Google’s Project Aristotle asked why some of their innovation teams soar and others sputter. Their results were reported in the New York Times.
According to Google’s research, innovation teams that soar create “psychological safety” for each other. But “safety” doesn’t mean settling for what’s easy, routine, average. With “psychological safety,” teams that soar PowerUP imagination, initiative, take-charge can-do possibility thinking and Courage – to overcome obstacles and achieve more faster better leaner results.
What makes it safe for innovation teams to dare, dream, stretch, push, challenge, learn, invent? According to Google’s Project Aristotle, it’s less about what top management does — it’s how team members work with each other to shape the innovation culture from the middle out, one meeting, e-mail exchange, personal off-line discussion and telecon at a time. And it’s not just “being nice to each other” and “taking an interest in one another,” though building a sense of camaraderie is part of the success formula.
Google’s research shows that highly productive innovation teams:
ASK and listen. So no one feels stupid (or feels they can be voted “off the island”) when they ask, “Why?” or “What if…” And so air time is distributed evenly, rather than dominated by a few dominant voices wh
o are revered as “the smartest individuals in the room.” It still takes Courage to speak up, but safety lowers the activation threshold.
ALIGN interests. Not just in business aspirations, but on a personal level as well. So teammates feel that the team really cares about them and that caring will be reciprocated when needed. And have the courage to make “me” interests subservient to “we” interests.
AIM high. With a burning desire to make a difference, contribute to the success of users and payers, invent something bolder bigger better. With Courage to commit to audacious, not play-it-safe SMART goals. And Courage to ASK and listen, yet again, if the AIM doesn’t make sense.
ACTIFY passion. To leave meetings and telecons energized. Boost each other’s confidence. And use “psychological safety” to learn faster, dig deeper, step up and do more – setting an accelerated pace for others — not retreat and hide in the matrix.
ADHERE with accountability. So the right hand can rely on the left hand to deliver dependably.
According to Google’s research, teams that ADHERE to one set of disciplines don’t outperform teams that choose another path. But teams that ASK, AIM, ALIGN and ACTIFY – on an emotional level – do far better at inventing and accelerating adoption of innovation than teams that are all head and hands and no heart.
Dig into Google’s definition of “psychological safety” and you’ll see, like Courage, it’s a paradox. Yes, it feels safe to be part of a team where you are valued affirmed appreciated for who you are and what you contribute. Where others care. Where you can ask what needs to be asked, freed from defensive traps. But the difference is more than feeling safe. It’s whether you use safety to lift yourself and others to new heights of imagination and initiative.
Google’s research corroborates what a major pharmaceutical company found, when they looked at success behaviours in their top R&D teams vs those that got stuck in scientific or regulatory hurdles. And what our own studies found, when we asked why some commercial teams thrive and post gains while everyone else is trending down in volatile competitive distressed markets.
When you choose a consultant to help build an innovation culture, ask if they know about Google’s research. Ask if they look beyond play-it-safe terms like “being nice to each other” or “psychological safety” – to PowerUP imagination, initiative, creativity. And if they can build the Courage to help you wrestle down key issues, bring together diverse perspectives, sharpen up one another’s thinking, and PowerUP a team’s collective intelligence so they achieve more than the smartest or highest-ranking individual in the room. For more, click here >>
And to read the New York Times’ report on Google’s Project Aristotle, click here >>
