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Team Players: How Social Skills Improve Team Performance

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  • Ben Weidmann
  • David J. Deming

Abstract

Most jobs require teamwork. Are some people good team players? In this paper, we design and test a new method for identifying individual contributions to team production. We randomly assign people to multiple teams and predict team performance based on previously assessed individual skills. Some people consistently cause their team to exceed its predicted performance. We call these individuals “team players.” Team players score significantly higher on a well‐established measure of social intelligence, but do not differ across a variety of other dimensions, including IQ, personality, education, and gender. Social skills—defined as a single latent factor that combines social intelligence scores with the team player effect—improve team performance about as much as IQ. We find suggestive evidence that team players increase effort among teammates.

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  • Ben Weidmann & David J. Deming, 2021. "Team Players: How Social Skills Improve Team Performance," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(6), pages 2637-2657, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:emetrp:v:89:y:2021:i:6:p:2637-2657
    DOI: 10.3982/ECTA18461
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    Cited by:

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    2. Cassar, Lea & Fischer, Mira & Valero, Vanessa, 2022. "Keep Calm and Carry On: The Short- vs. Long-Run Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on (Academic) Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 15723, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Freund, L. B., 2022. "Superstar Teams: The Micro Origins and Macro Implications of Coworker Complementarities," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2276, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    4. Kosfeld, Michael & Haylock, Michael & Kampkötter, Patrick & Von Siemens, Ferdinand, 2023. "Helping and Antisocial Behavior in the Workplace," CEPR Discussion Papers 18154, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Anaya, Lina & Iriberri, Nagore & Rey-Biel, Pedro & Zamarro, Gema, 2022. "Understanding performance in test taking: The role of question difficulty order," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Hancock, Stacey A. & Hill, Andrew J., 2022. "The effect of teammate personality on team production," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Joseph Kuehn, 2023. "Adjusting for teammate effects in evaluating college prospects for the NBA draft," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 295-314, December.
    8. Kasser, Lea & Fischer, Mira & Valero, Vanessa, 2022. "Keep Calm and Carry On: The Short- vs. Long-Run Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on (Academic) Performance," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 349, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    9. David Hardt & Lea Mayer & Johannes Rincke, 2023. "Who Does the Talking Here? The Impact of Gender Composition on Team Interactions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10550, CESifo.
    10. Wilhelm, Oliver & Kyllonen, Patrick, 2021. "To predict the future, consider the past: Revisiting Carroll (1993) as a guide to the future of intelligence research," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    11. List, John A. & Shah, Rohen, 2022. "The impact of team incentives on performance in graduate school: Evidence from two pilot RCTs," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    12. Lea Cassar & Mira Fischer & Vanessa Valero, 2022. "Keep Calm and Carry On: Immediate-vs. Six-Month Effects of Mindfulness Training on Academic Performance," CESifo Working Paper Series 10099, CESifo.
    13. David Evans & Claire Mason & Haohui Chen & Andrew Reeson, 2024. "Accelerated demand for interpersonal skills in the Australian post-pandemic labour market," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 32-42, January.
    14. Lea Cassar & Mira Fischer & Vanessa Valero, 2022. "Keep Calm and Carry On: The Short- vs. Long-Run Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on (Academic) Performance," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0002, Berlin School of Economics.
    15. Cassar, Lea & Fischer, Mira & Valero, Vanessa, 2022. "Keep calm and carry on: The short- vs. long-run effects of mindfulness meditation on (academic) performance," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Behavior SP II 2022-203, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    16. Timm Opitz, 2024. "Interpersonal Preferences and Team Performance: The Role of Liking in Complex Problem Solving," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 492, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    17. Adriana Lleras-Muney & Matthew Miller & Shuyang Sheng & Veronica Sovero, 2022. "Party On: The Labor Market Returns to Social Networks in Adolescence," Papers 2210.09426, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2024.
    18. Cortes, Patricia & Feng, Ying & Guida-Johnson, Nicolás & Pan, Jessica, 2023. "Automation and Gender: Implications for Occupational Segregation and the Gender Skill Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 16695, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Heijmans, Roweno J.R.K., 2023. "Unraveling Coordination Problems," Discussion Papers 2023/20, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.

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