For the past several weeks, I’ve been pondering a philosophical question: Can a member of a gang be a good teammate?

The question was posed to me by someone in the audience at an event where I had spoken.

My initial thought was, “Yes, even a member of a gang can be a good teammate to the other members of his or her gang, if that is the team to which he or she chooses to identify.”

But the more I thought about it, there was just something unsettling about my response. Could it really be true?

On the surface, it at least seemed to be possible. If gang members cared, shared, and listened, didn’t they meet the basic criteria for being good teammates? And if so, did the parameters of the “team” to which they identified with matter? Couldn’t they be good teammates on a “bad” team?

I really grappled with this actually being a possibility. It didn’t seem right. Surely, there must be something that would disqualify a gang member from being considered a good teammate?

I took a deeper look at some of the ancillary behaviors of good teammates, but gang members seemed to always meet the criteria and affirm the possibility.

For instance, one of the primary behaviors of good teammates is their ability to be loyal. If gang members hold true to their commitment to their gang and to the leader of their gang, they would seem to be sufficiently loyal and in compliance with the standard. In fact, most gangs demand a kind of Ride or Die loyalty from their members.

I searched for more insight, and I spent some time reading articles and watching documentaries about gangs. I even went back and studied old episodes of the Sopranos.

Eventually, it occurred to me that the very thing gang members place the highest premium on—loyalty—is ultimately what precludes them from being capable of being good teammates.

Loyalty cannot be separated from the virtue of honor. You cannot be truly loyal to anything that compromises your honor. As the expression goes, “Loyalty above all, except honor.”

When gang activity causes members to engage in immoral or unethical behavior, their honor is immediately compromised, and so is their capacity to be a good teammate.

Furthermore, their honor wouldn’t permit them to tolerate dishonorable behavior from the other members of their team.

While most of us don’t participate in organized crime or get involved in gang activity, we can still very much be susceptible to the same nullifying behaviors as those who do, when we allow our honor to be compromised.

This often happens to individuals who align themselves with cliques within their team. They don’t always realize it’s happening, but it is. A clique is just a nicer, less threatening name for a gang.

To be a good teammate, you must care about your honor, and be willing to share your allegiance to it with your teammates. Your actions must always reflect your commitment to your honor.

As always, remember: Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.

Lance Loya is the world’s preeminent authority on the good teammate mindset. He is a college basketball coach turned author, advocate, and professional speaker, who inspires TEAMBUSTERS to become TEAMMATES. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or through his weekly Good Teammate blog.

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