Leadership qualities proved to be more crucial for success than team diversity.

One of the primary focuses of contemporary research in management is the search for the most effective format of teamwork. Recent studies have revealed which qualities are particularly important for leaders, why people agree to work with tough bosses, and what causes teams to stop offering innovations and start to "go with the flow."

Experts from several universities in the United States compared the significance of strong leadership and team composition for project success by examining 10 interdisciplinary groups that developed protocols for research involving children in the American state of New Jersey. The article, which states that the qualities and experience of the leader have a greater impact on the results, was published in the scientific journal Clinical and Translational Science.

The study involved 105 individuals representing 14 schools or colleges and 27 departments at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Members of the working groups varied in status (from intern to full-time faculty) as well as in research and administrative experience.

All participants evaluated the effectiveness of their working group using the TeamSTEPPS Team Assessment (TAQ) questionnaire, which allows for the examination of different aspects of team dynamics: functioning, performance, skills, environment, and leadership. Independent experts analyzed the responses and then compared them with assessments of factors such as age distribution, diversity of affiliations, team size, and the proportion of participants with research experience or senior academic titles.

It turned out that members of larger teams, which had many senior faculty and individuals focused on research activities, rated their effectiveness higher. However, groups that were most diverse in terms of the experience and affiliations of participants received relatively low effectiveness ratings. None of the examined factors predicted higher performance, but if team members viewed their leaders as strong, their enthusiasm for the project was noticeably greater.

“We found no correlation between interdisciplinary diversity of the team and its effectiveness. <…> Leaders play a crucial role in enhancing the enthusiasm level of team members and influence their motivation to continue working on the project,” the authors of the article explained.

The researchers also emphasized that the teams involved in the study were newly formed. It would be worthwhile to track whether the identified pattern changes over time.

Nevertheless, researchers believe that developing leadership qualities is important for a team leader in any case—even if the project involves individuals with diverse experiences who can complement each other. This is especially crucial in large-scale interdisciplinary initiatives.