The word team can mean different things to many people. To some the word team means playing a game together such as baseball, football, or basketball. These types of teams, because the outcome depends on their collective action, truly do function together as a team; team members either win together or lose together. For many the word team means simply working together on a project or special assignment. In education many schools use team teaching to indicate that two or more teachers work together teaching a class or particular subject.

This article offers a definition of what a self-directed team is, how it functions, how it functions in industry, and what team members need to know to work well in teams. The problems of finding highly skilled self-directed team members and how technology subjects can help prepare such people in the future are also addressed.