5 Traits of Successful Google Teams
Google spent two years studying successful teams. Of 180 teams, the most successful ones had 5 things in common. When we share this study, it always seems to surprise people that psychological safety was first on the list. Safety is something we discuss at WhatBox often. It surfaces when talking about our brain as safety is the number one organizing principle and an absolute catalyst (or barrier) to creativity. Team safety is no different. Leaders and teammates alike are responsible for setting and maintaining a climate of safety as a prerequisite to creative confidence and risk-taking.
As you read this article, think of ways you can bring these attributes to your team. We like to think about the safety as the gate to creative risk-taking and all attributes listed below as a system that fuels creativity to uncover ideas, speed to act on them as a team, adaptability to flex together as you fail and learn and the resilience to quickly recover from setbacks in order to reach impact.
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Psychological safety: Ability to risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed
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Dependability: Ability to count on each other to do high quality work on time
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Structure & clarity: Clear goals, roles, and execution plans
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Meaning of work: Work that means something personal to those involved
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Impact of work: Fundamentally belief that the work matters