Teams perform better when they are together

Humans are social animals who thrive when working, living and playing in teams.

We have developed, competed and evolved in groups for thousands of years. As organizations evaluate the future of work and leaders consider how and where teams will collaborate in a post-pandemic world, it is helpful to consider a fundamental truth. Teams perform better when they are together.

Most adults have been part of a team. Science, research and experience show that teams consistently outperform individuals through stronger community, improved communication, higher performance, greater motivation and faster development.

From the star soccer player to an orchestra's fourth-chair violinist, each member counts as a team strives to achieve their goal. Individual skill matters, but how the team comes together as a whole is more significant. As Phil Jackson once said: "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team."

If the team can't function cohesively, its capacity for success is greatly diminished. Teams train and practice together in order to reach their highest potential. Rehearsal, simulation and repetition builds the trust, experience and collective skill a team needs to win.

By learning to act, react, lead and follow as a unit, their ability to analyze, adapt and execute is developed through shared learning. Synergy is not inherent, nor is it a product of luck or circumstance. Synergy must be learned.

Even athletes that compete individually know the benefits of training together. Swimmers, runners, weightlifters, golfers, boxers and dancers frequently practice in groups to advance personal capabilities. Working with peers can be highly motivating, increases output and encourages breakthroughs.

Take, for example, a cyclist who rides with a small group. Accountability to the team increases time spent training. Riding is enjoyable and less stressful due to the social benefits of camaraderie and shared achievement.

Physical boundaries are pushed and exceeded through encouragement and technical capabilities like drafting. Even in competition, the peloton exemplifies how a group performing together is more powerful than an individual.

Research has found that for some tasks, team size also matters when it comes to performance. Research done by Patrick Laughlin from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that groups of three, four and five consistently outperformed the best individuals. "We attribute this performance to the ability of people to work together to generate and adopt correct responses, reject erroneous responses, and effectively process information."

Not all teams are created equal. In fact, diverse teams (gender, age, ethnicity, etc.) perform 35% better and are more creative according to research done by McKinsey and Company. Unique perspective challenges our status quo, exposes strengths and weakness, encourages new ways of thinking and promotes growth.

Research now shows that community, culture, innovation, collaboration, communication, loyalty and engagement all improve when working in-person compared to being isolated in a remote environment. According to MIT, 35 percent of the variation in a given team's performance was explained by the number of times team members actually spoke face-to-face.

When we work alone, risk taking is harder as we feel less connected to our teams and less willing to fail. A recent McKinsey study found that 97% of employees and executives attribute alignment with team to the outcome of a project. Being together means higher engagement, better communication and a greater sense of community through loyalty and respect. In a TINYpulse survey of more than 200,000 employees, respect for peers was the number one reason participants went the extra mile at work.

Place also has a major impact on team performance. Just as a quality training facility benefits an athletic team, so does a well-designed, modern workplace impact a business team. Workspaces that support organizational culture and goals can amplify the benefits of team members coming together to collaborate in-person.

Creating a great place to work and a space people want to come to is also the best way to capitalize on the benefits of working in-person. Mandates and policies will never be as effective as providing a working environment that teams desire and value using.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world that we can work remotely and technology has enabled us to do so, this does not mean it is our best option. Hybrid working can afford flexibility and choice but a remote world is also an isolated and disconnected one.

Consider family, the most intimate and important human team, as a guiding example. Our relationships with parents, children, siblings and relatives grow and prosper when we spend time with one another. Likewise, teams at work require the same in-person connectivity and togetherness to succeed.

To create a high-performing workplace where teams can thrive together, connect with the team of employee owners at BOS. We can help you design, furnish, install and maintain a space your team will love. Learn more and be inspired at www.bos.com.