Successful teams work well together, and everyone in them knows their tasks. Those are two characteristics, but there are more. Organisations place great value on teams that work well together, because they ultimately deliver the most. Together you achieve more than alone. In other articles, you can read about the secret of good team building and how to recognise a good team player. This article is not about the individual, but about the collective. What makes a team successful?
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." Often attributed to Michael Jordan
Small teams are the most effective
A first condition for a successful team is that it isn't too big. At Amazon, founder Jeff Bezos's 'two-pizza rule' applies: a team should be small enough to be fed with two pizzas. AWS In a small team, everyone feels heard, lines stay short and you can make decisions quickly. So keep your team small.
Make sure there are different perspectives
Another important factor is diversity. Make sure your team has people of different ages, backgrounds and genders. Teams in which everyone thinks alike are less critical and reach decisions faster, while that is not necessarily the best decision. With different people in your team, team members complement each other, bring different viewpoints and provide a counterweight to each other. That leads to more creative solutions.
Create a safe environment
First and foremost, people need to feel safe in the environment they work in. Google studied 180 of its own teams and discovered that psychological safety is the most important factor for an effective team: the feeling that you can take risks in your team without feeling insecure or embarrassed. Google re:Work
So there must never be any inappropriate behaviour or bullying. But safety also means that people feel safe when they make a mistake. Nobody should feel humiliated, uncomfortable or ashamed because they did something wrong. It is also important that a dissenting opinion is heard. Give each other positive feedback, protect each other from criticism from outside, respect each other and trust each other. If a conflict arises, keep it businesslike and resolve it quickly.
Everyone with their own qualities and a shared goal
Besides diversity in background, a successful team also needs different professional qualities. Bring together people who each have their own strengths, and make clear what is expected of them. So first set a shared goal. Then team members can agree with each other who is responsible for what and how they want to reach the goal. Work with a clear plan and division of tasks, and build in enough moments to look back together.
Also appoint one leader. That doesn't have to be the same person for the whole project. Perhaps in a certain phase someone has more expertise or a better overview to keep everything on track. That way team members also learn from each other, and your team becomes even stronger.
Also read leadership styles: when to step in, and when not to and the influence of leadership on team performance.
