What makes for a great team?
At work, on a committee, some community project, or even the team you call family… why do some groups function really well, while others are just horrid? What would you imagine are the 5 top qualities?
This week, we learn from Google’s extensive research that provides their intriguing and highly informative answers, and here is a tip – having the “right people” is not the simple solution, plus a reminder below of the talks along the East Coast starting at Cairns on August 14th, Brisbane the 18th and 21st, Sydney the 23rd - but first
Thought for the day
The wave is the same as the ocean,
Though it is not the whole ocean.
So each wave of creation
Is a part of the eternal Ocean of Spirit.
The Ocean can exist without the waves,
But the waves cannot exist without the Ocean.
Paramahansa Yogananda
At Google, they call Human Resources “People Operations”. Fair enough. So a team of the People Operations Group spent quite some time in search of what makes for a good team.
To begin with, they thought that putting together a great team may well be to do with getting the best qualified people for the respective jobs the team needed to fulfill.
Two years and two hundred interviews later, and after rigorously analysing heaps of their own data, 250 attributes of over 180 active Google teams had been examined. The first up conclusion was stunning! The evidence was clear.
Who is on a team matters less than how the team members interact, structure their work, and view their contributions.
To quote the analysts
We learned that there are five key dynamics that set successful teams apart :
1. Psychological safety: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?
2. Dependability: Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?
3. Structure & clarity: Are goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?
4. Meaning of work: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?
5. Impact of work: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we are doing matters?
Check in for yourself. It fits does it not? When you reflect, to feel well able to contribute and to be an active team member, safety is a basic starting point. Dependability, structure and clarity are obvious enough, but then more and more in the work place we also are seeing the recognition of the importance of meaning and purpose. Doing something that matters.
Yet even so, it was psychological safety that was identified as the most important factor by far. Do you feel safe to ask questions, or do you feel like you will be ridiculed for doing so? Are you confident to float an idea and have the others treat it with curiosity, open enquiry and respect?
Clearly we are all sensitive to how others perceive our competence, awareness, and positivity. To quote the Google team again “although self-protection is a natural strategy in the workplace, it is detrimental to effective teamwork. On the flip side, the safer team members feel with one another, the more likely they are to admit mistakes, to partner, and to take on new roles”.
And when investigated, it was found that people who felt psychologically safe stayed at Google longer, were more likely to harness the power of diverse ideas from their teammates, they brought in more income and received double the effectiveness ratings from executives.
So what to do?
The Google mob “created a tool called the gTeams exercise: a 10-minute pulse-check on the five dynamics, a report that summarizes how the team is doing, a live in-person conversation to discuss the results, and tailored developmental resources to help teams improve.
Over the past year, more than 3,000 Googlers across 300 teams have used this tool. Of those Google teams, the ones that adopted a new group norm -- like kicking off every team meeting by sharing a risk taken in the previous week -- improved 6% on psychological safety ratings and 10% on structure and clarity ratings."
Teams said that having a framework around team effectiveness and a function that forced talk about these dynamics was by far the most impactful part of the experience.
What do I do?
Whenever possible, at the start of any meeting - in the corporate setting, for business, with colleagues during a retreat, before a meal; you name it, whenever possible - I ask all concerned to sit quietly for a few moments, to do what they can to consciously let go of past and present and bring their attention to the present moment; maybe aid this by focusing on sounds or breath, and aim to be still for a few moments. To allow it all to settle for a few moments.
Then before concluding, we bring our attention to the meeting’s agenda, remind ourselves that we meet to address our agenda for the meeting, consider anything we need to focus on personally, gather our thoughts; but over and above that, remind ourselves that through the meeting we aim to be of assistance to as many people as possible.
It is often surprising to me how enthusiastically people new to this way of starting a meeting respond. It regularly transforms the atmosphere and the outcomes of meetings. It just takes that little bit of oomph to initiate it. And yes, we sit quietly for a few moments at the end of the meeting too...
Enjoy!
With thanks to Julia Rozovsky, analyst, Google People Operations and her blog of November 17, 2015.
East Coast Speaking Engagements – August 2016
Please share these details with everyone you know who may be interested,
and Ruth and I look forward to reconnecting with as many of you as possible along the way :)
Cairns - Mind, Heart and Healing - Saturday 13th August
An inspiring and practical day seminar focused on peace of mind and accelerated healing.
For everyone seeking good health, healing and wellbeing.
