A couple of years ago Google tried to answer to the question “What makes a team effective?” in a scientific way.
Until then Google’s management, like most other management teams, had believed in typical conventional wisdoms such as building the best teams meant combining the best individual contributors or combining synergetic MBTI personality types.
In typical Google fashion they set up a data-driven project. Project Aristotle, as it came to be known, analyzed data from 180 teams at Google. The researchers found that what really mattered was less about WHO is on the team, and more about HOW the team worked together.
The most important factor they identified is “Psychological safety”, a term coined by Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson, describing ‘‘a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up’’. In a team with high psychological safety, teammates feel safe to take risks around their team members such as asking potentially “stupid” questions, or offering new ideas.
Here are three takes on how to create Psychological Safety in a team:
How to Cultivate Psychological Safety for Your Team from Hubspot’s “The Science behind Success” Series.
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High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create It Laura Delizonna’s 6 step approach to the subject in HBR. |
Building a PsychologicallySafe Workplace Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson’s TEDx talk on the subject. |
Have a safe weekend,
Godehard