People often think great teams come together by happy accident, or that they just got lucky that one time they had a great team. Our research shows otherwise.

When we looked at thousands of teams in dozens of industries, we saw that extraordinary teams always shared a specific set of traits and characteristics. It didn’t matter if these teams worked in the U.S., Europe, Asia, or had team members in all three. On these teams, every person was loyal to the team and to each other. Individuals worked to ensure the team’s success and each other’s success just as they worked to ensure their own.

Building a “Loyalist Team,” as we call these high achievers, is not easy, even when the whole crew works out of the same office and can discuss decisions in person. Building and maintaining a Loyalist Team becomes even more challenging when team members work in different time zones or speak different languages. But it is possible. Here are a few steps to get your global team working better together:

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