Just the highlights: Using what you know to get the best of who you know

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Just the highlights: Using what you know to get the best of who you know

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What makes a high-performing team?

Our speakers discussed Google’s research¹ on building a high-performing team, which was code-named the Aristotle project. Through Google’s research, they identified five common traits across their high-performing teams, listed here in order of importance:

Psychological safety
Dependability
Structure and clarity
Meaning of work
Impact of work

Psychological safety

Embedding psychological safety in your team is a foundational building block. If psychological safety exists on your team, members will know that it is safe to take risks, experiment, and openly share personal details and ideas without fear of consequences. There will also be a sense of trust among peers and managers, thus improving collaboration and performance. As leaders, we should also be mindful of inclusion, equity, and diversity considerations. For example, people from racialized backgrounds often face a dynamic referred to as emotional tax², where they feel more guarded against the possibility of bias and discrimination and may not be as comfortable as someone from a majority background when it comes to sharing their views or personal information.

Practical tips:

Proactively invite people into the conversation and ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute.
As a leader, try not to speak first in order to let others share their own ideas.
Admit your own mistakes if you want the team to be comfortable with failure.
Try a simultaneous idea-sharing exercise where you capture views from everyone at the same time. Ideas can be shared in the chat feature of your online meeting but done so all at once.

Dependability

As leaders, promoting accountability and a spirit of commitment is essential to creating an environment where team members can rely on one another. However, it’s important to note that psychological safety within the team must be established first. For example, when addressing accountability, it should be done in a supportive manner.

Practical Tips:

Ensure that all expectations and standards are clearly understood by everyone on the team.
When problems arise, address them quickly and supportively.
Provide clarity around goals, objectives, and metrics so the team knows what is expected.

Structure and Clarity

Team members who have a clear understanding of their roles and accountabilities, along with clarity around their goals and objectives, perform better. When individuals understand their specific role and how that may relate to their colleagues, there is less risk of overlap and conflict.

Practical Tips:

Consider detailing what each individual role is functionally responsible for and the key competencies required.
Evaluate your meeting structure, cadence, and purpose. Are they effective and efficient? For more details on time and meeting management, explore the article “Couldn’t this just have been an email?”
Understanding your team’s natural strengths enables you to lean into those strengths to empower and achieve collective success.

Meaning of Work

People are more motivated to achieve success and personal fulfillment if they are passionate about their work and can identify the purpose behind what they do. This involves transforming from a leader to a coach and helping your team see their individual purpose.

Practical Tips:

Get to know what drives and motivates the individuals on your team, and remember that this will vary for everyone. Be conscious of how this might look for individuals in different circumstances.

Impact

The most effective teams can see how their individual contributions impact organizational goals. This includes understanding how their work adds value to the team, helps meet commercial objectives, or supports external stakeholders. As leaders, giving recognition and feedback that enables team members to see their impact is key.

Practical Tips:

As leaders, it’s essential to clearly understand and articulate the goals of the business and connect your team’s contributions to those goals.
Help your team understand and articulate their contributions. Ask them questions about their successes and draw connections between those wins and the greater purpose and impact.