The researchers found that group norms were the factor that

distinguished the effective teams from the ineffective teams.

Psychologists from Carnegie Mellon, M.I.T. and Union College

wanted to if they could measure the I.Q.s of individual team members based

on the team's collective IQ score.

“Average social sensitivity” is an aggregate measure of how

well group members are able to read each other’s emotions based on non-verbal

clues.

The research showed that teams that stay focused on the topic at hand perform better. 

The successful groups tended to have one strong leader who

did most of the talking.

When

Sakaguchi’s team first took the Aristotle survey, the results confirmed Sakaguchi’s

fears that the team was not very strong.

“Psychological safety” means that individuals in a group do not take risks that could harm other people’s psychological well-being. 

Sharing

personal details about their lives helped the teams open up and communicate

more effectively and honestly about work problems as well.

Sakaguchi

was following recommendations from Project Aristotle when he asked his team

members to share personal details about their lives.

A

study published in