Date Saturday 13th August, 2016 Starts 10am (arrive 9.30) to 4pm
Venue Khacho Yulo Ling Buddhist Centre, 348 Severin Street, Cairns
Enquiries Call 07 4041 5556 or email info@yuloling.com
Bookings Online, go to https://trybooking.com/MAWT
or call Rinchen 07 4041 5556
Brisbane - Cancer Choices - Thursday 18th August
When faced with cancer, there are many choices to make. It is easy to be confused and maybe miss something crucial. Good decision-making can be learnt.
Ian reveals key strategies for gathering accurate information and then using the intellect and our intuition to decide what is appropriate for us.
Date Thursday, August 18th, 2016 from 7pm (arrive 6.30) to 10pm
Venue The Relaxation Centre of Queensland, 15 South Pine Rd, Alderley
Enquiries and Bookings The Relaxation Centre Telephone 07 3856 3733
www.relaxationcentreqld.org
Flier Click here
Brisbane - Meditation, Stillness and Bliss - Sunday 21st August
Stillness and bliss are genuine experiences in meditation. They are deeply comforting, deeply reassuring; quite wonderful to encounter.
During this highly experiential workshop, Ian will guide you into experiences that could well transform your meditation practice, and maybe even your life.
Date Sunday, August 21st, 2016 from 10am (arrive 9.30) to 4pm
Venue The Relaxation Centre, 15 South Pine Rd, Alderley, Brisbane
Enquiries and Bookings The Relaxation Centre Telephone 07 3856 3733
www.relaxationcentreqld.com.au
Flier Click here
Sydney - Feed Your Body, Free Your Mind with Greg Fitzgerald - Tuesday 23rd August
Today, it is more common than not to hear people complain that they simply do not feel well and that they are sick and tired of being sick and tired.
This evening comes as the first of two seminars separated by 21 days designed by Greg and Dawn Fitzgerald to help you turn your health around and head into Spring and Summer with the energy, health and peace of mind which is your birthright.
Date Tuesday the 23rd of August, 2016, 7-10pm;
Venue Doltone House, 223 Belgrave Esplanade, Sylvania Waters, South Sydney
Bookings and enquiries Book online at www.healthforlife.com.au
At work, on a committee, some community project, or even the team you call family… why do some groups function really well, while others are just horrid? What would you imagine are the 5 top qualities?
This week, we learn from Google’s extensive research that provides their intriguing and highly informative answers, and here is a tip – having the “right people” is not the simple solution, plus a reminder below of the talks along the East Coast starting at Cairns on August 14th, Brisbane the 18th and 21st, Sydney the 23rd - but first
Thought for the dayThe wave is the same as the ocean,
Though it is not the whole ocean.
So each wave of creation
Is a part of the eternal Ocean of Spirit.
The Ocean can exist without the waves,
But the waves cannot exist without the Ocean.
Paramahansa Yogananda
At Google, they call Human Resources “People Operations”. Fair enough. So a team of the People Operations Group spent quite some time in search of what makes for a good team.
To begin with, they thought that putting together a great team may well be to do with getting the best qualified people for the respective jobs the team needed to fulfill.
Two years and two hundred interviews later, and after rigorously analysing heaps of their own data, 250 attributes of over 180 active Google teams had been examined. The first up conclusion was stunning! The evidence was clear.
Who is on a team matters less than how the team members interact, structure their work, and view their contributions.
To quote the analysts
We learned that there are five key dynamics that set successful teams apart :
1. Psychological safety: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?
2. Dependability: Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?
3. Structure & clarity: Are goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?
4. Meaning of work: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?
5. Impact of work: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we are doing matters?
Check in for yourself. It fits does it not? When you reflect, to feel well able to contribute and to be an active team member, safety is a basic starting point. Dependability, structure and clarity are obvious enough, but then more and more in the work place we also are seeing the recognition of the importance of meaning and purpose. Doing something that matters.
Yet even so, it was psychological safety that was identified as the most important factor by far. Do you feel safe to ask questions, or do you feel like you will be ridiculed for doing so? Are you confident to float an idea and have the others treat it with curiosity, open enquiry and respect?Clearly we are all sensitive to how others perceive our competence, awareness, and positivity. To quote the Google team again “although self-protection is a natural strategy in the workplace, it is detrimental to effective teamwork. On the flip side, the safer team members feel with one another, the more likely they are to admit mistakes, to partner, and to take on new roles”.
