Building a High-Performing Team: The Power of Collective Intelligence

Thankfully, experts have studied what makes teams perform at their best, a concept known as “collective intelligence.” One researcher in this field is Dr. Anita Williams Woolley. Her approach to studying collective intelligence involves several steps:

• Selecting a group of individuals and giving them individual intelligence tests. 
• Randomly assigning these individuals to teams and having them complete tasks together.
• Measuring the collective intelligence of each team based on their performance.  

One might assume that teams with the highest-scoring individuals on the solo intelligence tests would also perform best overall. However, the study revealed that individual intelligence did not predict collective intelligence.  

In the end, success all boiled down to one thing: the number of women on the team.  

Dr. Woolley’s findings indicated that the more women on a given team, the higher the collective intelligence recorded. While this might suggest that women should make up the bulk of every team, Dr. Woolley and her team believe that this performance is not explicitly linked to gender itself, but rather to increased social sensitivity—a trait that women tend to outperform men in.  

What is social sensitivity?

Social sensitivity is the ability to accurately perceive and understand the emotions, thoughts, and intentions of other people in social interactions. This looks like: 

• Actively listening to each of your team member’s contributions. 
• Championing empathy and assuming positive intent of your peers. 
• Watching for non-verbal cues of tension, stress, or a desire to share ideas. 
• Understanding contextual factors that may influence team members’ contributions (ex. a junior team member being more cautious in their contributions because their boss is present). 
• Minding ‘the emotional climate’ of discussions and adjusting your communication style in tense situations. 

 A team that demonstrates high social sensitivity—regardless of gender—will achieve greater collective intelligence. 

Additional metrics to enhance team performance

Leveling up our social sensitivity is just one way to increase your team’s collective intelligence. Here are three additional metrics that can indicate team success: 

Team diversity

It’s crucial to build teams that are diverse in identity, expertise, experience, and perspective. Diverse teams better represent varied user groups. Throughout my tenure in product design, I’ve found that my identities and backgrounds often do not align with those of my user base. However, when my team is diverse, it’s more likely that our shared identities and experiences represent our users and give us a leg up in trying to understand their needs.  

Group alignment

Establishing group norms, expectations, and timelines can be the difference between a smooth project and one that derails. Alignment gives the team a solid foundation to start from, and a safe place to return to when challenges arise.  

Equitable collaboration

We work in teams to leverage everyone’s expertise. To foster equal engagement, create an environment that deemphasizes hierarchy and encourages a culture of sharing and discussion. You never know where a great idea will come from, so it’s essential to make sure all voices are heard. 

Expected outcomes

In action, we can expect some key benefits of collective intelligence to manifest in team dynamics. With a little concerted effort, teams can drive productivity, innovation, and stronger results in both their work and workplace satisfaction. Below are some specific outcomes we can anticipate: 

• Increased productivity: Teams with higher collective intelligence work more effectively together and can solve problems they can’t tackle alone. 
• Energized innovation: New and unique ideas flow freely, getting refined and polished through collaboration, capitalizing on the skills and talents of a room full of experts. 
• Happier teams & better products: When teams meet deadlines, overcome obstacles, and feel heard, they enjoy working together. This satisfaction leads to better products and improved business outcomes for everyone involved.  

Think of collective intelligence like a power-up, the brightly colored mushroom that enables your team to perform at its best. By focusing on enhancing social sensitivity, fostering diversity, and promoting collaboration, you can unlock new levels of success in your design practice. 

Photo Credit:  Matthew Henry  | Unsplash