On the Path to Great Teamwork

Success is more a result of how the team interacts than who is on the team.

Google has been a pioneer in studying what makes great teamwork. They began by analyzing academic research and then took it further, delving into 180 of their own teams.

The research revealed the surprising result that the who doesn’t really matter. Instead, it is how the team interacts that largely determines the team’s success or failure. Google found that high performing teams create psychological safety for all members. They do this in two key ways:

1. Establish equality in conversational turn-taking. Everyone should have roughly equal opportunity to speak.
2. Practice ostentatious listening. Let the speaker really know that you heard them.

Journalist and Google collaborator Charles Duhigg released this two-minute video about Google’s research. It’s a fun refresher on how to be better team players.