Smarter teams when everyone has their say

Is the best group the one with the smartest people? Maybe not. In a study led by Anita Williams Woolley, who studies behavior in organizations, 699 individuals were observed in groups of two to five people. It turned out that average intelligence did not have so much to do with actual performance; instead, it was social sensitivity among group members that was the determining factor. Does everyone get their chance to speak? Who is criticizing whom? Who is supporting whom? Simply distributing the conversation space more evenly can make the team smarter.