What Makes a Team Work: Lessons from Google’s Project Aristotle

Ryan Redding • July 3, 2025

Ever wonder why some teams just... work?


I’m talking about the kind of business where everything seems to click.


Customers get what they need without drama.

Projects run on time.

Reviews are glowing.

Employees are energized, not just showing up for a paycheck.


There’s a rhythm to it. A sense of alignment. The business feels like it runs forward, not uphill.


And then there are the other teams.


The ones where everything feels like friction.

Missed deadlines. Miscommunication. Quiet quitting. Gossip.

Leadership feels like babysitting. Growth is stalling. No one seems to be on the same page.


If you’ve been there, you're not alone.


And here's the kicker. A lot of times, the problem isn’t your tools or your talent.


It’s how your team works together.


What Google Discovered After Studying 180 Teams

Believe it or not, Google spent years trying to figure out why some teams succeed while others flop.


The project was called Project Aristotle. They studied over 180 teams across the company, analyzing everything from personality types to management styles.


They wanted to answer one question:


What makes a team high-performing?


Here’s what they found. The most important factor wasn’t experience or education or software or even pay structure.


It was team dynamics. How people treated one another. How they communicated. How they made decisions. How they responded to failure.


5 Things the Most Effective Teams Have in Common

According to the research, the best teams consistently shared five traits:


1. Psychological Safety

People felt safe to speak up, admit mistakes, and offer new ideas without fear of embarrassment or punishment.


2. Dependability

Team members followed through. You didn’t have to chase them or micromanage. Everyone could count on each other to do what they said.


3. Structure and Clarity

Everyone understood their role, the goals of the team, and what success actually looked like.


4. Meaning

The work mattered. People felt like what they were doing had a purpose beyond just punching a clock.


5. Impact

Team members believed their work made a difference, either for the customer, the company, or each other.


Simple, right? But in the real world, these five things are often the first to go when the business is busy or under stress.


You Don’t Have a Marketing Problem. You Have a People Problem.

Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of businesses in different industries. Executives. Home service companies. Agencies. Startups. Owners preparing for exit.


And here's what I’ve seen over and over again:


They think they have a sales problem. Or a hiring problem. Or a systems problem.


But a lot of the time, what they really have is a people problem.


And underneath that? It’s a leadership problem.


If your team doesn’t trust each other, or doesn’t understand what’s expected, or doesn’t feel like their work means anything... all the marketing in the world won’t fix that.


Here’s what actually moves the needle:


You want better reviews? Start by building better trust.

You want better margins? Start with clearer communication.

You want a team that actually cares? Give them a reason to.


Real Example: It’s Not Just a Home Service Thing

Let’s say you’re running a creative agency.


Your project managers are frustrated because deadlines keep getting missed.

Your designers say the briefs are unclear.

Your clients are noticing inconsistent results. (You might even find yourself calling some clients "crazy" at this point.)


The work is good, but it’s not consistent. People are doing their own thing. No one seems to own the outcomes.


It would be easy to blame the tools. Or the market. Or that one person who just isn’t “getting it.” Or that difficult client.


But what if the issue is deeper?


What if the real problem is:


  • A fundamental lack of trust for people working on the team
  • A lack of clarity on roles
  • No shared goals
  • No peer-to-peer accountability
  • No meaningful feedback
  • No connection to the bigger picture
  • No real understanding of what the most important levers are in your business

You can hire more people or buy better tools. But if your team isn’t aligned, it won’t fix the foundation.


Want to Exit in 2 to 5 Years? Your Culture Better Run Without You

If you’re building a company you want to sell, your buyer is going to look closely at one hugely important thing:


How well does the business run without you?


That comes down to systems, yes. But even more than that, it comes down to your people.


If the company falls apart the moment you're out of the picture, it's not really built to last.


The best companies are able to grow, scale, and eventually sell because the team operates as a unit.

They solve problems without drama.

They lead themselves.

They trust each other.


That kind of culture doesn’t happen by accident.

It happens on purpose.


So How Do You Build a Team That Works?

Start with the five things from Google's Research. Then ask yourself:


  • Do your team members feel safe admitting when something goes wrong?
  • Are people following through on what they say they’ll do?
  • Does everyone understand their role and what success looks like?
  • Have you given people a reason to care about the work?
  • Does the team believe they’re making a difference?


