In recent days, an article criticising the super-popular book Idiots Around Me has been circulating rapidly online. The article questions not only the book's claims, but also the scientific basis and usefulness of personality tests (such as the MBTI and DISC) in general.

Nevertheless, this year alone, hundreds of millions of euros are being spent globally on personality tests. There are at least three reasons for this:

• This has always been the case
• We feel we are getting something out of this
• Something has to be done and there is no better alternative

Personality tests are also widely used at team level. All team members take the test and the results are discussed together.

Studies have shown that the effectiveness of a team depends on factors such as trust between team members, a positive atmosphere and team cohesion. Another important factor is the perception among the team of who knows what and what they can do. This is called 'transactive memory'.

Sharing the results of the personality test among the team is ill-suited to these requirements. In addition, a confirmation bias for each person may increase the impact of the negative aspects highlighted by the test. "Because the test shows that I am a quiet counter-insurgent, I have the right to be even more vocal in the future."

To build a well-functioning team, it is not enough to put together a group of capable individuals and ask them to act in the best interests of the company. Self-direction will not work if team members do not trust each other and know each other's strengths.

trust is slowly building up over the course of work, meetings at the coffee shop and shared lunches. For remote team members, trust is much slower to build.

There's also the risk that your teammates' personality traits will become annoying over time - you may even get the idea that there really are idiots around. Another culprit is reinforcement bias. We may subconsciously have a negative attitude towards someone because of our preconceptions before we have even met them.

What can help then?

Take a moment to think about the best teams you've come across - at work or in your hobbies. Are they made up of supergurus or ordinary people?

In my experience, the teams that work best are the ones where members work selflessly for each other, helping others rather than pursuing their own interests or seeking glory. Egos do not clash. Everyone strives towards a common goal. In short: teams are happy.

With this in mind, we have developed SmoothTeam. We have built a model and a tool designed to quickly and efficiently develop team members' knowledge of each other.

It's also very important to us that SmoothTeam is fun to participate in. Even when we talk about things that are important to the team, there's always room for a laugh.

SmoothTeam is not a personality test. We don't compartmentalise people. Instead, we help team members see their differences as strengths and also identify our own strengths in relation to the team. Instead of lengthy and sometimes difficult to interpret reports, we see the greatest value in conversation and encounter between people.

Now that SmoothTeam has been tested with dozens of customers, we are convinced that our model works. We help build happier teams - in a fast, efficient and fun way.