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

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.