There’s an interesting recent article in the New York Times here about Google’s search for the perfect team. After a lot of research, they ended up focusing on “psychological safety” – the notion that in the most effective
teams, people can say what they think or feel without fear or criticism or attack. “We must be able to talk about what is messy or sad, to have hard conversations with colleagues who are driving us crazy. We can’t be focused just on efficiency.” I think of this more simply as trust.
The conclusion of their research? “In the best teams, members listen to one another and show sensitivity to feelings and needs.”
Not exactly a shattering finding – you might think that it is just common sense. Still, sometimes common sense needs to be supported by research in order for people to acknowledge it as true…