team members. For example, I have watched the conductor jump in to help the dining car cashier when the crowds were backing up on a long distant train ride.