Excerpts from and comments about the Feb 25th, 2016, NY Times Magazine article “What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team” by Charles Duhigg.

1. New Research Reveals Surprising Truths
About Why Some Work Groups Thrive
and Others Falter
Excerpts from and comments about the Feb 25th
2016 NY Times Magazine ar@cle “What Google
Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect
Team” by Charles Duhigg

2. CompeGGve Advantage and Team
Performance
“Many of today’s most valuable firms have come to
realize that analyzing and improving individual workers
— a prac@ce known as ‘employee performance
op@miza@on’ — isn’t enough. As commerce becomes
increasingly global and complex, the bulk of modern
work is more and more team-based.”
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2
SOURCE: hVp://www.ny@mes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-
google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?
_r=0

3. Keys to Improving Teams
Research of teams at Google found 3 keys…
1. Understanding and influencing group norms
2. What differen@ated good teams from
dysfunc@onal ones was how team members
treated each other
3. The “right norms” could raise the groups
“collec@ve intelligence”
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3
SOURCE: hVp://www.ny@mes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-
google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?
_r=0

4. Two Most Important Behaviors
1. Members spoke roughly in the same
propor@on – “equality in distribu@on of
conversa@onal turn-taking”
2. All good teams had at least “average social
sensi@vity” – skill at intui@ng how others felt
based on their tone of voice, their
expressions and other nonverbal cues
Both are aspects of what is known as
“psychological safety”
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4
SOURCE: hVp://www.ny@mes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-
google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?
_r=0

5. Why it works…
“…conversa@onal turn taking and empathy – are
part of the same unwriVen rules we turn to, as
individuals, when we need to establish a bond.”
SOURCE: MaV Sakaguchi (at Google)
GOOGLE FINDING: On the best teams, members listen
to one another and show sensiGvity to feelings and
needs.
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5
SOURCE: hVp://www.ny@mes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-
google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?
_r=0

6. Comparison: Safe vs. ExhausGng
1. (SAFE) Team leader who is direct and
straighgorward, crea@ng a safe place to take
risks
OR
2. (EXHAUSTING) A team leader with poor
emo@onal control who panics over small
issues and keeps trying to grab control
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6
SOURCE: hVp://www.ny@mes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-
google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?
_r=0

7. What Works vs. What Detracts
Works:
• Making sure the team has clear goals
• Crea@ng a culture of dependability
Detracts:
• Fights over leadership
• Tendency to cri@que
• Feeling scared to disagree
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7
SOURCE: hVp://www.ny@mes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-
google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?
_r=0

8. On YOUR Teams…
Are YOUR team members:
• Free enough to share the things that scare them
without fear of recrimina@on?
• Able to talk about what is messy or sad?
• Able to have hard conversa@ons with colleagues
who are driving us crazy?
What scares us, what is messy or sad and
colleagues who are driving us crazy all negaGvely
impact efficiency.
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8
SOURCE: hVp://www.ny@mes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-
google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?
_r=0

9. How Can You Know?
1. If you are trying to gauge the human process
interac@ons on the team – use a survey to
uncover group norms
2. Measure change/improvement over@me
Measure What is Most Relevant...
– Are you measuring team interac@ons (human
process interac@ons)?
– Are you measuring what makes teams effec@ve?
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9

10. SUMMARY
• Team process (“human process interac@ons”
on teams) is cri@cal to team performance
• For 20 years ITAP has had one of the few
instruments that measures human process
interac@ons and their impact on team
performance over @me.
• See the following slides for more informa@on
on ITAP’s Team Process Ques@onnaires
(TPQs).
© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10

11. Team Process Questionnaire™
(TPQ) Usage
Organizational
Development
• Change Management
• Executive Team
Development
• Global Team
Development
• Organizational Team
Development (OTPQ)
• Action Learning
(ALTPQ)
Learning and
Development
• Team Leader
Development
• Team Member
Development
• Global Team
Development
• Project Management
Other
• Division Comparisons
• Division/HQ
Comparison
• Functional Teams
• Cross-functional
• Measuring Change
9over time)
• Virtual Team Alignment
11© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

12. Iteration 5
Iteration 4
Iteration 3
Iteration 2
Iteration 1
Explanations of charts…
Dimension Averages (2 chart types)
Iteration Comparisons (over time)
Exec Overview
Regularly track
results over time
Data comparisons
Sample Team Graphics
12© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

13. Agreement
(About Successes)
Importance of team to company’s
future success
Absence of power control issues
Ability to express ideas and
opinions freely and openly
Treating team members with
dignity and respect
Role/responsibility clarity
Level of trust
Disagreement
(About the Need for
Improvement)
Opportunity to learn of
comments about the work of the
team
Availability of resources
Clarity of team objectives
Ability of team members to step
outside their areas of
responsibility for the good of the
global organization
D
Disagreement
(About Successes)
Whether team members have the
necessary skills to resolve
unexpected problems
Agreement
(About the Need for
Improvement)
Group communications
Team effectiveness
1
3 4
2
Positive Results
(High Average)
Issues Identified
(Low Average)
Agreement
(Low SD)
Disagreement
(High SD)
Team Diagnosis Results Sample
13© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

14. Improve Your Team’s Performance
• Ordering a team assessment:
q Call ITAP: 1.215.860.5640
q Each team member will receive a link to the
Team Process Questionnaire (TPQ)
q The TPQ takes 20 minutes to complete
q The cost is $500 / team
Inquire about licensing the TPQ and
becoming certified in using this or other
ITAP tools
14© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

15. • The Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire™ (CWQ)
For Individuals and Teams:
• Global Team Process Questionnaire™ (GTPQ)
• Organizational Team Process Questionnaire™ (OTPQ)
• Action Learning Team Process Questionnaire™ (ALTPQ)
For Teams:
• E-Strategy Mapper
• TPQ Series of Tools
• CybeHRtools
For Organizations:
15©2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ITAP Tools List

16. Many Cultures, One Team
• Learn more about team success in Many
Cultures, One Team by Catherine Mercer
Bing (2015)
• Enter promo code OneTeam to receive 20%
off from Technics Publications website,
http://www.TechnicsPub.com
16© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

17. Catherine Mercer Bing
Managing Director
ITAP Americas, Inc.
ITAP International, Inc.
353 Nassau Street, 1st floor
Princeton, NJ 08540 USA
(W) 1.215.860.5640
http://www.itapintl.com
17© 2016 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.