Neuropsychological studies have shown that we are strongly wired to sense and value belonging.

There are 3 primary ways that members of a group send and receive belonging cues to each other.

• Energy – Individuals are engaged with the group. They invest ...

You might think the success of a team depends on the individual team members’ skills. However, to a great extent it depends on 5 specific factors that can predict with accuracy how well a team will perform:

1. Everyone in the group talks and listens in equal measure, keep...

Being vulnerable does not mean indiscriminately sharing fears and shortcomings. Instead, it means specifically being honest about your concerns about a project. Sharing vulnerability can also mean taking an honest look at how things went.

Sharing our o...

Leaders should ask their group members for specific feedback in 3 areas:

• Name one thing that I currently do that you’d like me to continue to do?
• Is there one thing I don’t currently do frequently enough that you think I should do more often?
• What ...

• Rank your priorities. What are the primary things that are most important to your group or team?
• Be clearer than you think you need to be. Ask group members what your vision is.
• Decide on where you will aim for proficiency and where...

Giving honest feedback is risky because it can easily result in people feeling hurt or demoralized.

By aiming for candor—feedback that is smaller, more targeted, less personal, less judgmental, and equally impactful—it’s easier to maintain a sense of safety and belonging i...

Many highly cooperative groups use language to reinforce their interdependence.

For example, navy pilots returning to aircraft carriers do not “land" but are “recovered."  Groups at Pixar do not offer “notes" on early versions of films; they “plus" them by offering solutions to problem...

In order to move toward a target, you must first have a target. Listing your priorities is the first step.

Most successful groups end up with a small handful of priorities and many end up placing their in-group relationships—how they treat one another—at t...

Every group skill can be sorted into one of two basic types: skills of proficiency and skills of creativity.

• Skills of proficiency are about doing a task the same way, every single time. They are about delivering machine-like reliability, and they tend to apply in doma...

The trick to building effective catchphrases is to keep them simple, action-oriented, and forthright:

"Create fun and a little weirdness" (Zappos), "Talk less, do more" (IDEO), "Work hard, be nice" (KIPP), "Pound the rock" (San Antonio Spurs), "Leave the jersey in a better place" (New Z...