????最優秀的公司和機構都會鼓勵和支持管理高層、部門內部和部門之間的團隊合作。優秀團隊的秘訣并不是把最有經驗、最聰明的人放在一起那么簡單。下面是打造優秀團隊的五條建議：

????? 努力推廣隨意性的交流——會議未必有用

????在洛杉磯護膚品公司Beautycounter，公司CEO格雷格?倫弗魯為了促進團隊合作，鼓勵五個人的高管團隊花更多時間進行一對一的談話——比如在辦公桌前五分鐘的簡短對話，或者一起喝一杯咖啡。她盡量限制參加對話的人數，避免冗長的電子郵件、事先安排好的電話呼叫和漫長的正式會議。相反，她選擇了簡短的站立式會議和小組碰頭會。

????這與最初的情形截然相反。當初，她發現自己幾乎整天都在開會?，F在，她的團隊配合更默契，工作效率更高。

????她說：“這些做法幫助我們保持同步。人們可以做到果斷，也可以保持靈活性，而且不會再被無休止的繁文縟節拖累?！?/p>

????良好的溝通是涉及團隊合作的標準說辭。但麻省理工學院（Massachusetts Institute of Technology）的研究人員發現，在全部工作時間內，鼓勵隨意的對話對于打造優秀團隊至關重要。麻省理工的研究人員使用帶有傳感器的徽章，在數十家公司捕捉人們的肢體語言、手勢和語調。結果，研究人員可以根據溝通方式，非常準確地預測出一個團隊的績效。表現最差的團隊花更多時間坐在一起開會，團隊中有一位占主導地位的成員，或者人們只是在說或聽，卻無法兩者兼顧。

????事實上，麻省理工學院的亞歷克斯?桑迪?彭特蘭表示，在走廊或休息室進行的非正式對話對團隊工作效率的重要性甚至超過了團隊成員的智商、技能或經驗。

????他發現，優秀團隊的成員不會只注重內部交流。更有創意的團隊會經常與其他部門溝通。而這是許多人都忽視的事情。彭特蘭說：“組織結構圖顯示你應該與這六個人溝通，但如果你僅限于和這六人溝通，那么你最終可能被同樣的創意堵住思路，結果無法產生新的想法?！?/p>

????? 拋棄等級制度

????卡耐基梅隆大學（Carnegie Mellon University）的團隊合作研究員安妮塔?伍利表示，雖然大多數領導者認為他們應該負責發號施令和制定議程，但實際上，團隊需要他們作為促進者，挖掘所有團隊成員的潛力。最優秀的團隊在外人看來可能并沒有明確的負責人。事實上，許多團隊根本不需要領導者。

????紐約的俄耳甫斯室內樂團(Orpheus Chamber Orchestra)就是一個例子。40年來，這個樂團舉行音樂會從來不用樂隊指揮。對于演奏曲目、演奏方式、加入樂團的人選以及巡回演出的地點和時間等問題，樂團的34位音樂家可以各抒己見。

????樂團執行理事克里希那?契亞格拉杰說：“舉辦一場音樂會無非就是管理一個短期項目而已?！?/p>

????樂團會選出一個核心團隊，監督每一首曲目的練習和表演，而且每三年選出三位藝術總監。任何人都可以發表意見，同事互相評價工作績效。

????契亞格拉杰表示，并不是所有決定都能達成共識。但這個樂團有職業樂團最高的工作滿意度，并迅速成為全世界最優秀的樂團之一。按契亞格拉杰的說法，樂團獨一無二的表演“令人心潮澎湃”。

????他說：“你能看得出，他們呼吸與共，彼此期待，共同進退。它是一股巨大的力量?！?/p>

????Some of the best performing corporations and institutions are those that encourage and enable teamwork—in the C-suite, within groups and across divisions. The secret to a great team is not simply about having the most experienced or smartest people on board. Here are 5 ways to build a top-performing team:

????? Push for casual conversations-- not necessarily meetings

????To boost collaboration at her Los Angeles skincare company Beautycounter, CEO Gregg Renfrew encourages her five-person executive team to spend more time talking one-on-one with each other—whether it's a five-minute desk-side conversation or grabbing a cup of coffee. She tries to limit the number of people in conversations, avoid lengthy emails, scheduling phone calls and long formal meetings. Instead, she opts for quick stand-ups and group huddles.

????It's an about-face from her early days, when she found herself booked in meetings all day. Now, her team can be far more collaborative and gets far more done.

????"It helps us stay in sync," she says. "You can be decisive, you can be nimble, and you don't get caught up in red tape."

????Good communication is standard teamwork rhetoric. But casual conversations throughout the day can be vital to top-performing teams, according to researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Using badges with sensors that capture body language, gestures and tone of voice at people at dozens of companies, MIT researchers could predict with eerie precision a team's performance based on the pattern of communication. The worst performing teams sat in more meetings, had a dominant team member or people who talked or listened but did not do both.

????In fact, those informal conversations in the hallways or the break room may be even more important to team productivity than team members' IQ, skill or experience, says MIT professor Alex "Sandy" Pentland.

????Great teams don't just talk amongst themselves either, he found. The more creative groups talked to people outside their own group—a lot. Yet it's something most people forget to do. "The org chart says you talk to these six people," says Pentland. "If you only do that then you get stuck with the same ideas going around and around again instead of new ideas."

????? Throw out the hierarchy

????While most leaders think they must do the talking and set the agenda, teams really need them to be facilitators, bringing out the contributions of everyone, says Anita Woolley, a Carnegie Mellon University researcher who has studied teamwork. The best teams may be those that, to an outsider, it's not entirely clear who is in charge. In fact, some teams need no leader at all.

????Just look at the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in New York. For 40 years, the orchestra has worked in concert—literally –without a conductor. All of the 34 musicians get to make suggestions on what is played, how it is played, who can join the orchestra, and where and when they tour.

????"Putting on a concert is nothing more than managing a short-term project," says Krishna Thiagarajan, the orchestra's executive director, whose role is akin to a band manager.

????The group selects a core group to oversee practice and performance for each music selection and elects three artistic directors for three-year terms. Anyone can give input and peers judge job performance.

????Not every decision is a consensus, says Thiagarajan. But Orpheus has the highest job satisfaction of any professional orchestra and has catapulted to become one of the best in the world, delivering what Thiagarajan calls unique, "spirited" performances.

????"You can see them breathing together, anticipating each other and working together as a team," he says. "It's a huge rush."