New research suggests that the highest-performing teams have found subtle ways of leveraging social connections during the pandemic to fuel their success. Every leader wants to solve the puzzle of what makes a high-performing team. One piece that’s often missing is the importance of social connections, as well as opportunity for genuine, authentic relationship. Here are five key characteristics of high-performing teams, all of which highlight the vital role of close connection among colleagues as a driver of team performance.

• High-Performing Teams Are Not Afraid to Pick Up the Phone. While telephone calls are becoming increasingly less common in the workplace in general, that’s not the case among high-performing teams.
• High-Performing Teams Are More Strategic With Their Meetings. High-performing teams avoid the common pitfalls of poorly run meetings by incorporating practices shown to foster gatherings that are more productive. Specifically, they are significantly more likely to require prework from participants, introduce an agenda, and begin with a check-in that keeps team members apprised of one another’s progress.
• Invest time in bonding over non-work topics. The best teams aren’t more effective because they work all the time. In fact, discussing things not related to work like sports, books, and family, for example: reveal shared interests, allowing people to connect in genuine ways, which yields closer friendships and better teamwork.

• Create a culture where expressing appreciation is the norm.Recognition is often a more powerful motivating force than monetary incentives. And an acknowledgement of good work shouldn’t just flow from the top down. Make it a norm for peers to express appreciation for one another as well.
• Put a premium on authenticity.It's important to create an environment where employees feel comfortable candidly expressing both positive and negative emotions, as well as complimenting and joking with teammates.

Fostering close connections among teammates need not be expensive or time-consuming. By incorporating simple, evidence-based practices that yield better communication, more productive meetings, and deeper friendships, every workplace has the ability to fuel people’s basic psychological need for relatedness and lift team performance.

Is your team a high-performing team?

What did you do to become a high-performing team?

Friedman, R. (2021, October. 5 Things High-Performing Teams Do Differently. Harvard Business Review.