Workplace and Leadership Skills · Lesson 3 of 8 · 13 min

Teamwork with different personalities and cultures

Most work, from school projects to hospital wards, is done in teams. Good teams are not made of perfect people. They share some specific habits that you can help create, whatever your role.

What research says makes a team work

Google studied 180 of its own teams (115 engineering teams and 65 sales teams) in a project known as Project Aristotle, reported on its re:Work site.
It found five dynamics that set effective teams apart: psychological safety, dependability, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact.
Psychological safety, which Google lists first, means team members feel safe to take risks and speak up without being embarrassed or punished.
Dependability means members reliably complete quality work on time. Structure and clarity means everyone knows the goals, roles and plan.
Meaning and impact mean people find the work purposeful and can see how it contributes to a bigger goal.
Keep in mind this was one company's study of its own teams. It is a useful guide, not a law for every team.

How teams grow: Tuckman's stages

Bruce Tuckman proposed a model of team development in the mid-1960s, described by MIT Human Resources: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.
Forming: people are polite but unsure. Help by agreeing goals, roles and deadlines at the first meeting.
Storming: disagreements surface about goals or who does what. MIT suggests redefining goals, roles and tasks and breaking the work into smaller steps. Storming is normal, not a sign of failure.
Norming: the team settles into shared ways of working and constructive criticism becomes welcome. Performing: members solve problems together and help each other freely.
MIT notes that changes, such as someone joining or leaving, can send a team back to an earlier stage.

Working with different personalities

Some people think out loud; others need quiet time first. In meetings, try a few minutes of silent idea-writing before discussion so quieter members contribute.
Some people love detail; others prefer the big picture. Pair them on tasks so each balances the other.
Focus on behaviour and tasks, not labels. 'Can you send your section by Thursday?' works better than 'You are always disorganised.'
If someone is not contributing, talk to them privately first. Ask what is getting in the way before assuming they do not care.

Working across cultures

In the UAE you may work with people from dozens of nationalities. Erin Meyer, writing in Harvard Business Review, maps national work cultures on eight scales: communicating, evaluating, persuading, leading, deciding, trusting, disagreeing and scheduling.
For example, cultures differ in how directly negative feedback is given, how decisions are made (by the boss or by consensus) and how strictly deadlines are treated.
Meyer warns that relying on cliches and stereotypes leads to false assumptions. Treat any culture model as a starting question, not a prediction about one person.
Her advice includes: recognise that work styles come from lifelong habits, look for the strengths in approaches different from yours, and keep adjusting your own behaviour.
Practical habits: agree in writing what 'done' and 'deadline' mean, check understanding rather than assuming silence means agreement, and respect prayer times, fasting hours in Ramadan and different public holidays when scheduling.

Your role as a good teammate

Be dependable: deliver what you promised, when you promised. If you cannot, say so early.
Make it safe to speak: thank people for questions and concerns, especially when they point out a problem.
Share credit generously and take responsibility for your own part.
At the end of a project, MIT suggests reviewing what went well and celebrating what the team achieved.

Practise in real life

Tick each one off when you have done it.

At your next group project, suggest a 10-minute kick-off where the team agrees the goal, each person's role and deadlines, and write it down.
Try the silent idea-writing technique in one meeting or group study session and notice who contributes.
Think of someone from a different background you work or study with. Ask them, politely and with curiosity, how deadlines or feedback usually work in their previous school or workplace.

Remember

Google's Project Aristotle found psychological safety, dependability, structure and clarity, meaning and impact matter most.
Storming is a normal stage of team development.
Focus on behaviour and tasks, not personality labels.
Culture models are starting questions, not stereotypes.
Being dependable is something every team member can offer.

Note: Project Aristotle studied teams inside one technology company, so its findings may not apply equally everywhere. Tuckman's stages are a widely used model rather than a fixed rule; MIT describes them as a basis for conversation, not a diagnosis. Only the summary of Meyer's article was accessible, so detailed country positions are not given here.

Check yourself

1. Which dynamic did Google's Project Aristotle list first among the five that set effective teams apart?

2. In Tuckman's model as described by MIT Human Resources, what is the 'Storming' stage?

3. According to Google re:Work, what does 'dependability' mean in a team?

4. What does Erin Meyer warn against when working across cultures?

5. According to MIT Human Resources, what can send a performing team back to an earlier stage?