In his latest book, Smarter, Faster, Better, Charles Duhigg studies the question of what traits are common to effective and efficient teams.  He found that Google was asking this same question and had a research team study their employees to find the answer.  Based on their research, the Google team identified these five key aspects of an effective team.

• Teams need to believe their work is important.
• Teams need to feel their work is personally meaningful.
• Teams need clear goals and defined roles.
• Team members need to know they can depend on one another.
• Teams need psychological safety.

Of these five items, psychological safety may be the most important.  What is meant by this term is that the team is open to new ideas and respects all the members when they share their thoughts.  Team members in psychologically safe groups provide honest feedback in a constructive and caring manner that allows members to build and develop ideas.  Read Smarter, Faster, Better to learn more.