the amount of a characteristic possessed by each individual member increases the collective pool of that characteristic. That is, more of a trait is always better or worse, regardless of how that characteristic is distributed among team members. The mean score of individual measures is, however, potentially problematic in some instances because aggregation can mask important information when individual characteristics do not combine additively to form a collective resource pool. A team score for a particular characteristic can also be measured by taking the average, or mean, of all team member scores. Using this method, the amount of each trait for individual members is combined to form a group-level measurement of that trait. For example, cohesion could be measured this way. This would be accomplished by providing team members with a survey for them to assess cohesive traits (i.e. cooperation, harmony) and then calculating the average of the survey scores. General Mental Ability (GMA), conscientiousness, agreeableness and emotional stability are examples of a team composition attributes that could be operationalized utilizing the mean. Maximum and minimum scores This approach focuses on the highest or lowest individual-trait score for the team. This is based on research that suggests that a single individual can significantly affect a group. Thus, in some cases the highest (i.e., maximum method) or lowest (minimum method) individual team member score may provide valuable insight. For instance, the inputs of the highest ability member are critical for generating solutions to problems, and the inputs of the lowest ability member significantly affect the quality of assembly-line work (Steiner, 1972). Focusing on the highest or lowest individual-trait score of team members is therefore appropriate in situations where one person has an inordinate effect on team success. Maximum and minimum characteristic scores are considered most important when one team member having or lacking a characteristic will significantly impact the team's performance. For example, a very disagreeable team member may obstruct a team's ability to agree and cause poorer performance outcomes. Conscientiousness, agreeableness and extraversion are examples of team composition attributes that can be operationalized utilizing maximum and minimum scores. Variability This method is used to operationalize team composition focuses on the variability of individual characteristics. Operationalizing composition as variance among team members on a trait may be most appropriate for understanding the effect of group-level traits on compensatory tasks that benefit from diverse inputs. Such measures are frequently used to capture