Louis Bidou

What makes a Google team effective? Who is on a team matters less than how its members interact, structure their work, and view their contributions.

Here are the five keys behind a successful Google team.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY Do team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of each other? It is the most important dynamic, and the four others derive from this one. Are we safe to ask dumb questions on anything, including the goal of our work? The safer we are, the more likely we are to admit mistakes, to partner, and to take on new roles.

DEPENDABILITY Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?

STRUCTURE AND CLARITY Are the roles, plans and goals of our team clear?

MEANING OF WORK Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?

IMPACT OF WORK Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters and creates change?

Google implemented a 10-minute exercise on the five dynamics. It appeared that the teams who decided, for instance, to kick off their meetings by sharing a risk taken in the previous week, were more effective. So, managers, take some time to evaluate and build psychological safety on your team. Three tips: frame the work as a learning problem, and not an executive problem ; acknowledge your own vulnerability ; and model curiosity, asking a lot of questions.

Sources: https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/