If you can’t confidently say yes to all five, that’s where your focus should be.


This Isn’t Just Theory. It’s What the Best Leaders Say, Too.

Google’s research might be newer and fancier, but these ideas have been around for a while.


Patrick Lencioni, in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, talks about the same stuff: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.


Simon Sinek talks about purpose. That people don’t just want to collect a paycheck. They want to contribute. They want to belong.


Even business operating frameworks talk about building cohesive teams as the foundation for growth.


Bottom line? This isn’t fluff. It’s your strategy.


What Investing in Your Team Actually Looks Like

It’s not about pizza parties or pay raises, though those things have their place.


It’s about creating clarity and consistency.


Here are a few ways to start:


  • Set clear expectations for every role
  • Give people ownership and responsibility
  • Create a shared scoreboard so everyone can see progress
  • Encourage open conversations (not just once a year)
  • Recognize people when they live the values
  • Help your managers lead, not just manage


The best teams are the ones where people care about the work, trust each other, and know how to win together.


Ready to Build a Team That Actually Works?

Whether you're running a growing team, scaling your agency, or getting your business ready to sell, your people are the key.


You don’t need more effort. You need more alignment.


Let’s have a 25-minute conversation.


We’ll talk about what’s working, what’s not, and how to start building the kind of team that grows with you— or even without you.


Because when your team works, your business works.


Quick Recap

  • Google studied 180 teams and found that team dynamics—not talent—are what drive performance
  • Psychological safety, clarity, dependability, meaning, and impact are the five traits of high-performing teams
  • Most business problems that feel operational are actually people problems
  • Investing in your team is the best way to scale, grow, or get your business ready to sell
  • Your culture is either helping you win or quietly holding you back


One question before you go:

If someone on your team made a mistake today, would they feel safe admitting it?


Because how you answer that says a lot about your culture.

FREE RESOURCE: The Employee Fit & Performance Audit

By Ryan Redding • October 27, 2026
10 Questions. 5 Possible Problems. 1 Clear Next Step. You've got an employee who's struggling. Maybe they're missing deadlines, producing inconsistent work, creating problems with teammates, or just not performing at the level you expect. So what do you do? Coach them? Train them? Move them into a different role? Or finally have that uncomfortable conversation about letting them go? Before you make that decision, there's a more important question you need to answer: Is this actually an employee problem, or have we failed to create the conditions for that employee to succeed? That's exactly what the **Employee Fit & Performance Audit** from Eightfold Advantage is designed to help you figure out. This free, four-page leadership worksheet walks business owners and managers through a practical process for evaluating employee performance, identifying root causes, and making better people decisions. What's inside? 1. Did you actually set them up to succeed? Before evaluating the employee, evaluate the leadership. Were expectations clearly communicated? Were processes documented? Was the employee properly trained and able to demonstrate competency? Did they have the tools they needed? And has anyone actually reviewed their performance recently? If those things aren't happening, you may have a management problem that needs attention first. 2. What's really happening with their performance? Use ten specific questions to evaluate performance, capability, ownership, team contribution, and leadership support. Rather than relying on vague impressions or personal feelings, you'll examine actual behaviors and evidence. 3. What's causing the problem? Poor performance is often a symptom of something deeper. The audit helps you investigate five potential causes: a capability gap, an ownership gap, a role mismatch, a behavior or trust problem, or a leadership gap. The goal is to identify the root cause instead of repeatedly treating the symptoms. 4. What are you going to do about it? Turn your findings into a specific action plan. Identify what needs to change, who owns each responsibility, what success looks like, and when you'll evaluate progress. Better people decisions start with better questions. Sometimes you really did hire the wrong person. Sometimes you hired the right person and put them in the wrong role. And sometimes you hired a perfectly capable employee but never gave them the clarity, training, tools, or accountability they needed to succeed. The challenge is figuring out which situation you're actually dealing with. Download the free Employee Fit & Performance Audit , spend 10-15 minutes working through it, and walk away with a clearer understanding of what needs to happen next. Because your team deserves fair expectations, your business deserves strong performance, and your leaders need to know the difference. 

Choosing Between Scaling Up and Bloom Growth: A Practical Guide

By Ryan Redding • July 1, 2026
A thorough comparison of Scaling Up and Bloom Growth OS, covering strategy, execution, leadership development, and long-term fit.