The Alpha pattern is the first pattern and the dominant pattern.

The Alpha pattern frames the overall meaning of a systems existence as teams strive for advancement in the direction of contextual ideals and prolonged existence.

System advancement comprises the ability to organize and improve into constructs that can over time produce more beneficial output with fewer problems or harms, or more valuable output at a lower cost, or both. When a team system is in the initial stages of forming, external environmental factors have a large effect on defining the team system, but as a team system moves closer to its ideal state environmental factors affect it less.

This pattern should encourage you to always consider the possibility of team system improvements being possible, either through improving the benefits delivered by the team or reducing the number of problems having the team creates; or by improving the value of the output delivered by the team or reducing the costs of having the team produce current output.