4. Building High-Performance Teams

In this lesson, we will explore how to build and maintain high-performance teams, focusing on psychological safety, collaboration, and authentic leadership. These elements are crucial to ensuring team members feel supported, motivated, and ready to achieve great results.

The Aristotle Project

A good starting point for understanding team dynamics is the Google Aristotle Project, which investigated the factors that define high-performing teams. Named after Aristotle's idea that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," the project aimed to identify what makes teams truly effective. They identified five key factors:

Psychological Safety: Team members must feel safe to take interpersonal risks without fear of repercussions. If they take a risk and it fails, they should feel confident that the team will support them rather than turn against them.
Dependability: Team members should trust each other to fulfill their responsibilities. When a task arises, they know their teammates will step up to handle it.
Structure and Clarity: Clarity around roles and expectations is crucial. Each team member should understand what is expected of them and the team as a whole.
Meaning: Each team member must find purpose in their work. Whether it's contributing to a personal goal or supporting their family, this sense of purpose drives engagement.
Impact: Team members need to feel that their work matters, not only within the company but also for society or the world at large. Feeling that their work has a broader positive impact increases motivation.

Psychological Safety: The Key to Trust

Psychological safety is perhaps the most critical factor in creating high-performing teams. Google developed a set of questions that teams can use to assess the level of psychological safety within the group:

If you make a mistake on this team, will it be held against you?
Can team members bring up difficult issues and problems?
Does the team reject others for being different?
Is it safe to take risks in this team?
Is it difficult to ask for help from other members of the team?
Would anyone in this team deliberately undermine your efforts?
Are your skills and talents appreciated by the team?

As a leader, it's essential to create an environment where people feel comfortable being themselves, asking for help, and even failing occasionally without fear of judgment.

Promoting Team Collaboration

To build a culture of collaboration and safety, consider the following strategies:

Consider Different PM Profiles: Every team member brings a different set of skills and experiences to the table. Recognizing and leveraging these differences helps avoid unrealistic expectations and promotes diversity of thought.
Encourage Pair Product Management: Just like pair programming in engineering, "pair PM" allows two product managers to work together, share feedback, and learn from each other. This type of collaboration fosters trust and helps team members gain context about other parts of the product.
Share Your Work and Challenges: As a leader, being open about your work and challenges helps the team understand your thought process. It also helps them see that everyone, even leaders, faces difficulties and requires collaboration.
Avoid Setting the Team Against the Company: It's crucial not to undermine the company's decisions or criticize other teams to gain favor from your team members. Instead, work with your team to understand decisions and adapt collectively.
Communicate Authentically Without Discouraging the Team: Speak truthfully about challenges, but don’t use the team as a place to vent. It’s important to maintain optimism and offer a balanced perspective that acknowledges difficulties while fostering motivation.
Do Not Vent to Your Team: Particularly if you've recently transitioned from being a peer to leading the team, it can be tempting to maintain old habits. However, as a leader, you need to handle your frustrations elsewhere and maintain an encouraging environment for your team.

Authentic Leadership

Authenticity in leadership is about finding a balance between staying true to yourself and adapting your behavior to support the team. Here are some points to keep in mind:

Motive Without Lying: Find an honest, positive angle for motivating your team. Recognize the real challenges they face, but encourage them authentically by highlighting aspects that make the work valuable or meaningful.
Don’t Be Afraid of Tough Conversations: Some conversations are difficult but necessary. Addressing performance, setting expectations, or discussing a lack of progress can be uncomfortable, but it’s essential for team growth. These moments also contribute to building trust if handled transparently.
Adapt Without Losing Yourself: Being authentic doesn’t mean you can’t evolve as a leader. On the contrary, growing into a leadership role means learning to adapt while staying true to your values. Balancing both helps maintain credibility with your team.

Building high-performance teams is not about immediate results; it’s about fostering an environment where everyone feels safe, motivated, and engaged. By focusing on psychological safety, collaboration, and authentic leadership, you lay the foundation for a team that consistently performs above expectations.