Over the past twenty years, the time devoted to collaborative activities by managers and employees has increased by 50%. Teams innovate faster, identify obstacles earlier, and find better solutions to challenges (Harvard Business Review, 2016).
The Foundations of a High-Performing Team
The common belief that a high-performing team simply results from bringing together the best talent has long prevailed, including at giants like Google. The reality proves more complex.
Contrary to established beliefs, cohesion, motivation, or satisfaction are not the determining factors of collective intelligence and effectiveness. A team's performance relies more on interactions between its members than on their individual skills.
Social intelligence and empathy play a crucial role. Google's Project Aristotle demonstrated that the highest-performing teams are distinguished by:
- An equitable distribution of speaking time
- A strong capacity for empathy and emotional understanding
Paradoxically, effective teams can sometimes seem less structured. However, when they prioritize fairness in exchanges and mutual attention, their contributions often surpass those of more hierarchical groups.
Psychological Safety: Key to Collective Success
Amy Edmondson, a management expert, defines psychological safety as a climate of interpersonal trust allowing free expression and risk-taking within a framework of mutual respect.
The Five Pillars of a High-Performing Team According to Julia Rozovsky
- Psychological safety: freedom of expression and acceptance of vulnerability
- Reliability: shared trust in objectives
- Structure and clarity: well-defined roles and objectives
- Meaning: importance of collective work for each individual
- Impact: awareness of the value of work accomplished
The Nine Best Practices of Team Leaders
- Provide constructive feedback for performance improvement
- Avoid micromanagement of operational tasks
- Consider each collaborator in their individual dimension
- Guide the team toward essential priorities and deliverables
- Share relevant strategic information
- Conduct semi-annual professional development interviews
- Communicate clear objectives
- Master the necessary technical skills
- Inspire trust and recommendation among collaborators
This management approach, validated by Google's internal studies, emphasizes the importance of balanced leadership between technical skills and human qualities.
Sources: Harvard Business Review (2016) and Google HR internal documentation