The Key to Building a Successful Team

Scientists at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management explored the constituent elements of successful teams, and found shared success to be a key factor, reports the Wall Street Journal . "Shared success is a distinguishing factor above and beyond skill," says Northwestern Professor Brian Uzzi. The researchers analyzed statistical data from professional sports leagues and a multiplayer online game, and Uzzi suggests a similar relationship may exist in the business domain, especially in fields such as technology, where the talent level is high and top performers are spread pretty evenly across organizations. Shared success lets teammates better understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, while a negative experience is less likely to be remembered and discussed, making valuable lessons harder to discern. Boosting the rate of shared success between team members from an average level to above average was linked to higher team scoring, and greater odds of winning. From these observations, Uzzi recommends managers use positive outcomes as teachable moments. If team performance is poor, managers should stress the positive aspects of the experience or even sponsor an activity outside of work, where the team can experience success together, understand each other's competencies, and better learn to share information.