Google spent a lot of money to learn two simple things about what makes teams more productive. Here's what they found.
Talking Points:
- Google studied 180 teams from their company to find what made a successful, productive team.
- Productive teams have Distributed Conversation. This means every team member has a chance to speak and share ideas.
- Collective intelligence declined in teams where only a few people were able to communicate ideas.
- Productive teams also have Social Sensitivity. They are clued into the non-verbal cues of their teammates, such as tone, and body language.
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- What has been your most positive work experience, and why?
- What has been your most negative work experience, and why?
- If you are a supervisor, how do you think your employees would define your style of leadership? What is an area you would like to improve on?
- If you could implement changes in your work environment, what would you choose? Why do you feel like those changes would impact the company and employees for the better? What can you do in your sphere of influence to initiate changes that bring about a Distributed Conversation culture?
- Do you feel like these skills, Distributed Conversation, and Social Sensitivity are equally impactful outside of work? How could a relationship benefit from these ideas? What about in parenting?
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
Read the full NY Times article.
