The Aristotle Project Lessons For All Leaders

High-performing teams. It’s a bit of a buzz phrase, isn’t it? And it tends to be a core part of most manager and leadership training programs. Everyone seems to be looking for the secrets behind building teams that are high-performing, successful, effective.

Google was no exception. Their researchers took on board the challenge of unlocking the secrets behind high-performing teams and embarked on a project called Project Aristotle. We’ve summarised their findings below.

Google discovered that who is on the team was not as important as how the team worked together. Top-performing teams didn’t necessarily have the smartest people, include certain or similar personality types, or socialise as a group. Successful teams were the ones that had healthy ‘group norms’ – the behavioural standards and other unwritten rules that influence how individuals act and perform in a group.

With these ‘group norms’ in mind, the five key factors of high-performing teams identified by the Project Aristotle research are:

1.     Psychological safety: Team members create a safe space for one another and are confident taking risks around each other. I.e., “If I make a mistake, it won’t be held against me”.

2.     Dependability: Team members reliably complete quality work on time and meet expectations. I.e., “When my teammates say they’ll do something, they follow through with it.”

3.     Structure and clarity: Team members have clear goals, well-defined roles, and an effective decision-making process. I.e., “I understand the roles, responsibilities and expectations of me and my teammates.”

4.     Meaning: Team members believe their work is purposeful and has personal significance. I.e., “The work I do for our team is meaningful to me.”

5.     Impact: Team members understand how their work contributes to broader goals and believe they are making a difference. I.e., “I understand how our team’s work contributes to the organisation’s goals.”

It’s important for managers to understand the dynamics of their teams; how well the team performs together plus how well team members ‘click’. Considering the five characteristics noted above is a great starting point for managers in assessing their team’s effectiveness. This team assessment (plus subsequent action planning) is something Tonka Learning has successfully included in some of our clients’ leadership programs that focus on managing high-performing teams.