Author: Addy Osmani
Summary
Notes
Research on What Makes Teams Effective
Project Aristotle
Research project at Google
Qualitative and quantitative factors that might impact team effectiveness:
- Team dynamics
- Demographics, conflict resolution, goal setting, psychological safety
- Personality traits
- Extraversion, conscientiousness
- Skill sets
- Programming skills, client management
Project Aristotle identified five key dynamics.
- Psychological safety
- This was the most important factor identified by the researchers. It refers to the extent to which team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions and ideas without fear of retribution or criticism. Teams that have high levels of psychological safety tend to be more innovative and take more risks, which can lead to better outcomes. The researchers found that when teams feel safe, they;
- Are less likely to leave the company
- Are more likely to utilize the diverse ideas discussed by the team
- Bring in more revenue and beat their sales targets
- Tend to be rated highly on effectiveness by their leadership
- This was the most important factor identified by the researchers. It refers to the extent to which team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions and ideas without fear of retribution or criticism. Teams that have high levels of psychological safety tend to be more innovative and take more risks, which can lead to better outcomes. The researchers found that when teams feel safe, they;
- Dependability
- This refers to the extend to which team members can rely on each other to complete their work and meet deadlines.
- Structure and clarity
- clear goals, individual roles and responsibility
- understand expectations
- Meaning
- Impact
- impacting their organization or society
Other research
- Smaller teams are better
- Diversity can be beneficial
- Clear communication is vital
- Leadership matters
- Agility enables adaptability
- Colocation powers innovation