Summarizes an internal Google study of what makes for effective teams at Google, where the surprising finding was that HOW a team is structured is more important than WHO is on the team. Some brief references were included for the popular book by Patrick Lencioni: "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team". The common thread for both sources was that Psychological Safety (aka Trust) is the starting point for successful teams. Presentation made to Northeast Ohio Scrum Users Group in April, 2021 by member Bob Zoller.

1. NE Ohio Scrum User's
Group
04/20/2021

2. Tonight’s Sponsor
2

3. Agenda
3
Welcome
Today’s program: Effective Teams
NEOSUG items
Topic Timing
The Five Keys to a Successful Google Team ~ 20 minutes
Breakout discussions, using Five Keys ~ 20 minutes
Report on breakouts ~ 5 mins / group
Key #1: Psychological Safety ~ 3 minutes
References
Optional: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

4. Effective Teams
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The five keys to a successful Google team
• In 2015, Google’s HR group published results of a study of successful teams at Google
• The study included 115 engineering teams, and 65 pods in sales
The researchers measured team effectiveness in four different ways:
• Executive evaluation of the team
• Team leader evaluation of the team
• Team member evaluation of the team
• Sales performance against quarterly quota

5. Effective Teams
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The five keys to a successful Google team
The surprising finding: Who is on a team matters less than how the team members interact,
structure their work, and view their contributions.
There are five key dynamics that set successful teams apart from other teams at Google:
1) Psychological safety
2) Dependability
3) Structure & clarity
4) Meaning of work
5) Impact of work

6. Effective Teams
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1) Psychological safety:
• Description: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?
• Benefit: Team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of each other
2) Dependability
• Description: Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?
• Benefit: Team members get things done on time and meet Google’s high bar for
excellence.
3) Structure & clarity
• Description: Are goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?
• Benefit: Team members have clear roles, plans, and goals.

7. Effective Teams
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4) Meaning of work
• Description: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?
• Benefit: Work is personally important to team members.
5) Impact of work
• Description: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters?
• Benefit: Team members think their work matters and creates change.

8. Effective Teams
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General recommendations to help teams take action:
1. Establish a common vocabulary - Define the team behaviors and norms you want to foster in your
organization.
2. Create a forum to discuss team dynamics - Allow for teams to talk about subtle issues in safe,
constructive ways. An HR Business Partner or trained facilitator may help.
3. Commit leaders to reinforcing and improving - Get leadership onboard to model and seek continuous
improvement can help put into practice your vocabulary.
See specific actions with each of the Five Keys

9. Effective Teams – Breakout Example – Fill right side:
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Case study = Agile team architect (“SB”) and Tech Lead (“SH”) clashed
frequently and openly in team settings. SB and SH sometimes turned
technical disagreements into personal comments. Rest of team was
uncomfortable and restrained.
Questions for
assessment
• Do all team members feel comfortable brainstorming
in front of each other?
• Do all team members feel they can fail openly, or will
they feel shunned?
• Do members fear asking for or giving constructive
feedback?
• Do members hesitate to express divergent ideas or
ask “silly” questions?
• Both resources worked for consulting org being phased out.
• Architect and Tech lead were both very smart.
• Architect’s style was more deliberate. Tech lead preferred to try new
things now, with documentation later. Differing styles led to clashes
and personal animosity.
• Architect and Tech Lead tended to argue, or might withdraw, for fear
of being criticized.
• Other team member discussions became strained.
Actions to
improve
• Solicit input and opinions from the group.
• Share information about personal and work style
preferences, and encourage others to do the same.
• Watch Amy Edmondson's TED Talk on psychological
safety.
• Consulting org for both resources had disciplinary meetings.
• Project leaders talked individually with SB and SH, noting the
dampening effect of their arguments on team progress, with
instructions to take disagreements to private discussion.
• Conflict became less of an open issue, but not truly resolved.
• Architect requested and received re-assignment elsewhere.
(1) Psychological safety:
• Description: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?
• Benefit: Team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of each other

10. Effective Teams – Breakout groups
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Breakout groups
Break out into groups per key below
Identify an example case study and use a slide to describe the case
Pick group member to report back in full-group summary
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?

