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Successful and dysfunctional teams

As was combining my notes from multiple places recently, I found two that seemed like a perfect match.

The first note is from the business fable The Five Dysfunctions of a Team published in early 2000s. The dysfunctions are:

  1. Absence of trust
  2. Fear of conflict
  3. Lack of commitment
  4. Avoidance of accountability
  5. Inattention to results

The second note is from Google’s research about what makes a successful Google team. The research was conducted more than a decade after the fable. Here are the five keys to a successful team:

  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’re doing matters?

Previous blog post:
Cope, survive, thrive

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