And when investigated, it was found that people who felt psychologically safe stayed at Google longer, were more likely to harness the power of diverse ideas from their teammates, they brought in more income and received double the effectiveness ratings from executives.
So what to do?
The Google mob “created a tool called the gTeams exercise: a 10-minute pulse-check on the five dynamics, a report that summarizes how the team is doing, a live in-person conversation to discuss the results, and tailored developmental resources to help teams improve.
Over the past year, more than 3,000 Googlers across 300 teams have used this tool. Of those Google teams, the ones that adopted a new group norm -- like kicking off every team meeting by sharing a risk taken in the previous week -- improved 6% on psychological safety ratings and 10% on structure and clarity ratings."
Teams said that having a framework around team effectiveness and a function that forced talk about these dynamics was by far the most impactful part of the experience.
What do I do?
Whenever possible, at the start of any meeting - in the corporate setting, for business, with colleagues during a retreat, before a meal; you name it, whenever possible - I ask all concerned to sit quietly for a few moments, to do what they can to consciously let go of past and present and bring their attention to the present moment; maybe aid this by focusing on sounds or breath, and aim to be still for a few moments. To allow it all to settle for a few moments.
Then before concluding, we bring our attention to the meeting’s agenda, remind ourselves that we meet to address our agenda for the meeting, consider anything we need to focus on personally, gather our thoughts; but over and above that, remind ourselves that through the meeting we aim to be of assistance to as many people as possible.
It is often surprising to me how enthusiastically people new to this way of starting a meeting respond. It regularly transforms the atmosphere and the outcomes of meetings. It just takes that little bit of oomph to initiate it. And yes, we sit quietly for a few moments at the end of the meeting too...
Enjoy!
With thanks to Julia Rozovsky, analyst, Google People Operations and her blog of November 17, 2015.
East Coast Speaking Engagements – August 2016
Please share these details with everyone you know who may be interested,
and Ruth and I look forward to reconnecting with as many of you as possible along the way :)
Cairns - Mind, Heart and Healing - Saturday 13th August
An inspiring and practical day seminar focused on peace of mind and accelerated healing.
For everyone seeking good health, healing and wellbeing.
Date Saturday 13th August, 2016 Starts 10am (arrive 9.30) to 4pm
Venue Khacho Yulo Ling Buddhist Centre, 348 Severin Street, Cairns
Enquiries Call 07 4041 5556 or email info@yuloling.com
Bookings Online, go to https://trybooking.com/MAWT
or call Rinchen 07 4041 5556
Brisbane - Cancer Choices - Thursday 18th August
When faced with cancer, there are many choices to make. It is easy to be confused and maybe miss something crucial. Good decision-making can be learnt.
Ian reveals key strategies for gathering accurate information and then using the intellect and our intuition to decide what is appropriate for us.
Date Thursday, August 18th, 2016 from 7pm (arrive 6.30) to 10pm
Venue The Relaxation Centre of Queensland, 15 South Pine Rd, Alderley
Enquiries and Bookings The Relaxation Centre Telephone 07 3856 3733
www.relaxationcentreqld.org
Flier Click here
Brisbane - Meditation, Stillness and Bliss - Sunday 21st August
Stillness and bliss are genuine experiences in meditation. They are deeply comforting, deeply reassuring; quite wonderful to encounter.
During this highly experiential workshop, Ian will guide you into experiences that could well transform your meditation practice, and maybe even your life.
Date Sunday, August 21st, 2016 from 10am (arrive 9.30) to 4pm
Venue The Relaxation Centre, 15 South Pine Rd, Alderley, Brisbane
Enquiries and Bookings The Relaxation Centre Telephone 07 3856 3733
www.relaxationcentreqld.com.au
Flier Click here
Sydney - Feed Your Body, Free Your Mind with Greg Fitzgerald - Tuesday 23rd August
Today, it is more common than not to hear people complain that they simply do not feel well and that they are sick and tired of being sick and tired.
This evening comes as the first of two seminars separated by 21 days designed by Greg and Dawn Fitzgerald to help you turn your health around and head into Spring and Summer with the energy, health and peace of mind which is your birthright.
Date Tuesday the 23rd of August, 2016, 7-10pm;
Venue Doltone House, 223 Belgrave Esplanade, Sylvania Waters, South Sydney
Bookings and enquiries Book online at www.healthforlife.com.au
or phone Dawn on 95401962 or 0424246847
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