11. Effective Teams – Breakout #1
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Google Study Case study = <…….. Put notes here to describe example….>
Questions for
assessment
• Do all team members feel comfortable brainstorming
in front of each other?
• Do all team members feel they can fail openly, or will
they feel shunned?
• Do members fear asking for or giving constructive
feedback?
• Do members hesitate to express divergent ideas or
ask “silly” questions?
<…. Put notes here ….>
Actions to
improve
• Solicit input and opinions from the group.
• Share information about personal and work style
preferences, and encourage others to do the same.
• Watch Amy Edmondson's TED Talk on psychological
safety.
<…. Put notes here about what was actually done to improve, did it help
or not, or suggestions for next time….>
(1) Psychological safety:
• Description: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?
• Benefit: Team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of each other

12. Effective Teams – Breakout #2
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Google Study Case study = <…….. Put notes here to describe example….>
Questions for
assessment
• When team members say they'll get something done, do
they?
• Do team members proactively communicate with each
other about delays and assume
• responsibility?
• Does team have poor visibility into project priorities or
progress?
• Are there clear owners for tasks or problems?
<…. Put notes here ….>
Actions to
improve
• Clarify roles and responsibilities of team members.
• Develop concrete project plans to provide transparency
into every individual’s work.
• Talk about some of the conscientiousness research.
<…. Put notes here about what was actually done to improve, or
suggestions for next time….>
(2) Dependability
• Description: Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?
• Benefit: Team members get things done on time and meet Google’s high bar for excellence.

13. Effective Teams – Breakout #3
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Google Study Case study = <…….. Put notes here to describe example….>
Questions for
assessment
• Do team members know what the team and project goals
are and how to get there?
• Do team members feel like they have autonomy,
ownership, and discrete projects?
• Is there clarity about who is responsible for what
• Is there a clear decision-making process, owners, or
rationale
<…. Put notes here ….>
Actions to
improve
• Regularly communicate team goals and ensure team
members understand the plan for achieving them.
• Ensure your team meetings have a clear agenda and
designated leader.
• Consider adopting Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) to
organize the team’s work
<…. Put notes here about what was actually done to improve, or
suggestions for next time….>
(3) Structure & clarity
• Description: Are goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?
• Benefit: Team members have clear roles, plans, and goals.

14. Effective Teams – Breakout #4
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(4) Meaning of work
• Description: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?
• Benefit: Work is personally important to team members.
Google Study Case study = <…….. Put notes here to describe example….>
Questions for
assessment
• Does the work give team members a sense of personal
and professional fulfillment?
• Is work matched to team members based on both
skills/ability and interest?
• Is there regular recognition for achievements or
milestones?
<…. Put notes here ….>
Actions to
improve
• Give team members positive feedback on something
outstanding they are doing and offer to help them with
something they struggle with.
• Publicly express your gratitude for someone who helped
you out.
• Read the KPMG case study on purpose.
<…. Put notes here about what was actually done to improve, or
suggestions for next time….>

15. Effective Teams – Breakout #5
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(5) Impact of work
• Description: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters?
• Benefit: Team members think their work matters and creates change.
Google Study Case study = <…….. Put notes here to describe example….>
Questions for
assessment
• Do team members see their work as creating change for
the better?
• Do team members feel their work matters for a higher-
order goal?
• How are current team processes affecting well-
being/burnout?
• Does team have too many goals, limiting ability to make
meaningful progress?
<…. Put notes here ….>
Actions to
improve
• Co-create a clear vision that reinforces how each team
member’s work directly contributes to the team’s and
broader organization's goals.
• Reflect on the work you're doing and how it impacts users
or clients and the organization.
• Adopt a user-centered evaluation method and focus on the
user.
<…. Put notes here about what was actually done to improve, or
suggestions for next time….>

16. Effective Teams – Breakout groups
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Breakout group report
• Case
• Assessment
• Actions and result
1) Psychological safety
2) Dependability
3) Structure & clarity
4) Meaning of work
5) Impact of work

17. Effective Teams
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Special key: Psychological Safety
Of the five keys, psychological safety was by far the most important.
Amy Edmondson of Harvard first introduced the construct of “team psychological safety”
To measure a team’s level of psychological safety, Edmondson asked team members how strongly they
agreed or disagreed with these statements:
1) If you make a mistake on this team, it is often held against you.
2) Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues.
3) People on this team sometimes reject others for being different.
4) It is safe to take a risk on this team.
5) It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help.
6) No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts.
7) Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized.

18. Effective Teams
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References - Google study:
https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/
https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness/steps/introduction/
See many included reference links, including worksheets for
• Team Effectiveness discussion (included in 5 Factor summaries)
• Manager Actions for Psychological Safety
Watch Amy Edmondson's TED Talk on psychological safety. (11:26)

19. Optional - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Popular teaming book by Patrick Lencioni
• “The Fable” = fictional case-study of dysfunctional team’s growth
• “The Model” = description of dysfunctions and how to overcome them
• Dysfunctions model has similarities to Google’s 5 Keys, especially: Safety ~ Trust
See www.tablegroup.com/dysfunctions

20. Optional - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
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21. Closing
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NEOSUG items
• Program ideas
• Next bi-monthly in June: virtual meeting… and physical meeting (with virtual)

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