How to gain insight on what makes people tick, before you pick your team

I am sure we all have had several experiences of working in a team, some great and some, well, so bad that you probably do not want to even remember. Sometimes it was others that really could not sync with the rest of the group, but sometimes it was us that probably did not have buy-in on the project/idea/homework, etc. Whichever way the final result went, it was extremely difficult to have insight about people's interest and passion from the get-go. So then, how do we actually go about picking team members?

I came across this article on Inc magazine, called "4 Traits of Dream Start-up Talent", and while these guys talk specifically about how to recruit new talent, it might be a good tool to conduct a preliminary evaluation of a team. Not only do they tell you what characteristics might work, but they also tell you how to test for these characteristics, which I thought was really fascinating. So here are the key points:

1. Adaptability: Every new start-up requires its team to be flexible and adaptable to new situations, on the go, but how do you test this? According to Seth Priebatsch of SCVNGR and LevelUp, candidates who know exactly where they want to be in five years are not flexible enough for the start-up world, because, lets face it, if you are on a mission towards some goal, you are not going to accept the constantly evolution and dynamism that is expected in a start-up.

2. Honesty: Honesty keeps people efficient, in that, you are always aware of your capabilities and changing circumstances. How do they test this? Simple, ask people if they are nervous when interviewing them for the team position. If they are not forthright in their response (but they are sweating, shaking or breaking out), you know it is a red flag.

3. Confidence: Confidence is key, how many times have you heard this. But, how can you easily test it? By challenging the person, and seeing whether they have the confidence to respond to your challenge without stressing out, or agreeing with your viewpoint too easily. If a person cannot defined their position on a particular issue, just because you do not agree with it, then they lack the confidence that is required to defend your mission.

4. Enthusiasm: Obviously, your team needs to be really excited about the idea, and one way to test this is asking why people are interested in working with you? And do not let them get away with some superficial reason that they probably read in some magazine, but something that demonstrates their passion for the mission.

Overall, this article gave me some really good ideas and questions I could ask people who are currently interested in joining my project but I cannot gauge whether they are really passionate about it. What do you think? Do you have other any insights?